APPCB

PUBLICATION 129

INFORMATION BULLETIN

SEPTEMBER, 2006

CLEANER PRODUCTION AND CODE OF PRACTICE IN SPONGE IRON SECTOR

BACKGROUND Sponge iron also called Direct Reduced Iron (DRI), is mostly used for steel making through conventional melting and treatment process in Electric Arc Furnace or Induction Furnace. It is used widely as substitute to steel scrap. Due to shortage of steel scrap in the country coupled with the extremely volatile international pricing of steel scrap, more and more DRI is now used for steel making in India. Raw materials like iron ore, coal and dolomite are available at competitive prices in the country. As of today about 20 per cent of the sponge iron produced worldwide is made in India. There were 23 plants in 2000-2001, with a production capacity of 6.97 million tonnes (MMT). Today there are 206 sponge iron plants in the country with a capacity of a staggering 19 MMT. It was estimated in the near future that the country will have 431 sponge iron plants with a production capacity of 44 Million Tonnes. This is a very serious number from the environment and health perspective. The major problem with the Indian sponge iron industry is basically from coal-based sponge iron manufacturing. "Coal-based sponge iron production is extremely polluting. A typical 100 TPD sponge iron plant consumes 160-175 tonnes of iron ore, 120- 150 tonnes of coal, 3.5-5 tonnes of dolomite and 120-160 tonnes of water, everyday. In return they emit 180-200 tonnes of carbon dioxide, 1-2 tonnes of dust (if they are equipped with required pollution control equipment, otherwise dust emissions can be as high as 10 tonnes per day), 25-30 tonnes of char, 10-15 of dust from pollution control equipment and 2.5-3.5 tonnes of kiln accretion every day. The total pollution load from a 100 TPD plant can be as high as 230-250 tonnes per day. There are 22 sponge iron industries in A.P. located in Mahaboobnagar(10), Nalgonda(4), Krishna(2), Khammam(1), Vizianagaram(2), Chittoor(1), Kurnool(1) and Ananthapur(1) Districts. There is a mushrooming growth of Sponge Iron Industry especially in Mahaboobnagar District after 2002. All the plants in AP are Coal based. __________________________________________________________________
ANDHRA PRADESH POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD, CLEANER PRODUCTION CELL

SEMINAR ON SPONGE IRON INDUSTRY: A One day seminar on cleaner production and code of practice in sponge iron sector in Andhra Pradesh was conducted by APPCB on 18th August 2006 at A.P. Pollution Control Board, Head Office, Hyderabad. During the seminar the Cleaner Production options, waste minimization techniques for the benefit of Sponge Iron sector and to suggest recommendation for growth of industry in harmony with environment were deliberated. This seminar was graced by Dr. B. Sen Gupta, Member Secretary, CPCB. Delegates from sponge iron industry sector, various committee members of APPCB and technical & scientific staff of APPCB have attended this Seminar. Sri Rajeshwar Tiwari, I.A.S., Member Secretary, APPCB has addressed the gathering. WHAT IS SPONGE IRON The process of sponge iron making aims to remove oxygen from iron ore. When that occurs, the departing oxygen causes micro pores in the ore body making it porous. The final product, when observed under a microscope, resembles a honeycomb structure looking spongy in texture and hence, this product is called Sponge Iron. TECHNOLOGY Sponge iron is produced by reduction of iron ore in the solid phase using either solid (non coking coal) or gas (Reformed natural gas or coal gasification) as reductant. Besides supplying the reducing agents, namely carbon monoxide and hydrogen, the energy requirement for the reduction reaction is also supplied by a part of the reductant as fuel. Sponge iron plants are based on two major commercially established technologies, namely coal based rotary kilns and gas based shaft furnace reactors. The coal based rotary kilns produced DRI lumps / pellets being more stable can be stored for longer time. The gas based shaft furnace produces DRI that needs to be used immediately or converted to blocks of Hot Briquette Iron (HBI) that can be packed and stored for longer time. Coal Based Technologies: Iron ore (Hematite) and non-coking coal are the prime raw materials for the production of sponge iron. The feed material consisting of pre-determined quantities of iron ore, coal & lime stone is fed continuously to the rotary kiln at the feed end. Due to its inclination and the continuous rotation of the kiln, the charge moves from feed end to discharge end. The temperatures required by the process are maintained and controlled by predetermined quantity of combustion air injected in to the kiln through air tubes along the length of the kiln. The discharge end of the kiln requires high temperatures of 950C to 1050C to be maintained. For this purpose additional fuels such as oil, gas or fine grained coal along with air are blown through the central burner/ coal throwing pipe at the discharge end of the kiln. The flow of the gases is counter current to the material flow. The kiln is usually operated with slight positive pressure to prevent intrusion of the unregulated air. During the passage of the material through the kiln, iron ore lumps / pellets and coal get dried and preheated to the reduction temperature in the initial stages and progressively iron ore is reduced by carbon monoxide generated from the coal under control combustion conditions. When the charge reaches the discharge end of the kiln the __________________________________________________________________
ANDHRA PRADESH POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD, CLEANER PRODUCTION CELL

