INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

MADRAS

DEPARTMENT OF METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS ENGINEERING

VISAKHAPATNAM STEEL PLANT

INDUSTRIAL TRAINING REPORT

Submitted by:
Kancherla Rohith
MM16B026
Contents
1. Declaration
2. Introduction
3. Major departments in Steel plant
4. Machinery
a. R M H P (RAW MATERIAL HANDLING
PLANT)
b. CO &CCP (COKEAND COAL CHEMICAL DEPT)
c. SINTER PLANT
d. BLAST FURNACE
e. STEEL MELTING SHOP
f. QA&TD
Declaration

With all respect and gratitude, I take the

opportunity to convey my sincere thanks to the
management of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant for
providing the Industrial Training in the Plant.
We extend the gratitude to Mr K. Anthoy (Asst
General Manager, TTI) for his guidance during the
training in the plant and the technical staff, at
various shops, who helped me to train us in
practical knowledge.
Also, I offer my sincere thanks to Prof.
Murugaiyan Amirthalingam, IIT Madras for
providing me with a good reference and
permission for attending the industrial training.
Yours Sincerely
K.Rohith
MM16B026
 Introduction
Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) is the first shore
based integrated steel plant in India producing high-
quality value-added steel of 6.3 million tons per
annum. Blast Furnace is one of the major departments
of VSP where the conversion of raw materials like Iron
ore, Sinter and Coke into molten metal (Pig iron) takes
place. To charge raw material into Blast Furnaces,
which are operated at 2 kg/cm2 pressure.
In Visakhapatnam Steel Plant there are three Blast
Furnaces to produce Pig Iron. No of sections are there
to support BF in iron making. Blast Furnace profile,
design, operational activities and different process
parameters were discussed. There are four stoves for
each furnace involved in BF iron making. Stoves supply
hot blast which taken part in reduction of iron ore. The
purpose of the training was to know about raw
material handling, coke preparation, Sintering Process,
working of Blast Furnace, Steel melting shop.
 Major departments in Steel plant

Visakhapatnam steel plant has five different

departments,

i. Raw Material Handling Plant (RMHP)

ii. Coke Ovens & Coal Chemicals Plant (CO& CCP)
iii. Sinter Plant
iv. Blast Furnace (BF)
v. Steel Melting Shop (SMS)
 RAW MATERIAL HANDLING PLANT

Raw Material Handling Plant (RMHP) receives the basic raw

materials required for the steel making process from various sources
through railway wagons and by road. These are stacked by stackers
and reclaimed by reclaimers and disturbed to various departments of
VSP through conveyor system. The Iron Ore Fines, Iron Ore Lump,
Sized Iron Ore, Limestone, Dolomite, sand, Quartzite and Manganese
Lumps are stacked at Ore and Flux Yard. The Imported Coking Coal,
Medium Coking Coal, Boiler Coal is stacked in Coal Yard. Coke is sent
directly to Blast Furnace after tippling from ore and flux wagon
tipplers.
The Raw Material Handling Plant is divided into two sections Coal
Handling Plant (CHP) and Ore Handling Plant (OHP).
The Coal Handling Plant (CHP) deals with coking and non-coking coal.
The Ore Handling Plant (OHP) deals with iron ore and flux material as
limestone and dolomite.
SALIENT FEATURES OF RMHP
• Blender Reclaimers for blending of ores and flux in which the
bucker wheel has a lateral motion across the bed.
• Wheel on Boom Reclaimers for reclaiming different materials
from same bed in Ore & Flux yard and same type coals in CHP.
• 2 ring Granulators for blending of Iron ore fines and flux.

• 3 Blender Reclaimers for blending of Iron ore fines and flux.

• PLC control of all systems.

• Drier for drying SMS sized Ore.

• Preparation of Sized iron ore for use in BF to enable close size

range of raw materials.
 • Peripheral unloading system for railway wagons coming
directly up to pushers.
• Dust Extraction system is provided at various locations of
RMHP to absorb the dust generated during the process.

