Wednesday, June 29, 2011


BSL BATTERY COMMISSIONED – 28-6-11

The Coke Oven Battery # 1 of SAIL's Bokaro Steel Plant, entirely rebuilt after having served for three decades since its first commissioning in 1977, started production on 28 June 2011. MD, BSL Mr. SS Mohanty pushed the first oven (Oven # 58) in presence of ED (Projects) Mr. TS Suresh, ED (Works) Mr. TK Das, ED (P&A) Mr. R Singh and senior officers from BSL, CET and MECON to start production from the battery.
With a designed coking period of 16.9 hours and a regime of 98 battery pushings per day, the battery will has the annual capacity to produce 0.57 MT of dry gross coke and 0.503 MT of dry BF Coke, using 0.74 MT of dry coal as input. The yield of Coke Oven gas from the battery, which serves as valuable fuel for other shops of the plant, will be 310 Nm3 per tonne of dry coal charged.
Several new features have been incorporated to make it a zero emission battery and enhance productivity. Some of these features include:
  1. Additional rail to improve stability of Guide Car Hood and arrest pushing emission.
  2. Improved design of oven doors to prevent door emission.
  3. Water sealing of ascension pipe caps to prevent leakage from gas off-takes.
  4. High pressure liquor aspiration system for on-main charging of ovens.
  5. In-house design for mechanized wharf gate opening system.
  6. Spillage coke conveyor system on pusher side.
With  CET (Centre for Engineering & Technology of SAIL) as the in-house consultant, the rebuilding of this battery has been implemented under 6 (six) packages through different agencies, viz. Pkg-1 - Battery Proper (Contractor M/s MECON), Pkg-2A - Quenching System (Contractor M/s BEEKAY), Pkg-2B - Quenching Machines (Contractor M/s BEC), Pkg-3 - Procurement of Silica Bricks & Mortar (Contractor M/s OCL), Pkg-4 - Procurement of Fireclay Bricks & Mortar (Contractor - 6 Parties), Pkg-5 - Oven Machines (Contractor M/s BEC) and Pkg-6 - Coal Handling & Coke Sorting Plant (Contractor M/s POWERMAX).
Under its modernisation and expansion plans, BSL has taken up the rebuilding of its two Coke Oven Batteries -- 1 & 2 -- at a total sanctioned project cost (Net of Cenvat) of Rs. 458.34 crores. Battery # 2 is at an advanced stage of completion. Battery # 5 has already been rebuilt a couple of years back.
The commissioning of this battery will play an important role in meeting the coke requirements of BSL and also supplement gas availability for other vital operations. Battery # 2, which has an identical design and shares a number of equipment with Battery # 1, is also expected to be completed within this year, bringing greater self sufficiency in coke for the plant.
BSL has eight Coke Oven Batteries in all, of which six were being operated while two batteries were under rebuilding. These 5-metre tall batteries have 69 ovens each. With coke as the primary reducing agent in the Blast Furnaces, the rebuilding of batteries 1 & 2 holds great significance for this important member of SAIL



   
SAIL bags Golden Peacock Environment Management Award 2011
New Delhi: Maharatna Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has received the prestigious Golden Peacock Environment Management Award for the year 2011. The award, in recognition of SAIL’s initiatives and achievements in the field of environment management, was presented by Union Minister for Home Affairs Shri P. Chidambaram on 24th June, 2011 at a glittering function held in the Capital.  
The Golden Peacock Awards, instituted by the Institute of Directors, New Delhi, are presented annually under various categories. The winners of the Golden Peacock Awards for 2011 were finalised by a jury headed by Justice P.N. Bhagwati, former Chief Justice of India and Member, UN Human Rights Commission, and presented on the occasion of the 13th World Congress on Environment Management.
Speaking at a panel discussion during the Congress on the theme of ‘Environmental Initiatives for Corporate Sustainability’, SAIL Chairman Mr. C.S. Verma said that the steel industry “is putting in concerted efforts and adopting a multi-pronged strategy” to minimise the emission of greenhouse gases and to achieve greater sustainable practices. Giving examples of SAIL’s achievements in this endeavour, he pointed out that in the last four years the company has succeeded in reducing particulate emissions by 52%, specific water consumption by 11% and specific energy consumption by 5%, and increased solid waste utilisation by 18%.   
SAIL has continuously been taking proactive steps in holistic environment management and preservation. The Corporate Environmental Policy of SAIL also emphasises upon the company “conducting its operations in an environmentally responsible manner, complying with applicable regulations and striving to go beyond”. In accordance with the National Environment Policy, the company has built a management system at its different plants and units for further environmental protection, including acquisition of certification under ISO:14001. All major units of SAIL, covering both production and service departments, are ISO:14001 accredited. In addition, the townships of Bhilai, Rourkela and Salem Steel Plants have also been certified to ISO:14001.
To improve the environment inside its plants and their surrounding habitat, SAIL has put in best efforts such as regular maintenance and consistent operation of air pollution control systems, effluent treatment plants, recycling of solid wastes and adoption of cleaner and environment friendly technologies. The concerted efforts have resulted in resource conservation, compliance to regulatory requirements, waste reduction, increase in green cover, etc. SAIL has effectively adopted waste minimisation strategies, including conservation at source, recovery and recycling, to manage the wastes associated with steel making.
Recently, SAIL’s Bhilai Steel Plant installed a 30 million litres per day (MLD) sewage treatment plant at a cost of approx. Rs. 41 crore using inhouse resources in order to achieve ‘zero effluent discharge’ target. The scheme is expected to reduce dependence on the Chhattisgarh government’s Water Resources Department for additional water requirement in future for BSP’s expansion schemes. The recycling of 30 MLD of treated water for industrial use will approximately save Rs. 3.94 crore per annum.
Joining hands with the Ministry of Environment & Forests’ Ozone Cell and UNDP, SAIL took up an umbrella project for replacement of carbon tetrachloride (CTC) used as a cleaning solvent by trichloroethylene (TCE) at six of its steel plants. The objective of this project was to phase out the use of 268 metric tons (approx.) of CTC being used at the Oxygen Plants and Electrical Repair Shops of these selected units for cleaning of storage tanks, electric motors, cylinders, piping, etc.
Extensive afforestation programmes have been carried out by the company in all its plants and mines to develop sinks for absorbing air and noise pollution. More than 17.5 million trees have been planted at the SAIL plants and mines since inception. Keeping pace with 21st century environmental agenda of sustainable development, SAIL has spent nearly Rs. 90 lakh on a programme for ecological restoration of degraded eco-systems over a period of five years up to 2010. Under the programme, 154.42 acres of limestone mined-out area at Purnapani, 11.36 acres of iron ore mined-out area at Kalta, and 27.79 acres of iron ore mined-out area at Barsua have been restored. 222,376 saplings at Purnapani, 24,000 saplings at Barsua and 12,000 saplings at Kalta have been planted under the programme. Species planted have shown lush growth. At all three locations, nurseries have been developed for raising saplings. In addition, pisciculture is being practiced in five abandoned quarries filled with water at Purnapani, by releasing 8 lakh fingerlings, mainly the species of fish such katla, rohu and mrigal. An automatic solar meteorological station has also been put up at Purnapani as a part of the project.


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