reduction of the iron ore will almost be completed. The chemical reactions which take place in the kiln are C + O2 CO2 + C 3Fe2O3 + CO Fe3O4 + CO FeO + CO CO2 2CO 2Fe3O4 + CO2 3FeO + CO2 Fe + CO2

The process flow sheet of coal based technology is shown below.The metallised product and excess, unburnt coal normally called char is discharged from the cooler. In the cooler the product is cooled to around 100C by indirect water spraying before discharging to the open air. The cooler discharge material is taken to product separation system where it is screened and magnetically separated into sponge iron (magnetic) and char (non magnetic). The hot gases from the kiln pass through dust settling chamber, where heavier particles of dust settles down located below the ABC (After Burner Chamber), where the unburnt carbon monoxide and carbon particles if any are burnt. The gases with finer fraction of dust (P.M. 30 gm/Nm3) pass directly through waste gases cleaning system or through waste gas heat recovery boiler and cleaning system as the case may be. Sponge Iron Manufacturing Process

Gas Based Technologies: The gas based technologies are capable of using either natural gas associated with oil or reducing gas derived from coal. The usage of natural gas for production of HBI is only limited to the western region of India due to availability of gas.

__________________________________________________________________
ANDHRA PRADESH POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD, CLEANER PRODUCTION CELL

Available Module Sizes in India Coal based plants are available in module sizes in the range of 50 TPD (15000 TPA), 100 TPD (30,000 TPA), 300/350 TPD (100,000/120,000 TPA) and 500 TPD (150,000 TPA). POLLUTION IMPACTS: Sponge iron units are highly air polluting industries. They also generate huge amount of solid waste as char from the process and fine dust retained in the air pollution control devices. The hot flue gas which flows in counter current direction of the materials inside the rotary kiln finally passes through ABC (After Burning Chamber) where residual carbon or CO is burnt by the excess air available at high temperature at about 1000OC. The heavier dust particles settle in dust settling chamber placed below ABC and the flue gas containing high quantity of fine dust particles (P.M. 30 gm/Nm3) is released to the atmosphere at a temperature of 900OC in the form of dense fume through a chimney. If no pollution control device is installed, it becomes a major source of air pollution, which is responsible for dust pollution in the surrounding area. Most of the fugitive dust and source emission from sponge iron process are invisible micro fine respirable particulate matter which causes varieties of human ailments like respiratory ailments leading to loss in work efficiency. Air Pollution is one of the biggest hazards from Sponge Iron plants where fine coal dust and fugitive emissions will play a vital role in damaging plants and health of the inhabitants if properly not controlled. Air Pollution Point Sources Kiln Flue Gases after ABC ( Control equipment ESPs / Bag Filters/ Wet Scrubbers) Emergency Stack / Safety Cap above the ABC to maintain positive pressure inside kiln and avoid CO related explosions Cooler Discharge Product House Iron Ore and Coal Crushing Fugitive emissions sources Raw material handling yard ( Unloading, stacking, reclaiming operations) Product discharge system (Cooler discharge conveyers transfer points, junction house, screens, magnetic separators, storage silo, truck loading and parking operations- Control equipment of water sprinklers, bag filters, covered product house, covered conveyor belt). The source of fugitive emissions and their control measures are given below:

__________________________________________________________________
ANDHRA PRADESH POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD, CLEANER PRODUCTION CELL

SI.No Sources of fugitive dust emission 1 Raw material handling & preparation area

2 3 4 5 6 7

9 10 11 12

13

14

15

Crushing and screening of coal (Coal circuit) Crushing and screening of iron ore (Iron ore circuit) All material transfer points and conveyor belt Discharge points of Raw material storage bins Raw material feeding point into kiln Pulse jet Bag Filter Coal injection point into kiln Pulse jet Bag Filter with recycling of coal fines back into the coal injection system Leakage from slip rings of the rotary kiln Realignment of the kiln and changing of seal/ packing materials during shutdown period Cooler discharge circuit Pulse jet Bag Filter Intermediate bins in between cooler Pulse jet Bag Filter discharge area and product separation unit Product separation unit Pulse jet Bag Filter Wind blown dust from solid waste dump Provision of boundary wall yard around the dump yard, covering by earth and automised water spraying on the dump area by rotating nozzles Handling of fine dust retained in the Air locking valves, enclosures, hoppers of the bag filters and ESP pneumatic conveyor system / pug mill/ mechanical dust handling system Transport roads Construction of Black topped/ concrete internal roads and approach roads. Installation of rotating type water sprinkling nozzles along the roads. Transport of materials/ solid waste Vehicles should be covered

