Liberty Ostrava to invest CZK 88 million to halve dust emissions

LIBERTY Ostrava is investing CZK 88 million on the installation of a new exhaust pipeline at its sinter plant north, aiming to reduce fugitive emissions by around 46%. The project on the sinter conveyor paths, which will be completed in October 2022, is a further sign of progress in LIBERTY Ostrava’s GREENSTEEL transformation programme.

LIBERTY Ostrava’s sinter plant north last year produced 2.2 million tonnes of sinter, a mix of iron ore and other fine materials which are heated to create the main component of a blast furnace’s charge. The plant’s three conveyor belts currently produce up to 101 tonnes of fugitive emissions per year but the current project will reduce that amount by almost half to 46 tonnes annually. Planning for the installation work started some months ago to ensure the continuity of sinter supply while the pipelines were replaced. Of the overall project costs of CZK 88 million, CZK 28 million will be covered by the subsidy the company obtained from the Czech Government’s Operational Programme Environment (2014 – 2020).

Roland Hinterreiter, Project Director of the LIBERTY Ostrava Hybrid Electric Arc Furnace Project, said: “This programme is an integral part of our GREENSTEEL transformation project and of our relentless efforts to reduce the impact of our business on our local communities. These modifications to the existing network of dedusting equipment are designed to increase the efficiency of dust collection at individual sources of dust on conveyor paths as well as reduce the dust from the separator operation and conveyor, leading to dust emissions decreasing by around 46%. The team have done a brilliant job in preparing for and implementing this project, which is the first of many we will need to complete over the next few years as we aim to become carbon neutral by 2030.”

LIBERTY Steel Group plans to invest 8.6 billion Czech Korunas in the LIBERTY Ostrava GREENSTEEL transformation programme over the course of the next eight years. The key element of the CN30 programme will be the replacement of the steelwork’s existing four tandem furnaces with two state-of-the-art hybrid electric arc furnaces and the building of a new power line. The new furnaces, for which the contracts were signed at the beginning of July, will be delivered by Danieli, a leading global manufacturer of plant and machinery. At the same signing ceremony, LIBERTY Ostrava signed a Declaration of Cooperation with ČEZ ESCO to identify and develop renewable energy and hydrogen technologies and announced the launch of the GFG Foundation in the Czech Republic.

In addition to the modernisation of the steel shop, the transformation will also include an extensive modernisation of the steel rolling mills, which will improve the quality of steel and expand the product portfolio with high added value products. The investment programme will also see the creation of a renewable power plants for electricity production as well as the development of the GREENSTEEL Academy, which aims to upskill the plant’s current workforce and encourage new people into the industry.

Source and Photo: Liberty Steel Group