Environment-friendly Production (2) Sustainability Report || KOBE STEEL, LTD.

Home > About Us > Corporate Social Responsibility > Sustainability Report > Environmental Sustainability Report 2004


		Environmental Management Environmental Sustainability Report 2004

Environment-friendly Production (2)

To build a recycling-based society, the first priority is to reduce generation of waste as much as possible. For waste whose generation cannot be prevented, it is important to recycle the waste to whatever degree possible. Kobe Steelis 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.

Reducing the Volume of Waste and Promoting Recycling


In Kobe Steel, since 1992, each division, office, works and plant has drawn up acomprehensive action program for recycling waste and has been promoting waste reduction and recycling from all angles. For example, in the steelworks, the recycling of slag and dust generated in the production process is encouraged. As a result, the recycling rate reached 98.7% in fiscal 2003 on average throughout all works and plants. We will further promote recycling and suppression of waste generation by developing new technologies for difficult-to-recycle waste.
Volume of Waste, Recycled Volume & Recycling Rate (All locations)		Final Volume of Disposed Waste (All locations)

Zero Emission Activities

Since 1997, Kobe Steel has been promoting zero waste emission activities to eliminate the final disposal volume of wastes at works and plants.

Iron and Steel Sector

Slag
Kobe and Kakogawa works generate approximately 2.04 million metric tons of blast furnace slag and approximately 840,000 metric tons of converter slag annually. Both blast furnace slag and converter slag are all recycled into cement materials, roadbed materials 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.

Coal ash and gypsum
Coal ash generated from coal-fired boilers are completely recycled as cement material and compound roadbed material.

Dust
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. It is also used as a dephosphorizer for molten pig iron. High-zinc dust is turned into a material for cement.

Fly ash
At Kakogawa Works, in order to utilize fly ash generated from coal-fired boilers, a technique for steam-preparing spherical pellets called Ashtone has been developed and pelletizing facilities were newly installed. Presently, Ashtone is utilized as a roadbed material.

Granulated slag yard

Example of Shinko Sand

applied products

Fly ash pelletizing facilities

Ashtone

Production Flow for Fine Aggregate for Concrete from Blast Furnace Slag (Shinko Sand

)

Recycling of Other Byproducts
Kakogawa Works thoroughly segregates and separates glass bottles, aluminum cans, and other items at ecostations. , At the same time, it effectively utilizes used refractories, waste oil and sludge, and recycles dust into cement material as well as a dephosphorizer, and low iron-content sludge into decorative bricks. Kobe Steel also succeeded in recycling high zinc-content dust which was difficult to recycle, and was the first in the industry to have good prospects for achieving zero-waste-emission at the steelworks.

In addition, Kakogawa Works also accepts waste plastic not only collected in the works but also brought in from the outside in accordance with the Container and Packaging Recycling Law. Kakogawa uses the waste plastic as a reductant in the blast furnace.

In fiscal 2003, Kakogawa Works accepted approximately 8,700 metric tons of waste plastic.

In April 2004, the first commercial dechlorination facilities for removing chlorine in waste plastic was installed and all the waste plastic is now able to be utilized as a reductant in the blast furnace.

Because chlorine deteriorates the blast-furnace refractory and corrodes steel, only low-chlorine waste plastic was used. But the introduction of the new facilities made it possible to use more than 75% of waste plastic as a reductant and the chlorine removed is reused as hydrochloric acid in the picklingline.

In Kakogawa Works, circulating fluidized bed boilers for power generation were remodeled to enable the use of RPF* as fuel. This resulted in reduction of the amount of coal used.

RPF (Refuse Paper & Plastic Fuel): Solid fuel consisting of used paper, waste plastic, and other materials.

Ecostation

Dechlorination facilities for waste plastic

Recycling Rate (Kakogawa Works)

Waste Plastic Recycling in a Blast Furnace

Welding Company
At Fujisawa Industrial Operations, wood chips which used to be incinerated are crushed and recycled as fuel. In addition, dewatered sludge is effectively utilized as cement material.

Aluminum and Copper Company
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 and effectively recycle the remaining ash.

In addition, the Chofu Plant also operates an arc furnace to strengthen its efforts in zero waste emission.

