AK Steel has built a recycling facility at its Ashland, Ky., Works. The plant will process and recycle waste materials from the plant's blast furnace, cokemaking operation and continuous caster. The new facility is capable of recycling up to 250,000 tons of waste per year and recovering iron and carbon units that would otherwise be sent to a landfill.
Waste materials processed in the recycling facility will be converted to cold-bonded briquettes, which will be used as feedstock at the plant’s blast furnace.
The company expects the use of the briquettes to reduce the amount of purchased raw materials needed at the operations.
"Installation of this recycling facility at Ashland Works is another step in AK Steel's long-term raw materials strategy," said James L. Wainscott, president and CEO of AK Steel. "The new facility will provide AK Steel with an economical way to recycle valuable raw materials which will reduce operating costs and result in a significant benefit to the environment."
National Recovery Systems, East Chicago, Indiana, which also owns and operates it, constructed the waste recycling facility. AK Steel has awarded a multi-year contract to NRS, which owns and operates four similar waste recycling facilities in the United States and licenses its technology in the United Kingdom. The new recycling facility started operations Sept. 26.