Steel Products
US Steel Starts New Environmentally Friendly Coke Ovens
Written by Sandy Williams
February 4, 2013
Written by: Sandy Williams
U.S. Steel celebrated the start-up of a new battery of environmentally friendly coke ovens at its Clairton plant on Thursday. The $500 million improvement project replaces three 50 year old coke ovens with new technology designed to significantly reduce emissions and improve the region’s air quality.
The C Battery construction was begun in 2008 and uses technology from UIhde Corp of America, a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp. In the process of turning coal into coke, the coal must be baked in an oxygen-free environment at high temperatures and it is the emissions from that process that foul the air. The new technology contains emissions using negative pressure that is tightly controlled from when the coal is put in and coke is removed. The battery design decreases the number of ovens required, reducing the opportunity for emissions to be released.
The project also includes two new low-emission quench towers, used to cool the hot coke after it is removed from the oven, which will help reduce pollution from its other batteries.
An added benefit of the process is coke oven gas that is captured and piped to two other U.S. Steel facilities in Mon Valley.
“We recycle enough gas to provide 40 million mmBTUs,” said Chairman and CEO John Surma. “That’s enough energy to power 400,000 American households annually.”
Improvements at the plant are expected to help U.S. Steel reach federal air quality standards two years sooner than expected.
The C Battery will add 960,000 tons of coke per year to Clairton’s annual production of 4.5 million tons. Upon completion of a coke substitute plant at Gary Works in Indiana, U.S. Steel will be able to supply all of its own coke requirements.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Products
US and Canadian rig counts inch higher
Baker Hughes reported higher oil and gas drilling activity this week in both the US and Canada.
Global steel production falls to near two-year low in September
World crude steel output declined for the fourth-consecutive month in September, slipping 3% from August to an estimated 141.8 million metric tons (mt), according to the latest figures from the World Steel Association (worldsteel).
Market sources say regional activity is dictating plate demand
Demand for plate on the spot market remains soft by comparison to years past. However, this week regional demand variations grew more pronounced.
Battery #14 at USS Clairton to restart on Oct. 23
U.S. Steel plans to restart battery #14 at the Clairton Coke Works plant on Thursday, ending its idling period. Battery #14 was hot idled following the explosion at coke oven batteries 13 and 14 on Aug. 11. The Mon Valley Works Clairton plant has completed the necessary repairs. It expects the battery to restart during […]
Findings from Clairton investigations prompt USS to revise safety protocols
U.S. Steel (USS) said it’s been strengthening its safety protocols as findings from investigations into the causes of a deadly explosion at USS Clairton Coke Works on Aug. 11 materialize. The Pittsburgh, Pa.-headquartered steel producer stated that an independent investigation conducted by the Environmental Design & Testing Corp (EDT) produced findings aligned with the company’s […]
