Tangshan upgrades sintering units, cuts steel capacity

Reduced steel capacity, the upgrading of iron ore sintering units and implementation of a four-tiered steel output restriction regime have contributed to an 8.66pc year-on-year drop in particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration in China's largest steelmaking city of Tangshan in Hebei province.

Reducing coal use, relocating polluting enterprises and shutting down mills that violate environmental norms have helped cut pollution, the city government said.

The city had set a target of installing denitrification equipment in 136 iron ore sintering units during the autumn-winter 2018-19 period, with similar equipment to also be installed in four other industrial units. So far 121 units have denitrification equipment, while 41 units have passed environmental inspections post-installation.

Tangshan has been restricting iron ore sintering since August 2018 and shut down most sintering units from early December last year to control pollution. These restrictions may be eased from today, although some mills contacted by Argus have not received any official notice on this yet.

The city reduced 5.02mn t/yr of crude steel capacity and 2.98mn of t/yr pig iron capacity in 2018. Part of these reductions were achieved through shutting down urban steel facilities.

Fengnan Guofeng's steel facilities in Tangshan's urban area were completely shut down in December last year, with the company's new 8mn t/yr coastal steel plant in Lingang under construction.

Shougang Jingtang started building a 9.4mn t/yr crude steel plant at the Caofeidian port in Tangshan city in 2015, with 11.87mn t/yr of crude steel capacity being eliminated from other plants. Hesteel is relocating its 7.47mn t/yr crude steel plant from urban Tangshan to the coastal region of Laoting.

Several large mills are relocating capacity to coastal areas and building larger, emissions-compliant blast furnaces, while shutting down older, urban capacity.

Tangshan had also enforced a four-tiered steel output cut for the November 2018 to March 2019 period, requiring mills to cut output based on their emissions intensity.