Posted on 15 Mar 2021
Pomina Steel’s new blast furnace plant has raised the Vietnamese steelmaker’s steel production efficiency and reduced production costs, Kallanish notes. It will also raise the quality of its long products.
Hot metal from the blast furnace is charged into the company’s existing electric arc furnace operations, meaning the company will reduce its scrap consumption and in turn reduce energy costs.
The BF/EAF operation, located in the Pomina 3 steelworks in southern Vietnam’s Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, is currently operating at around 80% of its 1 million tonnes/year design capacity. "The blast furnace operations are stable; but we are limiting its capacity because we are using solely local scrap in the furnace," a company source says.
The furnace can operate at a higher rate, but this means that the company would have to import scrap, which is currently around 15-18% more expensive than local scrap. The new furnace was commissioned in November last year.
Pomina has reduced its scrap consumption by 70-80% with the installation of the new blast furnace. The company has in total 1.5m t/y melting and 1.1m t/y rolling capacities. The new furnace’s operations will see the company produce 1.3-1.5mt of billet and 1.1mt of construction long products annually, including rebar and wire rod. These will include high-quality products for use in the construction of airports, high-storey buildings and roads. The company aims to boost exports to the ASEAN region and Canada.
Source:Kallanish
