At the Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works, the repair of the BTA-4 hydrochloric acid regeneration unit, which excludes discharges into the Dnipro River, is underway.
This was reported by the press service of the Metinvest group of companies. It is noted that the ecological facility at Zaporizhstal was put into operation in 2014.
"The unique equipment made it possible to completely avoid the discharge of neutralized pickling solutions from the cold rolling shop into the Dnipro basin. The hydrochloric acid pickling method uses a closed production cycle: the solution of hydrochloric acid used for metal pickling does not enter the drains, but is directed to the regeneration unit and after recovery and cleaning is reused in production," the message said.
The company notes that the BTA-4 operating and maintenance personnel – craftsmen, herbalists, fitters and electricians – were trained at the base of the metallurgical enterprise "ISD Dunafer" (Hungary).
"After the explosion of the Kakhovskaya HPP on June 6, it is especially important that such environmental protection equipment works stably and without interruptions. To this end, every two years, specialists carry out a comprehensive overhaul of one of the two reactors of the hydrochloric acid regeneration plant. It continues even now: in April, the company's specialists began the first stage of repair works," the press service added.
At the first stage, the specialists of the cold rolling shop Zaporizhstal and the service center Zaporizhvognetryv perform the following works:
- replacement of the lining of the lower part of the reactor and the cyclone,
- replacement of acid-resistant refractory cyclone masonry,
- replacement of the support ring and pipe.
At the second stage, in the fall of this year, specialists will replace the main elements of the unit – nozzles, burners, conveyors, as well as transfer the acid-resistant refractory lining of the reactor. As a result, reliability will increase and constant operation of the equipment will be ensured.
"At our site, the reactors work alternately: while one reactor is in operation, we carry out repairs to the other. In this way, high reliability of the equipment is ensured. In addition to capital repairs, ongoing repairs are carried out regularly – every three months. This is important both from the point of view of ensuring a stable production process, as well as the correct operation of important environmental protection equipment," said Leonid Alekseenko, Head of the Hydrochloric Acid Regeneration Section of the CCP.
The equipment will be put into operation already this month, after the completion of the first stage of major repairs. The plant allocated more than UAH 24 million for the overhaul.
As EcoPolitic reported earlier, the Metinvest group joined the government platform regarding the green restoration of the steel sector of Ukraine. This will help restore industry through an ecological, green transformation of steel production, support the national economy and EU decarbonization programs.
