The National Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Danieli Corus, a Netherlands-based mine have successfully conducted performance tests for blast furnace No.1 at Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) in Odisha on June 25, according to press release issued by SAIL.
The blast furnace is designed to produce 2,700mt of pig iron per day and the company overachieved the production target by 27pc. The furnace has produced a record daily volume of over 3,400mt since the start of the tests.
The blast furnace was refurbished and upgraded in accordance with the company’s modernization and expansion program, the company said.
With an aim to reach production level of 21mn mt steel by 2021, the inner volume of the furnace was increased from 1,139cubic meters to 1,710cubic meters, the design capacity increased from 438,000mt to 1mn mt, annually. These modifications helped to reduce the dependence on coal, improving the environmental footprint, the company said.