The Ministry of Environmental Protection has bombarded steel mills with 2/3 sinters without dislodging* technology

Liu Bingjiang, Director of the Department of Pollution Control at the Ministry of Environmental Protection, stated at the 4th China Iron & Steel Energy Conservation and Emissions Reduction Forum in 2013 that “to prevent the occurrence of haze again on a large area, the 12th Five-Year Plan for Energy Saving and Emission Reduction shall be 'dead'. steel industry."

He pointed out that “strengthening the inspection of desulphurization equipment that has been built, supervising the normal operation of desulphurization facilities, limiting production limits for steel enterprises that have not desulphurization facilities, or even stopping production and rectification will be the top priority for environmental protection in the future.”

Desulfurization technology is generally low/

Since the beginning of this year, large areas of haze have continuously appeared in North China and East China, which are rare for many years.

“The iron and steel industry has an unshirkable responsibility.” Zhang Changfu, vice president and secretary-general of the China Iron and Steel Industry Association, said that the investment in energy-saving and environmental protection in the steel industry is insufficient. The investment in domestic key large and medium-sized steel enterprises is only 25.21 yuan per ton of steel, far below foreign countries. At the corporate level, some historically backward production capacities have not been eliminated, and the technological transformation of environmental protection facilities is difficult.

As the steel sintering machine that removes harmful impurities such as sulfur and phosphorus from the ore, it is the focus of environmental protection verification.

Sintering machine is not a machine, but it is a project composed of quicklime crushing chamber, ingredient warehouse, mixing warehouse and many other processes. At present, among the more than 1,000 sintering machines already in existence in the country, 389 desulfurization facilities are installed, accounting for about 1/3 of the total number of units.

“2/3 of the iron and steel sintering machines do not have desulfurization technology. The desulfurization effect of the installed desulfurization facilities is still very poor, and the average desulfurization effect is only 38.6%, far from the design value and the national emission reduction requirements. 2012 and 2010 In comparison, the effect of desulfurization is also lower by nearly 10%.” Liu Bingjiang accused steel companies of perfunctoring desulfurization equipment.

At present, the desulphurization market in the steel industry is chaotic and the quality of facilities construction is low. “The desulfurization technology for the flue gas of the sintering machine is varied and there are more than ten species, including the lime-gypsum method, the thiosulfur ammonia method, the magnesium method, and the unrecognizable 'his secret recipe'. There is no mainstream technology in the vast industry. A method of a company, a method of a sintering machine. Simple imitation, shoddy, low-quality and low-cost phenomenon is very common." Liu Bingjiang said, and some of the desulphurization facilities falsification is also one of the reasons for the weak energy-saving emission reduction of steel companies, there are Steel mills tamper with relevant data.

In the first and second months of this year, the General Department of Pollution Control of the Environmental Protection Department visited a local steel company in a place in southwestern China to see how shocking it was. “The repair rate of flue gas is low, and the issue of bypass leakage and discharge is prominent. Some enterprises have the problem of building energy-saving devices after the desulfurization tower is installed and exported.” Liu Bingjiang said.

According to data released by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, among the 20 cities with the most serious air pollution in the period from January to May, 17 cities have steel companies. "Every company uses evil and small, and it generates haze," Liu Bingjiang said.

Industry restructuring costs high /

For steel companies, the energy-saving and emission reduction curse has become tighter.

On June 14, the Standing Committee of the State Council announced ten measures for the prevention and control of atmospheric pollution. Liu Bingjiang revealed that during the many discussions on air pollution prevention and control measures, participants said that they must talk about the steel industry.

On June 18, the “Interpretation of Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law on Handling Criminal Cases of Environmental Pollution” issued by “Two Highs” stated that the act of restricting the demolition of pollution prevention facilities and the improper operation of pollution prevention and control measures will be severely punished.

Various ministries and committees have reached consensus on the use of environmental protection measures to eliminate backward production capacity. As one of the industries with serious overcapacity, whether it meets environmental protection requirements has become the key to the survival of steel enterprises. The newly revised steel industry pollutant discharge standard will be formally implemented on January 1, 2015. The distance between steel enterprises and new emission standards is only one and a half years left.

In this regard, the industry also has different voices. "I don't agree with the heavy emission reduction requirements, light policy support, heavy volume verification, and the use of light by-product resources." An industry insider who declined to give a name said to the reporter of the "Daily Economic News", "Can't just blindly Let steel companies learn from power companies."

A number of participants in the steel enterprises also told reporters that the steel companies did not have the ability to spread the cost of energy saving and emission reduction to the final price as the power companies. “As a result of policy support, the power companies have set a 15% 5% desulfurization price and a 8% denitrification price. However, the steel price is in line with the market, and in the economic downturn and the real estate industry is limited, prices cannot be raised.”

The desulphurization technology of steel enterprises is not active, obviously because of the "money" shortage.

According to statistics from the China Iron and Steel Association, the profits of the steel industry in the first four months of this year were 1.3 billion, 1 billion, 260 million, and 150 million respectively, showing a straight decline, and the majority of steel enterprises suffered losses.

The cost of desulfurization equipment generally accounts for about 30% of a sintering machine.

Liu Wenquan, senior engineer at the Raw Materials Division of the Smelting Raw Materials Division of the Planning and Research Institute of the Metallurgical Industry, told reporters that the investment standard for sintering machines is 1 square meter, 1 million yuan. Estimated by a 180-square-meter sintering machine commonly used in the industry, one station needs to invest 180 million yuan, desulfurization may require another investment of 50 million yuan, and equipment investment will exceed 200 million. The larger the sintering machine is, the larger the investment is. Large, but the introduction of foreign desulfurization technology will be more expensive.

In addition, operations also need to spend money. After desulphurization, tons of sinters increase by 10 yuan, while the profit per ton of steel is only the price of a bottle of mineral water. This is a big burden for steel companies. And there are many sinter machines that will be eliminated, and those below 90 square meters will face a comeback.

At present, the planning of desulphurization technology has not been introduced, and the limestone-gypsum process is the leading process for the national desulfurization of flue gas. According to Liu Wenquan, the technical plan is under the responsibility of the Environmental Industry Association and is expected to be introduced next year.

“On the one hand, the cost is high. On the other hand, the verification is tight. Under the influence of both sides of the capital and verification, steel companies have rushed to desulfurization technology, and the effect can only be observed.” Insiders told reporters.