SID

In India the steel sector is growing at a robust rate with significant increases in both production and consumption. Crude steel production grew at more than 10% annually from 34.71 million tones in 2002-03 to 50.82 million tones in 2006-07. This growth was driven by both capacity expansion and by capacity utilization. During 2006 India emerged as 5th largest crude steel producing country in the world as against 8th position three years back. India the world’s largest producer of direct reduced iron (DRI) or sponge iron is also expected to make lead in the near future.

GPIL also has its coal-based sponge iron manufacturing facility. Backward integration has given GPIL the distinction of being one of the sponge iron manufacturer with its own captive raw material resources and power generation. This has enabled GPIL to monitor both price and quality of its products.

At sponge iron plant at GPIL the iron ore and dolomite, in predetermined quantities, are taken to a common belt conveyor through weigh feeder to the pre-heater forming an adjunct to the rotary kiln for sponge iron manufacture where coal acts as reluctant. The sized coal through a weight feeder is led directly to main rotary kiln and it is not pre-heated.

The waste hot gases emanating from the sponge iron kilns contain substantial heat values and combustibles along with carbon particles, unused CO etc. It is possible to exploit gainfully such heat contained in fuel gases to preheat the charge before it moves to the kiln proper and subsequently utilize the hot gases to produce steam to generate power in a suitably designed Waste Heat Recovery System (WHRS).