PANZHIHUA IRON AND STEEL FACILITY, CHINA

Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), and
China's State Planning Commission, undertook a joint venture project whereby Kawasaki
Steel's energy saving technology was incorporated into the Panzhihua Iron and Steel facility.
Panzhihua, located at the intersection of the Jinshajiang River and the Yalongjiang River in
the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, is in south west China's Sichuan Province.
Kawasaki Steel technologies are developed to be effective for protecting the natural
environment via energy saving and environmental conservation. It is these that are being
used as a showcase at the blast furnace at the Panzhihua Mill.
BLAST FURNACE TOP PRESSURE RECOVERY TURBINE
The blast furnace top pressure recovery turbine (TRT), started its operation in March 1998 as
an energy-saving model project. This model project was undertaken as a part of the Green
Aid Plan proposed by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry of Japan for energy
conservation and environmental protection in the People's Republic of China.
PANZHIHUA PROJECT TIMESCALE
Construction of the furnace began in early 1997 and was completed as scheduled in March
1998.
PLANT PRODUCTION
NEDO and China's State Planning Commission carried out this project jointly, with the actual
work consigned to Kawasaki Steel Corporation and Panzhihua Iron and Steel (Group)
Company. The project required the installation of TRT at the No.4 blast furnace of the
Panzhihua Iron and Steel (Group) Company to demonstrate the operation and promote
adoption of the TRT technology.
The No.4 blast furnace has a volume of 1,350 m3 and an output capacity of 2,500 tonnes/day.
This quantity of gas generated from the furnace peaks at 240,000 Nm 3/hr which reaches
pressures of 1.5 kg/cm2 and temperatures up to 140C. The dust density of blast furnace gas
(out-let of the dust catcher) is 5 g/Nm3.

TOP PRESSURE RECOVERY UNIT

The first of the main facilities is the top pressure recovery unit. This comprises a 6,100
kW(Dry gas running)/3,000rpm top pressure recovery turbine, and a 9,400 kVA/ 6.6kV /50Hz
generator.
The second is a BFG dry cleaning facility. This is made up of 276 bag filters made of heatresistance nyron, which conform to the following specifications- 300mm x 12m x 46
pieces/chumber x 6 chumber. The facility also includes a 22,000m 3 x 1,000mm H2O reverse
cleaning fan unit.
The blast furnace gas dry cleaning system was developed by Kawasaki Steel and adopts the
special bag filter and a sophisticated control system. By using this system, the power output
of top-gas-pressure-recovery-turbine was increased and using this system decreased the
abrasion of turbine blades.
LEAD CONTRACTORS
Kawasaki Steel was lead contractor on the project and both designed and installed the new
technology. The company produces approximately 10 million tonnes of crude steel annually,
and manufactures a diverse range of steel products, including sheets, plates, pipes, bars,
rods, and others as finished products. It therefore has considerable expertise at its disposal.
Foxboro, part of Invensys, was selected as the supplier of the automation solution to the
project.
THE BACKERS
Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) was
established in October 1980, immediately after the second oil crisis, as a semi-governmental
organization under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). The Panzhihua Iron
and Steel (Group) Corporation is one of the world's three largest vanadium producers and
began to develop high-speed rail steel in the 1990s. In May 2000, the company realised batch
production of high-carbonvanadium alloy high-speed rail steel, making it the first producer of
such rail steel in China. The rail steel, all developed by China itself, can match trains with a
speed of 200 kilometres an hour.

Map showing the location of the Panzhihua experimental steel

plant.

Process diagram of the way the blast furnace technology

works.

The Panzhihua steel plant will be located close to the Ertan

hydro-electric power station which will supply the bulk of its
electricity.

The steel and power developments at Panzhihua are expected

to make the city the biggest in western China.

The development at Panzhihua is part of China's astonishingly

rapid economic growth over the past twenty years. This, of
course, also provides it with its main markets.

The Panzhihua project is part of China's general picture of

rising steel production.

Process diagram of the way the blast furnace technology works.