TRAINING PROGRAM ON POLLUTION CONTROL IN SPONGE IRON INDUSTRIES 20th - 22nd July, 2010

TRAINING PROGRAM ON POLLUTION CONTROL IN SPONGE IRON INDUSTRIES 20th - 22nd July, 2010

INTRODUCTION

With the rising global demand for steel there has been unprecedented growth of the sponge iron industry in India. Sponge iron, also referred as 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, hence coal based DRI plants are being established in large numbers.

The major problems with Indian sponge iron industry are that these are mostly coal-based units. Coal based sponge iron units are found to be extremely polluting. While globally gas based DRI is regarded as cleanest one, in Indian scenario majority of them are coal based. Sponge iron plants are categorized under “red categories3” industries which mean they have higher pollution potentials and cause serious health hazards. During operation it emits huge quantity of smoke containing oxides of sulphur and carbon, un-born carbon and silica particles. Similarly the processes also release extreme heat. The dust problem becomes aggravate when the electrostatic precipitator is not operated. Solid waste disposal is another major problem in sponge iron plants. Char, flue dust, GCP sludge and kiln accretions are the solid wastes generated from DRI plants. Char comprises unburnt carbon, oxides and gangue and is segregated from the product during magnetic separation. The materials deposited on the inner surface of kiln, comprising metallic oxides is called accretion. Flue dust is generated from air pollution control systems like DSC, ESP and Bag Filter. Sludge is generated from the GCP, if the plant is based on wet scrubber for dust treatment. The amount of char fines generated in the sponge iron plants are high because of the non- availability of good grade of coal in our country. The size of char varies in size of 0.5 mm to 3 mm and is thus difficult to handle. Apart from this, it takes a lot of area for disposal. A 100 TPD plants requires 10 acres of land annually for disposal of solid waste. In the absence of land, the industries sometimes are dumping this waste nearer to the crop filed, human settlement and in forest areas.

It has also been found that even if the sponge iron plants have the necessary pollution monitoring and control devices, there is lack of availability of competent manpower to run these systems. Keeping these problems in mind, the Department of Mining Engineering in association with Orissa State Pollution Control Board, Bhubaneswar is organizing a training program on “Pollution Control in Sponge Iron Industries” at NIT, Rourkela during July 20-22, 2010.

ABOUT NIT ROURKELA

National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela was founded as Regional Engineering College, Rourkela on 15th August 1961.The Institute was declared as National Institute of Technology with Deemed to be University status on 26th June 2002 and Institute of National Importance on 15th August 2007 by an act of Parliament. It is a highly prestigious institute with a reputation for excellence in research, consultancy and education at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels. The institute is striving to be known round the world for high academic standards and to be counted among the best technological institutes of India in terms of innovation, entrepreneurship and creation of intellectual wealth. The institute is spread over 262 hectares of lush green picturesque landscape, against a hilly backdrop, creating a tranquil environment within a completely residential campus for students and faculty.

The city of Rourkela is a bustling industrial town, cosmopolitan by nature and is well connected to all parts of the country by road and rail. It is en-route Howrah-Mumbai main line of South-Eastern Railway. NIT campus is approximately 7km from Rourkela railway station. Rourkela is also connected by Air via Ranchi and Kolkata.

DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING

The Department has been in the forefront of mining education, research and consultancy services in India. It is located in close proximity of many mineral and coal mines both opencast and underground. The Department has well qualified faculty and staff dedicated to applied research in the field of Mining Technology, Geomechanics, Mine Environment and Safety Engineering, Solid Fuels and Clean Coal Technology, Mining Geology and Mine Surveying. The Department has also excellent computing facilities with state-of-the-art softwares like SURPAC, FLAC-2D & 3D, UDEC and LABVIEW etc. The academic curricula is continuously revised to keep abreast of the industry needs as well as vision and an all round development of the students is aimed at through practical training, field camps and study tours, seminars, project work, inter institute students technical meets and a host of extracurricular activities.

COURSE CONTENTS

Sponge iron production, Fundamental and latest developments
Environmental laws and regulatory compliance requirements of sponge iron industries
Environmental management in sponge iron industries
EIA/EMP in sponge iron industries – Issues and Challenges
Air quality modeling
Waste heat recovery in sponge iron industries
Water conservation measures in sponge iron industry
Waste management in sponge iron industries
Stability of dump slopes
Operation and maintenance of air pollution control devices
Role of public hearing in EIA/EMP process
Hands on practice on air quality modeling
Techniques of online stack monitoring, ambient air and water quality monitoring
CDM vis-à-vis CO2 sequestration: State of the Art
Operation discipline and process control – an effective way towards pollution control

FACULTY

The course will be offered by the faculty members of NIT Rourkela. Environmental Engineers and Scientists from Orissa State Pollution Control Board, Bhubaneswar; Dept. of Forest and Environment, Govt. of Orissa; Environmental consultants and experts from IIT, Kharagpur and prominent industries have also given their consent to deliver specialized lectures on different subjects. Each session would be followed by interactive sessions on the subject matter.

COURSE COORDINATORS

Dr. H. B. Sahu
Associate Professor
Department of Mining Engineering
National Institute of Technology
Rourkela-769008, Orissa
Phone: 0661-2462606 (O) (O),
(+91) 9437245625 (M)
Fax: 0661-2472926, 2462999
E-mail: hbsahu@yahoo.co.in
hbsahu@nitrkl.ac.in