At a time of the performance indicators growth, Integrated Iron and Steel Works “Zaporizhstal” has achieved a stable tendency to reduce natural gas consumption in production over the last three years. 331 million cubic meters were used in 2012, 236 million cubic meters in 2013, and in 2014 it was only 206 million cubic meters.
The Works has managed to reduce natural gas consumption due to implementation of energy-efficient measures on equipment modernization, usage of modern automated systems for utilities consumption control and implementation of energy-saving technologies at all production process stages.
Among the largest measures implemented at “Zaporizhstal” 2013 through 2015 are substitution of natural gas with coke gas in rollshops of the Works in 2014 (saving constituted 12.3 million cubic meters per year), reducing natural gas consumption during melting period down to 0 cubic meters per hour during blasting of the tank with oxygen at the open hearth furnaces with 500 tonnes capacity (saving constituted 6.5 million cubic meters per year), implementation of individual parameter charts for steelmaking furnaces (saving constituted 1.1 million cubic meters per year, as well as a number of other measures.
A computerized system for commercial accounting of energy resources has been operating at the Works since 2014. Its purpose is to automate the processes on determining the volume of transferred and consumed fuel and energy resources and to prepare reports on consumption rates in “Zaporizhstal” energy supply system. Obtained data allows to significantly reduce inaccuracy when drawing up an instantaneous balance of expenditure, thus to promptly react to deviations (to eliminate excessive consumption of fuel and energy resources, gas and compressed air leaks).
A contest on energy saving and efficient use of fuel and energy resources is held at “Zaporizhstal”. Employees of the Works have submitted 52 initiatives over three years with total economic effect constituting over USD 16 million. The best initiatives are implemented into production.
The Works is also a participant of the world-wide project World Steel Association; its goal is to determine intensity of energy usage in own production of iron and steel and in subsequent processes in gigajoules (GJ) per metric ton of manufactured products for comparing the obtained energy consumption with a reference enterprise. Energy management system in accordance with the ISO 50001 standard is active at Integrated Iron and Steel Works “Zaporizhstal”.