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Environmental
Management
Sustainability Report 2006 |
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Environmentally Friendly Manufacturing (2)
Building a Recycling-based Society
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To build a recycling-based society, the first
priority is to reduce the generation of waste to the maximum extent.
For waste whose generation cannot be prevented, it is important to
recycle the waste to whatever degree possible. Kobe Steel is actively
participating in the building of a recycling-based society. At works
and plants, efforts are being made to reduce waste by increasing product
yield and using waste plastic generated by society.
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| Reducing the Volume of Waste and Promoting Recycling |
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Kobe
Steel has promoted the recycling of slag and steel dust generated
in the steelmaking process. Since fiscal 1992, each location has drawn
up a comprehensive action program for recycling waste and has been
promoting waste reduction and recycling.
As a result, the recycling rate in 2005 was 95.6% for all of Kobe
Steel's works and plants, and 87.5% for 45 domestic companies in the
Kobe Steel Group.
In 2005 some of the dust that was stored for recycling purposes was
difficult to recycle and was disposed.
We will further suppress waste generation by developing new technologies
for difficult-to-recycle waste. |
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Volume of Waste,
Recycled Volume & Recycling Rate
(Non-consolidated)
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Voluntary Action Programs
Voluntary Action Programs in Industry |
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Industrial sector
(Trade association) |
Target |
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Iron
and steel
(The Japan Iron and Steel Federation)
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| 1. |
By 2010, reduce quantity
of final disposal of slag, dust, and sludge to 75%
of 1990 levels, to about 50,000 metric tons. |
| 2. |
Bring recycling rate of
steel cans up to 85%. |
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Aluminum
(Japan Aluminium Association)
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| 1. |
By 2010 cut quantity of
final disposal to about 17,000 metric tons.> |
| 2. |
By 2010 recycle more than
90% of aluminum dross residual ash. |
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Rolled
copper
(Japan Copper and Brass Association)
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Cut quantity for final disposal to below
3,000 metric tons by 2010. |
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Industrial
machinery
(The Japan Society of Industrial Machinery Manufacturers)
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Boost recycling rate of waste products
to 10% more than 1997 levels. |
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| Zero Emission Activities |
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Since 1997, Kobe Steel has been promoting zero-waste
emission activities to eliminate the final disposal volume of wastes
at works and plants.
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Iron and Steel Sector |
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Recycling of
waste materials
At the Kakogawa Works we are aiming for a zero-emission plant. Efficient
use is made of used refractories, waste oil, sludge and other byproducts.
Dust is turned into cement material, and sludge with a low iron content
is used for ornamental bricks. We have also developed a recycling
technology for dust with high zinc content, which was previously difficult
to recycle. At eco-stations, we collect and separate glass bottles,
aluminum cans and other materials.
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Recycling Rate (Kakogawa
Works)
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Slag Recycling
Kobe and Kakogawa works generate approximately 2.18 million metric
tons of blast furnace slag and approximately 960,000 metric tons of
converter slag annually. Both blast furnace slag and converter slag
are recycled into cement material, roadbed material and other uses.
In particular, blast furnace cement made from powdered slag is more
effective than regular cement in controlling the alkali-aggregate
reaction. It can also save energy during cement production and emit
less CO2. Customers highly value these qualities. Moreover, fine aggregate
for concrete made by adjusting the particle size of granulated blast
furnace slag is used as a substitute for natural sand, contributing
to environmental protection. |
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Granulated slag yard
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| Production Flow for Fine Aggregate for Concrete
from Blast Furnace Slag (Shinko Sand) |
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| Shinko Sand is listed
as a designated procurement item under the Law on
Promoting Green Purchasing. |
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| Examples of products made of Shinko Sand |
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Waste Plastic Recycling
In addition, Kakogawa Works also accepts waste plastic collected not
only in the works but also from outside in accordance with the Container
and Packaging Recycling Law. Kakogawa uses the waste plastic as a
reductant in the blast furnaces.
Because chlorine deteriorates the blast-furnace refractory and corrodes
steel, only low-chlorine waste plastic was used until recently. In
April 2004, the first commercial dechlorination facility for removing
chlorine in waste plastic was completed. The new facility makes it
possible to use more than 75% of the waste plastic as a reductant.
The chlorine removed is turned into hydrochloric acid, which is used
in the pickling line.
In fiscal 2005, Kakogawa Works recycled approximately 9,000 metric
tons of waste plastic.
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| Waste Plastic Disposal Flow |
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Coal Ash and Sulfur Oxide
Recycling
Nearly all the coal ash generated from coal-fired boilers is recycled
as cement material and composite roadbed material.
Through a reaction with coal in the exhaust gas desulfurizer, the
sulfur oxide in the exhaust combustion gas is utilized efficiently
to make gypsum.
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Dust Recycling
Dust generated at the steelworks is collected by dust collectors.
Nearly all the dust is recycled. Low-zinc dust is used in sintering
and pelletizing. High-zinc dust is turned into cement material.
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RPF Utilization
At Kakogawa Works, RPF is used as fuel for the circulating fluidized
bed boilers for power generation to reduce the amount of coal used.
RPF (Refuse Paper & Plastic Fuel): Solid
fuel consisting of used paper, waste plastic, and other materials.
