Metinvest, an international vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical companies, and K1-MET, a leading Austrian research center in metallurgy, will participate in an international research project in the field of sustainability and circular economics for the recycling of metallurgical waste. Metinvest signed a letter of commitment to participate in the project.
The study will be conducted by an international consortium of industrial companies and research institutes. It will be aimed at extracting mineral and metal products from steelmaking dust and slag for reuse in production, as well as the effect of various concentrations of processed products on the quality of the final product. Methods of briquetting waste gas cleaning in steel production will also be studied.
Particular attention is planned to be paid to finding a solution for pyrometallurgical and mechanical treatment of fine-grained waste from the process gas purification of oxygen converters and electric arc furnaces. The ongoing transformation of the metallurgical sector from a carbon-based steel production chain (BF) to direct iron reduction and electric arc furnaces requires solutions for the mechanical treatment of flue gas dust.
As part of this study, the Metinvest Group, through the Metinvest Polytechnic University of Mining and Metallurgy, plans to participate in the development and testing of new technologies and methods to assess the potential of their commercial application for recycling waste instead of recycling it. Scientific staff of Metinvest Polytechnic will also participate in the research of the international consortium, scientific work and other areas.
K1-MET, as the leader of the consortium, intends to apply for project funding to the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG). The study itself is planned to be carried out in 2023-2027.
General Director of Metinvest Group Yury Ryzhenkov:
- Metinvest Group uses all available technologies to reduce environmental impact and production waste. We are delighted to be part of an international research project led by our partner K1-MET to continue this work. I am confident that this study will allow us to find new solutions that will take us one step closer to clean and waste-free metallurgy. And the participation of Metinvest Polytechnic employees in the project will be a breakthrough for the entire Ukrainian scientific community.
As a reminder, in July 2021, Metinvest signed a memorandum of cooperation with K1-MET to implement joint projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the steel industry according to the European Green Deal.
K1-MET CEO Thomas Buergler:
- Internationalization is an important strategic direction for K1-MET. Therefore, we are constantly looking for new partners in the scientific community and industry in order to expand our research network and increase our competence in the development of metallurgical and environmental processes. Cooperation with Metinvest is an excellent opportunity for K1-MET to continue developing innovative processes for the efficient extraction of valuable materials from metallurgical waste. Only by reusing valuable metal and mineral fractions in the production process can material cycles be closed, which will save primary resources and costs.
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K1-MET (Austria) is one of the world's leading research centers in the field of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy. For almost 20 years, the center has been cooperating with renowned Austrian and international metallurgical companies in the field of energy efficiency, circular economy and carbon neutral metal production. K1-MET and its partners are working on technology solutions to transform the European steel industry.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical companies that manages every link in the supply chain - from the extraction and processing of iron ore and coal to the production and sale of semi-finished products and finished metal products. It includes metallurgical and mining enterprises in Ukraine, the EU, the UK and the USA, as well as a distribution network in all key world markets. Metinvest's strategic goal is to become the leading vertically integrated steel producer in Europe, delivering sustained growth and profitability and investment returns above industry standards despite cyclical markets. In the first half of 2021, the Group had revenues of USD 8.5 billion and an EBITDA margin of 45%.
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