Japan to close over 7 million tons of blast furnace capacity within two years

 In recent years, due to slowing steel demand, Japan has been shutting down blast furnaces or pushing to decommission older blast furnaces, and has committed to operational optimization, focusing on more competitive assets and products.

In September 2020, Nippon Steel Corporation, Japan's largest steel manufacturer, decommissioned its 1.5 million t/y (2,150m3) blast furnace No. 2 at its Kyushu plant (Yawata). Previously, blast furnace No. 2 was mothballed as part of a temporary production reduction plan due to a sharp drop in steel demand due to the new crown pneumonia epidemic. Meanwhile, Nippon Steel suspended operations at a smelting plant at its Kyushu plant, including bloom production facilities. In September 2021, Nippon Steel will completely shut down the upstream and midstream facilities of the Setouchi Plant (Ku), including the 2 million tons/year No. 1 blast furnace (2650m3) and the 1.6 million tons/year No. 2 blast furnace (2080m3). At the same time, the company also shut down a blast furnace (3700m3) with a capacity of 2.1 million tons/year at its Kansai plant (Wakayama).

Japanese steelmakers will continue to shut down blast furnaces. JFE Steel plans to close its refractory raw materials, steelmaking and rolling divisions at its East Japan plant (Keihin) in September 2023. Among other JFE Steel facilities, the 4.2 million tonne/year No. 2 blast furnace, a converter steelmaking workshop for slab production and an electric furnace steelmaking workshop for billet and bloom production will also cease operations. Nippon Steel plans to decommission a 4.2 million ton/year blast furnace (5270m3) at the East Japan Plant (Kashima) in early 2025, which will be the company's fifth blast furnace to be deactivated based on a capacity optimization plan.

In 2020, the No. 5 blast furnace of JFE Steel's West Japan Plant (Fukuyama) with a capacity of 3.6 million tons/year will be put into operation, and the expansion and upgrade of the 3.8 million tons/year No. 4 blast furnace of the West Japan Plant (Kurashiki) will be completed in 2021. However, the new capacity cannot fully compensate for the withdrawal of production capacity. It is estimated that Japan has withdrawn more than 7.3 million tons/year of ironmaking capacity since 2020, while the newly added capacity is about 4 million tons/year. An additional 8.4 million tonnes/year of ironmaking capacity will be shut down by 2026, following the successful implementation of planned projects.

Under the general trend of decarbonization, Japan may continue to reduce steel production capacity. However, it is difficult for Japan to completely abandon the mainstream blast furnace-converter production route, because there are certain difficulties in introducing a more sustainable DRI-electric arc furnace route, including the high cost of imported energy. Currently, the Japanese government and steelmakers are formulating a decarbonization roadmap and developing decarbonization technologies with the aim of significantly reducing their carbon footprint while preserving traditional production methods.

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Article Source:Japan to close over 7 million tons of blast furnace capacity within two years
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Refractory bricks used for different parts of blast furnace

 Blast furnace is the main equipment for ironmaking, and clay brick is the earliest furnace lining material used in blast furnace. Blast furnace has the advantages of large output, high productivity and low cost, which is unmatched by other ironmaking methods.

The refractory materials and refractory bricks used in diffreent parts of blast furnace are as follows.

(1) Furnace hearth
One of the main functions of furnace hearth is to hold molten iron safely. The hearth refractory material must be stable enough when the temperature is highter than 1500 ℃. So for furnace hearth bottom, we need to choose carbon brick which has the advantages of anti-molten iron penetration, good melting, alkali resistance erosion, good thermal conductivity. And we can use small carbon brick to take the place of large carbon block, or construct ceramic rings on the carbon bricks.

(2)Tuyere zone and bosh
Temperature in tuyere area and furnace bosh is the highest in the blast furnace. The hot gas temperature produced in front of the tuyere rises at a high speed, the temperature can reach 1600 ℃ and higher. When 1450 ~ 1550 ℃molten iron and slag flow furnace hearth and finally flow to the furnace bosh, there will be a variety of metallurgical reactions happen in this area violently. Those two areas need refractory materials with characteristics of good resistance to high temperature and slag erosion, good alkali resistance, anti carbon dioxide and anti water oxidation. China refractory bricks we can use in this area are corundum brick, alumina carbon brick, hot pressed semi-graphite carbon brick, SiC brick and so on.

(3)Furnace bosh and lower furnace stack
The lower furnace stack is the position of root cohesive zone where the temperature is quite high, but slag layer or stable slag layer self protection can not be formed. This are need ds refractory materials which can bear severe temperature fluctuations, and also has advantages of alkali metal erosion, zinc erosion, carbon monoxide erosion, etc. What’s more, refractory materials used in furnace bosh and lower furnace stack should have good thermal shock stability, high temperature resistance, good alkali resistance and other properties. Refractory bricks can be used in these two areas are high alumina brick, corundum brick, alumina carbon brick, SiC brick and so on.

(4)The middle and upper part of furnace stack
The furnace stack middle part’s temperature is lower than that of furnace stack lower part. People genarally use high alumina brick, corundum brick and silicon carbide in furnace stack middle part. The temperature in furnace stack upper part is relatively lower than other parts, and it mainly affected by the wear and impact of the burden, alkali metal, zinc and carbon deposition erosion. This area requires refractory material has advantages of good wear resistance, good alkali resistance and good thermal shock stability. Refractory bricks can be used in this area are clay brick, high alumina brick, sillimanite brick, corundum brick. There is a trend that cooling walls are taking the place of refractory bricks used in blast furnace.

Article Source:Refractory bricks used for different parts of blast furnace
Company name:Henan Xinmi Changxing Refractory Materials Co.,Ltd
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Function of taphole clay

Stemming is used to seal the taphole refractory, at present there are water stemming and can be divided into two types: anhydrous stemming, the former is used in low pressure, strengthening smelting degree is not high, the small blast furnace, the latter in high top pressure, high degree of intensification of smelting of large and medium blast furnace.
Stemming form can be divided into two parts - refractory aggregate and binder. Refractory aggregate means corundum, mullite insulating firebrick, flint clay and other refractory raw material and modified materials such as coke, mica.Binder for water or organic material such as tar pitch and phenolic resin, also adding SiC Si3N4, expansive agent and additive, etc.Aggregate in a certain size and weight matrix, under the harmonic of binder has certain plasticity, thus can through the mud gun hitting iron mouth to block the molten iron.
With water as a bond is called the water stemming, tar, organic material such as resin as binder, called anhydrous stemming.

Main functions:
1) Wall, taphole requirements stemming good filling and sintering;
2) The stability of the iron to stemming easy open hole and resistance to erosion, erosion;
3) Protecting hearth, demand stemming rapid heating without crack, and the combination of old and new stemming high strength;
4) The opening performance is good, open machine drilling bit easily;
5) Moderate plasticity, facilitate mud gun operation and the formation of iron mouth balling;
6) Good volume stability, small volume change at high temperature, not contraction due to leakage of hot metal.

Anhydrous stemming advantages:
1) High strength, and maintain the stability of blast furnace condition (iron mouth depth, the tapping time fluctuations, whole taphole wind rate, etc.) is of great importance, which makes the blast furnace has a production base.
2) Slag resistance is strong.Stemming consumption is low, the general water cannon is one 5 of the mud.
3) It has a certain expansion performance. Have appropriate porosity and strength, can adapt to more than 2000 m.The large blast furnace use.
Article Source: Function of taphole clay
Company name: Henan Xinmi Changxing Refractory Materials Co.,Ltd
Email: sales1@chinafirebrick.com
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