The Raw Materials are sent in different proportion to various

customer departments as indicated below:
1. Sinter Plant: Iron ore fines, Limestone (BF grade), Dolomite
(BF grade), Sand and LD Slag.
2. Blast Furnace: Sized iron ore, Limestone (BF grade),
Manganese lump and Quartzite lump, Coke, Sponge Iron,
Pellets and LD slag.
3. Coke Ovens: Imported coking coal, Medium Coking coal, and
Primary Coking coal.
4. Thermal Power Plant: Boiler coal.
 2. Coke Ovens and Coal Chemical Plant
• Coal Preparation Plant:
The Coal Preparation Plant deals with the processing and
storage of different grades of coal and it dispatch to the
coke oven when it is needed.

• Coke Ovens Battery:

After dispatching of coal from Coal Preparation Plant to
Coke Oven Battery, carbonization takes place between
1000o C to 1050o C in the absence of air for 16 to 18 hours.

• Coke Ovens Machines:

Charging car → It operates on the top of the ovens and
discharges crushed coal in the oven.

Push car → Coke pusher is designed for pushing coke out of

coke ovens. The machine carries out main operations: coke
oven door extraction, pushing coke out of coke oven,
levelling of coal-charge.

Guide Car → It operates on the coke side of the battery. It

opens the coke side door guides the hot coke into the
quenching car followed by closing the coke-side door.

Quenching Car→ Receives the hot coke and takes it to the

quenching station for water quenching (Coke Dry Quenching
Plant Coke dry quenching appears as the most valid system
to reduce air pollution).
 Coke Making (Coal Carburization) → Coking coals are the
coals which when heated in the absence of air, first it melts
and then go in the plastic state, swell and resolidify to
produce a solid coherent mass called coke. When coking
coal is heated in absence of air, a series of physical and
chemical changes take place with the evolution of gases and
vapours, and the solid residue left behind is called coke.
During carbonization, coking coals undergo transformation
into plastic state at around 350o C to 400o C, swell and then
solidify at around 500o C

to 550o C to give semi-coke and then coke. In coke ovens,

after coal is charged inside the oven, plastic layers are
formed adjacent to the heating walls, and with the progress
of time, the plastic layers move towards the centre of oven
from either side and ultimately meet each other at the
centre. During coke making, two opposite reactions take
place. These reactions are namely condensation and
pyrolysis. The quality and quantity of plastic layer is of
extreme important and it determines the inherent strength
of coke matrix.
• Coal chemical plant:
The main by-product in the process of coke making is crude
coke oven gas and this has a lot of valuable chemicals. Coal
chemical plant recovers ammonia. Tar and Benzol from Co-
gas.
The primary by-product from crude CO gas are ammonium
sulphate, crude tar, crude Benzol.
• Coal chemical recovery:
- In coke ovens ammonia gas will be recovered by reacting with
concentrated sulphuric acid forming ammonium sulphate.
- Benzol will be recovered with solar with solar oil in benzol
scrubbers and followed by benzol distillation.
- After recovery they are used as a fuel in batteries.

3.SINTER PLANT

Sintering:
Sintering is a process of agglomerating iron ore fines into a porous
mass by incipient fusion caused by combustion within the mass of
the ore particles.
• Iron ore fines(0-10mm) which were a result of
mechanized mining could not be charged in a blast
furnace they reduce the permeability of burden in a blast
furnace. These iron fines that were generated at mines
could not ignored because of them
• Huge quantity and

• High iron content Raw materials used in sintering:

• Iron ore fines(0-10mm)

• Coke – used as fuel

• Limestone & Dolamite – to maintain required sinter

basicity
• Sand – to maintain required sinter basicity

• Metallurgical wastes – to use wastes effectively and

thus reduce the cost of sintering
 • Lime – to enhance the process of sintering

Sintering process:
• Preparation of various raw materials

• Mixing & Blending

• Mixing with sinter returns in presence of water to form

green balls
• Charging on to the machine

• Ignition and Suction

Factors effecting:
Broadly the productivity of a sinter machine depends on the
following factors:
• Quality of input raw materials

• Permeability of sinter bed

• Vacuum under grate

• Quality of sinter Quality of input raw materials

1. Physical properties:

• Iron ore fines used for sintering should be of the size of

(0-10 mm).
• More of -1mm fraction will reduce the bed permeability
and will reduce the vertical speed of sintering, reducing
the machine productivity.
2. Chemical Properties:

