Environmental and climate protection
ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe has defined environmental protection as a corporate goal in its Environmental Policy. The environmental protection activities of the company and its subsidiaries are based on the global EN ISO 14001 standard.
In fiscal 2007/2008, ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe spent some 368 million euros on water protection, air pollution control, recycling, noise control and soil protection.
In newbuild projects, environmental protection facilities now account for up to 30% of investment costs. A broad range of environmentally friendly products and comprehensive know-how about the use of environmentally friendly materials also make ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe an innovative partner for environmental technologies.
Climate protection
ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe is rising to the challenge of climate protection: On the one hand, production facilities and processes are being optimized to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the unavoidable minimum. On the other hand, the development of steel continues to ensure that its applications make an ever increasing contribution to climate protection. For example, lighter steel auto bodies save more CO2 over the course of their useful life than is generated in the production of the steel used. Modern electrical steel grades for transformers ensure 99% efficiency in the conversion of energy. Numerous steel applications in the renewable energy sector such as wind and water power or in photovoltaic systems demonstrate that steel material solutions are indispensable for effective climate protection.
In the manufacture of steel, CO2 is generated as an unavoidable byproduct during the reduction of iron ore using coke and coal. The amount of CO2 emissions in the steel industry is thus directly related to iron and steel production volumes. ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe has constantly decreased the use of coke and coal as reducing agents in recent decades through process optimizations. This has reduced CO2 emissions by 15% since 1990 and by as much as 40% since 1960. At less than 490 kilograms per metric ton of pig iron, the current level of reducing agent use is close to the technical limits.
- European emissions trading
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Under the European emissions trading system (ETS), the European steel industry as a whole (production of 200 million metric tons per year (Mt/a)) receives free emission certificates to reduce its competitive disadvantages compared with steel manufacturers in countries without an ETS such as China (500 Mt/a), Japan (120 Mt/a), the USA (90 Mt/a), Russia (70 Mt/a) or India (55 Mt/a). The amount allocated is oriented to the best plant standards in Europe to ensure that climate-friendly behavior is rewarded. The industry receives further certificates for the byproduct gases produced at the various stages of steel production. These certificates must be passed on without charge to end consumers who use the gases as energy sources.
The number of freely assigned emissions allowances is already calculated so tightly that additional certificates have to be purchased in normal production years. ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe is further impacted by the fact that emissions trading significantly increases the price of the electricity it purchases.
- Water pollution control
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ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe is committed to controlling water pollution and using natural water resources sparingly.
Large amounts of water of differing quality are needed for the various steps in the production of steel. ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe needs around 1.19 billion m3 of water. In practice, however, only around 66 million m3 of fresh water are needed per year. ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe operates water recirculation systems at all its sites enabling water to be reused up to 40 times before it either evaporates or is discharged as cleaned wastewater.
Alongside efforts to conserve water resources, minimize wastewater generation and dispose of wastewater efficiently, it is becoming increasingly important to deal safely with water-polluting substances in our plants. In addition to spending on necessary protective equipment in the form of collection facilities or double-walled plant components, intensive training of all employees who have to work with water-polluting substances is particularly important. All maintenance operations at ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe AG are specialist firms pursuant to Art. 19l Federal Water Act (WHG).
ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe is also a member of the “Monitoring Association of Metal Plant Operators” (Überwachungsgemeinschaft der Metallanlagenbetreiber – ÜMET), which was set up jointly by the steel industry and the German Iron and Steel Institute (Verein Deutscher Eisenhüttenleute – VDEh).
- Recycling
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The primary aims of recycling at ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe are the avoidance of waste or its recycling through optimized materials flow management. For example, around 97% of the blast furnace slag generated as a byproduct in hot metal production is granulated for use in cement production, where it results in savings in natural resources such as limestone and energy as well as lower CO2 emissions compared with the natural starting materials. Blast furnace and steel mill slags are also produced specifically as building materials, e.g. for road building or lake and river bank reinforcement, or as fertilizers.
At ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe, iron-bearing dusts and sludges which are generated during waste gas cleaning and wastewater treatment are directly recycled into pig iron and slag. To this end, the company has developed the Oxycup process in which iron-bearing dusts and sludges are first compacted into bricks which are then melted in the shaft furnace to produce pig iron and slag. This not only increases the iron recycling rate, but also reduces CO2 emissions by around 200,000 tons per year as well as saving raw materials and valuable landfill space.
- Air pollution control and noise protection
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Air pollution control and noise reduction are central tasks of environmental protection at ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe as they have direct, positive effects on the neighborhoods around the production facilities.
High clean air requirements make extensive waste gas cleaning essential. We have therefore fitted our production facilities with dust collection equipment which sets global technical benchmarks. Nevertheless, the threshold values of the EU Directive on Air Quality place particular demands on dust collection technology. Due to the closeness of our production facilities to residential areas, special emission reduction measures have to be taken. Under a voluntary action program, ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe has realized a raft of measures to further reduce particulate emissions.
ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe creates transparency with a modern emissions monitoring system. At our German facilities, the efficiency of the most important air pollution control equipment is continuously monitored and the data from these emission sources are evaluated online by a central computer and sent directly to the relevant supervisory authorities.
To improve the noise situation, all new equipment we install is designed to be low-noise. In addition, sound barriers have been built in many areas of the plant in Duisburg.
- Soil protection
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ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe ensures soil protection via a number of measures. These aspects are taken into account at an early stage in the planning of new production facilities. Soil protection plays an important role not only in the construction and operation of production plants, but also in their decommissioning. Modern plant technology minimizes soil pollution. Training programs teach employees how to deal safely with substances which could lead to soil pollution. The close integration of prevention and monitoring also plays a key role in water and air pollution control.
Around 35% of the land covered by the site of ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe AG in Duisburg comprises open areas or green spaces designed and maintained with a view to environmental aspects. Planted walls serve to reduce air and noise pollution while enhancing the appearance of the environment. Disused landfill sites and completed sections of those still in use are reclaimed and transformed into green spaces on an ongoing basis.