Nippon Steel Improves Coke Making Cost, Environmental Impact

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced on Friday Nippon Steel completed the construction of first commercial plant of Super Coke Oven for Productivity and Environmental enhancement toward 21st century, SCOPE21, for which METI supported the development from 1994-2003, at Oita works. The process is next generation coke oven technology using the world first innovative technology for better environmental harmony. The process can use lower grade coal through the rapid heating and fine coal forming technology while the process can reduce emission of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide. The process can reduce the energy by annual 100,000 kilo litters in crude oil and the carbon dioxide emission by 400,000 tonnes. The process improves the coking property of lower grade coal by the rapid heating, which enables to use more non and semisoft coking coal to 50% of coke material from current 20%. The process can reduce the coking time with around 900 degree of centigrade coking improving the productivity to 2.4 times of traditional process. The process reduces the energy consumption by 21% and NOX emission by 30% through the better sealing of oven and better heating process. The higher utilization of lower grade coal is expected to reduce operating cost when the coking coal price jumps. Nippon Steel stared the construction of annual 1 million tonnes of coke oven with the technology at Oita in 2006 and holds completion ceremony for the construction in May 30. METI supported the development with around 8.2 billion yen of subsidiary while New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) supported around 1.8 billion yen for the process. Japan Iron and Steel Federation and Center for Coal Utilization developed the technology with such support.