Steel rolling technology has achieved such fantastic progress in the 20th century that it might be considered to have come to maturity. Actually, it remains nowadays the object of intense development that affords further impressive improvements. The progress of rolling technology is fostered by a drastic global growth of the number of rolling equipments on the order of 40% over the last 15 years. It benefits from a dedicated R&D effort based upon a large scope of scientific knowledge. The 9th Steel Rolling Conference illustrates this potent innovative approach and it offers a unique opportunity for fruitful exchanges between steel producers, equipment suppliers and steel users.

VAI has developed the MEROS® process (Maximized Emission Reduction Of Sintering) in which dust and harmful metallic and organic components present in sinter offgas are removed in a series of treatment steps to levels previously unattained with conventional gas-treatment techniques. In a number of test campaigns, the technical and economical advantages of this innovative sinter offgascleaning process were verified. voestalpine Stahl subsequently placed an order with VAI for the installation of an industrial MEROS facility to be started-up in August 2007.

The growing demand for energy, the significant increases in prices of fossil fuels and the environmental commitments have led ACESITA to review its current energy sources and to aim at self-sufficiency in renewable energy. ACESITA operates two blast furnaces with coke or charcoal as reductant. With the recent investments in the ironmaking area and in Acesita Energética, and with the combined mastering of blast furnace operation and charcoal production, ACESITA will be prepared, as of 2009, to operate its blast furnaces with 100% renewable fuel (charcoal). Forest based charcoal production through a modern, environmentally, socially and economically sustainable way is demonstrated.

Emission limits of the sinter waste gas have been continually and strictly tightened in the EU for the last years. To cope with these environmental challenges, a survey about the sinter plant flue gas cleaning technologies was carried out within the VDEh sub-committee “Burden preparation”. This paper summarizes the main results of this survey and describes briefly principles of different processes and technologies including some of the latest development in the field of sinter waste gas cleaning.

In 2003, the blast furnaces in Sollac Lorraine faced the challenge of ensuring self sufficiency in coke while maintaining a constant production level. This challenge has been taken up successfully by reducing the coke ratio and by increasing PCI. This was achieved by changing the tuyeres conditions, by optimizing burden quality and burden charging and improving the wall heat control.

The Arcelor plant in Dunkerque depends on external coke for one third of its total coke consumption. A global approach has been carried out:
To assess the effect of coke properties on the blast furnace performance. To specify the requested coke properties. 
Appropriate coke characteristics have been defined, aiming at high blast furnace productivity (63t/m2/d), at high PCI rate (210kg/thm for all three blast furnaces) and at low consumption of large coke (230kg/thm).

A methodology is proposed for taking recycling, an essential activity of the developed economies, into account within LCA tools. The reasoning for choosing the methodology is exposed step by step. The final proposal is centered on the multiple-recycling model, which best describes the practical way that materials are actually recycled in the economy.
From a practical standpoint, the results obtained are attributed to steel on the basis of a specific value (e.g. t of CO2 per t of steel), which amounts to averaging the impact over the various steps of the recycling process on a weighted average basis, depending on the amount of material recycled at each step.