• Low amount of alumina in iron ore fines and low loss on

ignition factor of various raw materials increases the
productivity of the sinter.
 • At VSP alumina in iron ore fines varies from 2-3% and
total loss of ignition of base mix varies from 18-20%.
Vacuum under grate:
The vertical speed of sintering depends upon the suction that is
created under the grate more the suction higher will be the vertical
speed of sintering and more the productivity.
Quality of sinter:
Sinter plant quality also plays an important role in the productivity of
sinter machines. Higher Feo gives the strength & Productivity
increases but sinter with more than 11% of Feo in undesirable of a
blast furnace. Low amount of Mgo increase productivity but sinter
with 2.4% of MgO is required by the blast furnace to form non-
viscous slag.
SINTER PLANT IN VSP

Sinter plant of VSP has the capacity to produce 5.26 MT of sinter per
annum which will cater for 805 of iron bearing feed too blast
furnace. Two sinter machines having 312 MT total grate area are
provided for the purpose.
Sinter machines are designed to operate at the rate of 1.2t/Hr/m for
330 days in a year.
Sinter plant consists of the following main sections

1. Flux crushing section

2. Fuel storage yard

3. Coke crushing and flux screening section

4. Receiving bins

5. Raw material bias

6. Material mixing and Distribution plant

7. Base mix yard

8. Secondary sinter mix and pelletizing plant

9. Sinter machine building with sinter cooling

10. 10.Fan building

11.Slime-dewatering pump house

12.Sinter Screening plant
13. Gas Cleaning Plant

14. 14.Air cleaning plant.

4. Blast Furnace

• Blast Furnace Process:

- The Iron Ore, Coke and Limestone, (the Charge), is conveyed to the
top of the furnace.
- The Charge is stored in Bells until the timing is right for the charge
to be dropped into furnace.
- Hot air is then blown through pipes called Tuyeres, to fire the
mixture.
- The Coke burns to increase the temperature in the Furnace.
- The Limestone attracts the impurities in the Iron Ore and forms
Slag. This Slag is lighter than the molten Iron and so floats on top of
it.
- As the Furnace fills, the molten Iron is Tapped off. The Slag is also
tapped off at regular intervals.
- Most Iron is taken straight from the Blast Furnace to the Steel Mill,
but some is poured into buckets called Pigs. This Iron is called Pig
Iron and is used to make Cast Iron.
• The Charge:
The Charge consists of 3 namely:
I. Iron Ore
II. Coke
III. Limestone
Iron Ore:
The Iron Ore is first mined and then brought to the Blast Furnace. It
contains impurities which must be
removed. Haematite and Magnetite are the most common ores. It
takes about two tons of Iron Ore to produce one ton of iron, but this
varies with different types of ores.
Coke:
Coke is made by heating soft coal in the absence of air. As Coke is
burned in the Blast Furnace it raises the temperature to about
2000°C which is enough to melt the Iron Ore. The Carbon in the Coke
chemically reacts with the Oxygen in the Iron Ore to form Carbon
Dioxide (CO2, and Carbon Monoxide (CO), which escapes through the
Gas Outlet.
Limestone:
The Limestone is mined then crushed before being brought to the
Blast Furnace. It combines with the impurities in the Iron Ore to
form Slag. A material which removes unwanted materials or cleans
another material is called a Flux.

• Parts of Blast Furnace:

 ▪ Conveyor System:
The Conveyor System takes the Charge from the area where it is
maxed together to the top of the Blast Furnace. The Charge is carried
in Skip Cars which run on a rail track.

▪ Exhaust Gas Outlet:

The Exhaust Gas Outlet collects any gaseous emissions from the
chemical reactions that are taking place in the Furnace. As you know
Carbon Dioxide and Carbon Monoxide are not exactly conducive
towards healthy living and so they cannot be let to escape into the
atmosphere as they are. Firstly, because these gases are hot, they
are reused to save energy. They are piped to nearby Stoves in order
to heat them. The gases are then cleaned before being let into the
atmosphere.

▪ Gas outlet:
The Gas Outlet is simply an array of holes in the Furnace that allows
the escaping gases to get to the Exhaust Gas Outlet.

▪ Tuyeres:
These are small pipes that permit hot air from the Bustle Pipe
(explanation is in next paragraph) to enter the furnace. The hot air is
necessary to keep the temperature in the furnace high.
The Tuyeres are located all around the Furnace like spokes on the
hub of a bicycle wheel. They also have valves so that nothing can
escape from the Furnace.
 ▪ Bustle Pipe:
The Bustle Pipe is a large diameter pipe that circles the base of the
Furnace. It carries the hot air from the Stoves, where the air is
heated, to the Tuyeres which allow the hot air to enter the Blast
Furnace.

