NLMK embarks on overhaul of reheating furnace at hot strip mill

NLMK Lipetsk has begun an overhaul of its reheating furnace used for heating up steel slabs prior to rolling at Mill 2000. The upgrade will increase hot-rolled steel output at NLMK Lipetsk by 430,000 tonnes per year (+7%), improve product quality, halve energy consumption, and reduce greenhouse gas (CO2) emissions by 53,000 tonnes.

The unit will be overhauled without interrupting production operations or stopping the mill. The new furnace will be equipped with an automated control system based on a trainable mathematical model, which will adjust the temperature mode depending on specific steel grades. As a result of the overhaul, the furnace’s productivity will go up by 23% to 320,000 tonnes per hour (2.25 million tonnes per year).

Currently, the Mill 2000 reheating furnace section operates five units, and four of them have already been upgraded. Once the fifth overhauled furnace is launched, all the steel for hot rolling will be treated at highly efficient next-generation resource-saving units. The completion of the overhaul and the unit’s launch are planned for Q2 2023. Investment in the project will exceed RUB 5 billion.