ArcelorMittal, US Steelworkers Commission $63.2 Million Energy Recovery and Reuse Project

Representatives from ArcelorMittal and the United Steelworkers have jointly commissioned an “energy recovery and reuse 504 boiler project.” For close to three months, ArcelorMittal’s Indiana Harbor steel mill has been recycling blast furnace gas to produce high pressure steam used to power the facility. 

 

“ArcelorMittal is proud to have safely completed the project - one of only nine projects selected by the U.S. Department of Energy for critical funding,” says Wendell Carter, vice president and general manager, ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor. “Investments such as the DOE funding ensure the sustainability of steelmaking in Northwest Indiana, while supporting our commitments to energy efficiency and superior environmental performance.”

 

ArcelorMittal researched and identified an opportunity to transfer blast furnace gas from a flare at its no.7 blast furnace to a new boiler capable of generating steam and electricity. In November 2009, ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor was awarded a matching grant of $31.6 million from the U.S. Department of Energy under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for its proposed energy recovery and reuse 504 boiler project. 

 

The $63.2 million project involved the construction of a new water system and modifications to the mill’s existing no. 5 boiler house to add a high efficiency, energy recovery BFG-fired boiler that practically eliminates the flaring of blast furnace gas. The new boiler is located adjacent to and interconnected with the existing no. 5 boiler house. Existing equipment at no. 5 boiler house continues to operate as it has for many years, while the new boiler provides additional capacity to consume blast furnace gas and generate steam.