▪ Tap hole:
The Tap hole is used to draw off the molten Iron at regular intervals
of about 5 to 6 hours. Notice that the Tap hole is located below the
Slag hole. This is because the Slag is lighter than the molten Iron and
so it sits on top. The molten Iron leaves the Tap hole and is either
poured into moulds called 'Pigs' or sent to other areas for further
refining.

▪ Slag hole:
The Slag hole, which is situated above the Tap hole, because Slag is
lighter than molten Iron, is used to draw off the waste Slag. The Slag
is scraped off every 3 or 4 hours and is then used for road beds,
fertilizer or cement.

▪ Stoves:
The stoves in Blast furnace is to supply hot blast at required
temperature with consistency and thereby to achieve lower coke
rate. In VSP, 4 stoves are there per each furnace.
 ▪ Refractory Lining:
Inside the Steel shell of the Furnace there is a layer of Fire Brick
called the Refractory Lining. This Refractory Lining reflects the heat
back into the Furnace.

• Reactions involved in Blast Furnace:

In the blast furnace, there are several chemical reactions taking

place; that eventually results in the desired product (iron) being
extracted. The coke (carbon) burns with oxygen to produce
carbondioxide. This reaction is exothermic. The CO2 then reacts with
more coke to give carbonmonoxide.
C + O2 → CO2

CO2 + C → 2CO
Carbon monoxide acts as a reducing agent and reacts with the iron
ore to give molten iron, which trickles to the bottom of the furnace
where it is collected.
Fe2O3 + 3CO → 2Fe + 3CO2
• The limestone in the furnace decomposes, forming calcium oxide.
This is a fluxing agent and combines with impurities to make slag,
which floats on top of the molten iron and can be removed.
CaO + SiO2 → CaSiO3
• Blast furnace (BF) gas is generated as a by-product when the iron
ore is reduced with coke to metallic iron. This BF gas is at high
pressure. This pressure is utilized to operate a generator.

5. STEEL MELTING SHOP (SMS)

Overview:
Steel is made in steel melting shop in the refractory lined vessels
called LD Converters by blowing oxygen through the hot metal bath.
While iron making is a reduction process, steel making is an oxidation
process. The oxygen reacts with impurities like carbon, silicon,
phosphorous, sulphur etc. present in hot metal to produce steel. No
external fuel is required as the silicon and carbon releases huge
amount of heat energy. Also, the carbon reaction releases large
quantities of gas rich in carbon monoxide along with huge amount of
dust. The gases released from the converter are collected, cooled,
cleaned and recovered for use as fuel in the steel plant. The entire
molten steel at VSP is continuously cast at the radial type continuous
casting machines resulting in significant energy conservation and
better-quality steel. 100% Continuous casting on such a large scale
has been conceived in India.
▪ The desired quality of steel can be produced by LD Converter
process etc.
LD Converter Process:
- This process is also known as Basic Oxygen Process.
- LD process is a refining process which is carried out in a LD
vessel or LD converter.
- Steps involved in LD process:
(a) Charging:
- Scrap: It acts as a coolant and utilizes the excess heat
energy generated during refining.
 - Hot metal (75-90%): The analysis of iron required to use in
LD process as follows:
C → 4.10 – 4.30 %
Si → 0.50 – 0.85
Mn → 0.50 – 0.80 %
S → 0.02 – 0.25 %
P → 0.10 – 0.25 %
- Fluxes: Lime and dolomite.
- Coolants: Limestone, scrap, iron ore, and sponge iron are all
potential coolants that can be added to a heat that has
been overblown and is excessively hot.
- Oxygen: 99.5 % of oxygen is used as refining agent.
(b) Blowing:
After charging, the vessel is rotated to vertical position, lance is
lowered to blowing position and O2 is turned on to burns off the
impurities. The blow continues for nearly 15-25 minutes.
(c) Sampling:
- Slag and metal samples are taken out for analysis.
- Temperature of bath is measured by immersion of
thermocouple.
(d) Tapping:
If the analysis & tapping temperature are in the required range, then
the molten steel is tapped in the ladle. Deoxidizers and alloying
additions are made in the ladle.