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.

Changes in Resource recovery ratio of wastes of Moka Plant

Rotary Arc Furnace:
Aluminum Dross Treatment Equipment

Machinery & Engineering Company
At the Harima Plant, waste thinner generated in coating operations isrecycled and reused in heating, distilling and purifying equipment. The volume of both purchased and disposed waste thinners has been reduced.

Activities at Group Companies

Shinko Kobe Power Inc. stores coal ash in special-purpose storage silos and totally recycles it as a cement material. An air slider is used to prevent scattering during shipment. In addition, gypsum generated from the exhaust gas desulfurizer is stored in in hermetically sealed silos for use as cement material and is loaded onto ships using a ship loader.

Ash silo

Gypsum silo

Activities at Other Group Companies

Group company	Office location	Activity
Kobelco Eagle Marine Engineering Co., Ltd.	Takasago, Hyogo	Recycles chromium steel processing scrap in cast products.
Sakai Steel Sheets Works, Ltd.	Sakai, Osaka	Increases recycling of plastic sheets for coil packaging.
Shinko Kenzai, Ltd.	Amagasaki, Hyogo	Recycles steel, aluminum, and waste oil.Uses recycled paper for all office paper.
Kobe Special Tube Co., Ltd.	Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi	Recycles acids generated from other companies as a neutralizer for part of a neutralization process in wastewater treatment plants. Achieved sludge reduction equivalent of 196 tons/year by increasing the dewatering function in wastewater treatment plants. Reduces the amount of fabricated boxes by simplifying packaging. Uses boxes for packaging from boxes returned by customers.
Shinko Mex Co., Ltd.	Kako-gun, Hyogo	Encouraged more meticulous source segregation of various wastes and made efforts to improve the recycling ratio.
Shinko Actec Co., Ltd.	Kinosaki-gun, Hyogo	Reduced packaging material by increasing the number of products packed in boxes or the number of parts when parts are purchased.
Shinko Taseto Co., Ltd.	Fujisawa, Kanagawa	Utilized waste pallets for fuel. Collected product containers and reused them after recycling. Reduced the kinds of packaging material and the amount of labels used.
Hanshin Yosetsu Kizai Co., Ltd.	Mitsu-gun, Okayama	Promotes the recycling of office paper. Recovers and recycles slag from customers after customers use welding fluxes. Promotes the use of returnable flexible container bags.
Sun Aluminium Industries, Ltd.	Chiba-shi	Recycled waste aluminum foil. Began to use light foldable plastic returnable boxes in place of wooden boxes and steel racks for transportation.
Shinko Leadmikk	Kitakyushu-shi	Promotes the use of returnable boxes in order to utilize special-purpose plastic cases.
Niko-Aluminium Industries, Ltd.	Moka, Tochigi	Changed from wooden pallets to highly durable aluminum pallets.
Kobelco Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.	Hiroshima-shi	Promotes recycling of waste plastic. Reconditions construction machinery parts and sells as reused parts. Aims to increase recyclability at the design stage.
Kobelco Eco-Solutions Co., Ltd.	Kobe-shi Kako-gun, Hyogo	Thoroughly separates office paper, magazines, cardboards, and others as well as container packaging material to improve resource recovery. Maintains and utilizes equipment that customers no longer use. Implements product assessment at the design stage.
Shinko Engineering Co., Ltd.	Ogaki, Gifu	Started thermal recycling of wastewater for a coating process containing oil. Utilizes metal waste as a raw material for castings. Reduces packaging material by adopting returnable boxes and returnable pallets. Changed over product covers from plastic to metal in order to improve recyclability.
Shinko Electric Co., Ltd.	Toyohashi, Aichi	Reclaimed office paper,recovering 13 tons in one year.
Shinko Electric Co., Ltd.	Ise, Mie	Thoroughly sorted used paper, and started recycling waste plastic. Reduced weight by changing from wooden boxes to cardboard boxes and promoted the use of returnable boxes. Undertaking the designing of easily decomposable products.
Japan Superconductor Technology Inc.	Kobe-shi Kitakyushu-shi	Recycles wooden boxes and bobbins. Utilizes recycled aluminum.