JFE Steel’s East Japan to Expand High Valued Steel Output

JFE Steel’s East Japan works tries to establish annual 9 million tonnes of raw steel output in fiscal 2008 starting April 2008 along with the effort to shift high valued products. The works tries to launch shaft furnace at Keihin area to melt ferrous scrap and to inject liquid natural gas to blast furnace at Chiba area for lower carbon dioxide emission. The works targeted 8.5 million tonnes of raw steel output under the 3-year plan to fiscal 2008. The works also tries to improve the high valued products rate for higher profitable operation. The works said at press conference on Wednesday the high valued products rate increased by 10 percentage points in April-September from same period of 2006. The works targets another 10 points increase for the high valued products rate in fiscal 2008. The rate of only one and number one products, which are the original products and no.1 share products, increased t0 1.6 times in October-March period compared with April-September 2006 and the works tries to increase the rate to 2 times. The works increases the raw steel output to annualized 9 million tonnes in October-March period and to 9 million tonnes for full year to March 2009 compared with 8.57 million tonnes in fiscal 2006. The works expends 1.4 billion yen for regenerative burner heating system for reheating furnace of hot strip mill of Chiba and around 5 billion yen for new sizing press machine and roughing mill motor of hot strip mill at Keihin. The works launches shaft furnace with annual 500,000 tonnes of output capacity to melt scrap in August 2008. The works expects the furnace, which can halve the carbon dioxide emission compared with blast furnace. The works also starts LNG injection to no.6 blast furnace of Chiba in August 2008 after the operation at no.2 blast furnace of Keihin. The works expects LNG use can reduce carbon dioxide emission by reducing coke and coal consumption. The 10,000 cubic meters per hour of injection could reduce annual 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emission.