Control measures prescribed Automised water spraying system. Work zone should be concreted Pulse jet Bag Filter & automised water spraying nozzles Pulse jet Bag Filter & automised water spraying nozzles Enclosures and Pulse jet Bag Filter Pulse jet Bag Filter

Even after installation all pollution control devices in the plant, the ambient air quality with regard to SPM and RSPM, do not meet the standard many times due to the following reasons: 1. 2. Bad house keeping, Internal and approach roads not black topped/ concreted, work zone not concreted. Loose dust periodically not removed from roads, which become airborne.

__________________________________________________________________
ANDHRA PRADESH POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD, CLEANER PRODUCTION CELL

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Unloading of raw materials, loading of chars and fined carelessly. Trucks not covered and there is spillage of materials on the road during transportation. Fine loose dust form the work zone and raw material and solid waste dump yards become wind borne during stormy weather. Leakage of flue gas through kiln cap in between power failure and start up of D.G. Bad maintenance and malfunctioning of ESP/ Bag Filters/ dust handling systems. Inadequate water sprinkling. ESP/ BF dust handling system not mechanized. Dust collection points under the hoppers properly not enclosed. Most of the sponge iron industries do not have dedicated team for proper house keeping and attending to pollution problems.

Solid Waste Generation Char & Dolo Char Flue Dust, GCT /GCP Plant sludge, Fly Ash and Kiln accretions CHAR & DOLA CHAR STORAGE SHED: The Production of Char & Dola Char will be 40% of the total production of Sponge Iron and this is easily salable to Brick Kilns, and power generation units. Maintain less stones and not to allow the material exposed to water. Cost of the shed is Rs.30 lakhs. Pay back period one to two years Quantity of dust collected per day is 40 tons and sold at Rs.200/- per ton. CLEANER PRODUCTION OPTIONS FOR SPONGE IRON INDUSTRY Selection of Quality Raw Materials: The quality of raw materials selected will effect quality of the product at the same time will determine the amount of pollution load generated and wastes generation. Hence the higher grade of raw materials (Iron ore, Coal and Dolomite) may be selected for better yields of Sponge Iron production. Waste Heat Recovery: Pre-heating system can be provided for raw material feed for units having production capacity of 50 TPD and 100 TPD to recover the waste heat from kiln flue gases. One such unit has already been in operation at Bellary, Karnataka. The following are the benefits of preheating system: 1. The cost of production as compared without pre-heater is low. 2. As the preheating system is provided which will ensure reduction of coal consumption in the preheating zone of the kiln and for the material may consume less time to reach in the reduction zone, this may enhance production.

__________________________________________________________________
ANDHRA PRADESH POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD, CLEANER PRODUCTION CELL

3. The unburnt carbon particles, volatiles, dust and left over carbon monoxide will be burnt in presence of excess air in the pre-heater, their by reducing the emission levels substantially. 4. The consumption of water will be substantially reduced in the GCT due to low flue gas temperature. Co-Generation: Sponge Iron plants of 2X100 TPD / 3X100 TPD and more capacities with FBC boiler will give consistency in power generation which can be used for production of steel as a downstream facility to make the project economically viable. This will not only help in gaining carbon credits for more financial gains but also ensures continuous power supply for plant operation. Automisation / Optimisation of Process: Entire process may be automated through Programmed Logic Control (PLC) to eliminate human errors causing pollution and affecting the quality of the product. The opening and closing of the cap of bypass stack shall be electronically recorded with time and duration. Interlocking facility should be provided between ESP operation and raw material feeding. Solid Waste Management: The various types of solid waste generated in the process can be used as a raw material for making use as detailed below 1. Coal fines collected in the coal crushing dedusting system can be mixed with char fines and made into briquettes which can be used as a fuel in any system. 2. Maximum utilization of solid waste like Char and Dolchar, for brick making, cement making should be taken up. 3. Fly ash collected from the waste gas cleaning system (ABC, GCT & ESP) can be used for making fly ash bricks. 4. Bag filter dust collected in the product circuit can also be used as activated carbon in edible oil refineries. 5. Kiln accretions and slag may be used in filling the low lying areas, abandoned mines and for road making. Energy Audit and Energy Conservation: In Sponge Iron industries, induction motors consume around 90% of the electricity used. Even a small increment in the efficiency of these motors can result in substantial savings which can be possible by adopting 1. System Power Factor should be increased by connecting proper capacitors 2. Variable frequency drives to be installed 3. Shedding of non-essential loads. Eg:- Lighting, Idle running of the motors (screen, crusher and product circuits) and pumps (water circuit). Training: The managements need training / awareness on different aspects of operational and maintenance of the entire plant for sustainable development of sponge iron sector. This will ensure competent technical manpower to properly manage the pollution control systems, process and quality of production of the Sponge Iron. APPCB GUIDELINES FOR SETTING UP OF SPONGE IRON UNITS __________________________________________________________________
ANDHRA PRADESH POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD, CLEANER PRODUCTION CELL

