OREANDA-NEWS. Ilyich Iron and Steel Works of Mariupol of the Metinvest Group started the major overhaul of the heat recovery boiler in 3000 Mill Shop. Project investments amount to UAH 5.7 million.

Specialists of Metinvest-PromService, a maintenance division, will, within 90 days, refurbish the key assemblies and utility lines, including the automated control system of the boiler. Using waste gases of continuous furnaces, the heat recovery boiler heats the air and water steam used by the rolling mills and the heat and power plant.

The update of the equipment will allow for lower natural gas consumption and make-up water losses. The increase in the temperature of the produced steam will improve the productivity and the energy efficiency of the Heat and Power Plant #2.  The major overhaul will allow to save over UAH 1.5 million per month on electricity and expensive natural gas.

The 3000 Mill shop operates four heat recovery boilers. The fourth boiler was repaired in April 2013, the second in July 2014; the first one be shutdown for the update in June this year.

Yuriy Zinchenko, general director of Ilyich Iron & Steel Works of Mariupol:

-  Steel makers have no resources for large projects today. Access to external borrowing is shut off.  We cannot have a full-scale modernization, when steel prices are close to the level of the cost of production, and state monopolies play dangerous games with tariffs for the industry.  Therefore, we focus on  low-budget quick payback repairs. Involvement of our internal contractor contributes to the savings.