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Fly ash recycling
At Kakogawa Works, in order to utilize fly ash generated from the
coal-fired boilers, pelletizing equipment, which makes steam-cultivated
spherical pellets called ashstone, was installed. Currently, ashstone
is utilized as a road material.
In December 2005 ashstone was registered with the New Technology Information
System (NETIS), a system for utilizing technologies in public works
projects. |
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Ashstone
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Welding Company |
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| At Fujisawa Industrial
Operations, waste materials are carefully separated for disposal and
activities to recycle resources are also promoted. One example of
this is sets of four containers "white, blue, yellow and orange"
used for separating different types of waste paper. Sets are located
in each workplace within the plant, and employees can see at a glance
how to dispose of waste paper. The standardized approach means that
employees can dispose of paper correctly and without confusion, wherever
they go in the plant. The cost of waste disposal has been reduced
as a result. |
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Refuse containers for separate waste collection
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Aluminum and Copper Company |
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The Moka Plant has
installed two melting furnaces for scrap, improved the yield ratio
during melting, and reduced the volume of impurities (aluminum dross)
during aluminum melting. Furthermore, the plant operates two arc furnaces
to improve the recovery rate of aluminum dross. The remaining ash,
as a result of R&D efforts, is effectively recycled as cement
material. Most of the residual from aluminum dross is no longer disposed
as landfill, resulting in a recycling rate of 89.7% in fiscal 2005.
Currently, Kobe Steel is promoting research and development to improve
recycling efficiency.
The Chofu Works also operates an arc furnace to strengthen its efforts
in zero waste emission. It has a recycling rate of 99.5%.
At the Daian Plant, waste plastic is segregated by quality and stored
separately. The disposal system was changed from simple incineration
to entrusting disposal to outside professionals who carry out thermal
recycling. |
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Changes in Resource
Recovery Rate of Wastes (Moka Plant)
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Machinery and Engineering Company |
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At the Harima Plant, in 2004 we succeeded in
recycling waste cleaning fluid, grindstone dust, grinding dust, and
weld fume, and in March 2006 we began recycling controller filters.
Controllers, demisters, and intake filters are made up of many different
materials and were thought difficult to recycle, but by taking them
apart and sorting the materials, steel can be recycled as a metal
resource, and waste plastics are used to make cement. We are also
more thorough about separating plastics and wood scrap generated in
the plant. |
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Filters
Waste plastic for use in cement
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| Measures Implemented by Group Companies |
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| Company name |
Location
of plant or office |
Measures Implemented |
| Ceratechno
Co., Ltd. |
Akashi, Hyogo |
Dust and scattered ore are recycled as much
as possible to the same quality and used as raw materials. (120
metric tons annually) |
| Shinko
Actec Co., Ltd. |
Toyooka, Hyogo |
Since February 2006 dry waste materials have
been pulverized and sieved, and then recycled as flux. |
| Shinko
Metal Products Co., Ltd. |
Kita-Kyushu, Fukuoka |
Since 2005 material used in melting furnace
construction has been recycled. |
| Shinko
Engineering Co., Ltd. |
Ogaki, Gifu |
Since August 2005 waste plastics, vinyl and other waste material
have been recycled as RPF.
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Chofu Works
Achieves Zero Emission Status |
The Chofu Works achieved zero emission
status with a landfill disposal ratio of only 0.38% between
October 2004 and September 2005. It is the third Kobe Steel
facility to achieve this status, after the Kobe and Kakogawa
works, and the first in the aluminum-rolling and copper-rolling
industries.
The Works achieved compliance with ISO 14001 in March 2001.
It has cut the volume of final waste and encouraged recycling
by reducing the amount of industrial waste for landfill and
separating wastes for recycling. As a result, the 3,300 metric
tons of waste for final disposal in 2000 were cut to just 64
metric tons for the year October 2004 to September 2005, a reduction
of 98%. With a landfill disposal ratio of 0.38% the plant achieved
zero emission status. At that time it was also found possible
to turn sludge containing copper, tin or aluminum, ceramic debris
and waste plastic debris into useful resources, which resulted
in considerable savings in waste disposal. Due to its zero emission
status, the plant was recognized as a "Yamaguchi Prefecture-designated
eco factory" and was awarded a certificate by Yamaguchi
Prefecture on March 28, 2006. |
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Achieving
Zero Emission
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By changing the processing method
of ceramic debris and sludge containing copper, tin and
aluminum, the waste materials could be reused as raw materials. |
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Waste plastics were carefully separated
to be recycled as cement fuel or turned into pellets for further
use. |
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By collaborating with processing
contractors, residual material after incineration was
recycled as roadbed material. |
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The metal recovery rate from aluminum
dross used in arc furnaces was boosted. |
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Arc furnace
Recycling Center |
Measures
Undertaken at Overseas Companies
Kobelco Compressors (America) Inc. (KOCOA) manufactures and
sells screw compressors at its plant in Indiana, USA.
The cutting operations in compressor manufacturing generate
a mixture of steel dust and machining oil. These are separated
in a centrifuge. The resulting oil is used in the plant, while
the steel dust is sent for use in another plant.
Through this process, 10% of the machining oil used in the manufacturing
process is recovered for recycling. |
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Centrifuge for separating steel dust
and machining oil
Steel dust |
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