Based on the recommendations of the Technical Committee, APPCB has formulated the following guidelines for establishing the sponge iron plants: No habitation shall exist within 1 km from the periphery of the unit. In case of recreational areas the distance shall be 2 km from the periphery. No other Sponge iron plants shall be located within 1km. The distance between the boundary of the site and the boundary of the National Highway and State Highway shall be - 500 m Major District roads - 100 m, other roads - 25 m. The distance between the boundary of the site and the boundary of the gardens / horticulture / orchards / agricultural lands - 1 km. The built-up area of the plant shall not be more than 50% of total area. Greenbelt of 10 m width all around the plant premises shall be developed. In the case of sensitive areas the greenbelt shall be 25 mts width in the prevailing wind direction. The greenbelt development shall be done with Locally Suitable Evergreen plants. The SPM emission concentration in stack shall not be more than 100 mg/NM3. The control equipments ESP or bag filters will have 25% addition stand by stages for ESP or bag cells for bag filter. The height of the stack attached to the Rotary Kiln shall be minimum 75 m from the ground level for 100 T/day and 100 m for 200 T/day capacities. All sources of fugitive emissions i.e., loading and unloading operations, stock yard, transfer points of conveyors and retreat points shall be controlled fully i.e., with total enclosures and all transfer emissions shall be connected with Extractor inlet point and shall pass through a high efficiency Bag filter before discharging into the atmosphere. All internal roads shall be paved with Bitumen or Concrete. Separate energy meter for air pollution control equipment shall be provided. Iron ore and coal stocks shall be with totally covered shed. ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS AND CODE OF PRACTICE FOR POLLUTION PREVENTION FOR SPONGE IRON PLANTS AS PROPOSED BY CPCB. CPCB has proposed environmental standard and Code of Practice for Pollution Prevention for Sponge Iron Plants comprising of Stack Emission Standards, Stack Emission Standards from de-dusting units and Fugitive Emission Standards Code of Practice for Pollution Prevention for (i) Raw Material handling and Preparation (ii) Cooler Discharge and Product Separation Unit, Effluent Discharge Standards, Noise Levels Standards and Solid Waste Management. These will be notified shortly. RECOMMENDATIONS OF SEMINAR: The following were the recommendations of the seminar apart from the points mentioned at the Cleaner Production options. Iron ore benefication plants may be encouraged to be set up at mines itself with crushing facility suitable for sponge iron industry and fines pelletisation facilities. Washing of iron ore and pelletisation of -5mm size ore may be taken up at the plant site till the establishment of pithead ore benefication plants. __________________________________________________________________
ANDHRA PRADESH POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD, CLEANER PRODUCTION CELL

Habitation may come up within the one km radius after commissioning of the plants and there is possibility of public complaints, in spite of adhering to the siting guidelines at the time of taking CFE (NOC of APPCB). Exclusive IDAs / IEs may be developed for sponge iron industry considering the various factors like availability of waste lands, away from habitation and other environmental considerations and proximity to the raw materials and market. Concept of Eco Industrial Estates may be taken up in establishing the IDAs and IEs. All the sponge iron plants must aim at obtaining ISO-14001 certification which reflects on self regulation, better EMP and adoption of Cleaner Production & waste minimization technologies. For further information and assistance contact : Mr. S. Surya Prasad, B. Raghavendra Rao Mr. K. Ravi Kumar, Smt. Geeta Sapare. Cleaner Production Cell, A.P.Pollution Control Board, Paryavaran Bhavan, A-3, Industrial Estate, Sanathnagar, Hyderabad 500 018.

__________________________________________________________________
ANDHRA PRADESH POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD, CLEANER PRODUCTION CELL