A fusion of technology and experience

The Pavlodar branch of KSP Steel LLP has started producing ferrosilicon aluminum using a unique technology that has received worldwide recognition.

Two metallurgists expertly punched the fly, and a fiery ferrosilicon aluminum alloy gushed out of the furnace, scattering showers of sparks. It was impressive and it was a beautiful sight. But standing in the distance below, representatives of the largest metallurgical companies in South Korea, Germany and Switzerland, as well as scientists and heads of leading research centers and enterprises in Kazakhstan and abroad, clapped their hands not only on this occasion. Moreover, because before their eyes, a large–scale technology was implemented in the workshop of Pavlodar KSP Steel, which has no equal in the world. Its unique ferrosilicon aluminum alloy was created by Kazakhstani scientists and metallurgists, who received international quality certificates and licenses for their development. 

"We have been working towards this for 30 years," says Abdurasul Zharmenov, Academician, General Director of the National Center for Integrated Processing of Mineral Raw Materials of the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies of the Republic of Kazakhstan. – The development of the production of this alloy is the result of the hard and fruitful work of scientists from the Karaganda Chemical and Metallurgical Institute, which is part of our National Center. There is also the contribution of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, a metallurgist by training and a practitioner, who made a number of suggestions when I reported to him about our work in 1996. Then he proposed to include alloying additives in the alloy, along with components that extract oxygen from steel, which gave the resulting metal even better quality indicators. Today, our ferrosilicoaluminium is patented in the world as a "Kazakhstani alloy" and the demand for it by the leading metallurgical industries of the near and far abroad already exceeds not hundreds, but millions of tons. In particular, the South Korean company Posco is a large company with an annual turnover of 80 billion rubles. He invests money in Kyrgyzstan, where they are starting construction of a ferrosilicon aluminum plant using our Kazakh technology with a capacity of up to 200 thousand tons per year. The second company with our participation is being launched in Brazil. Another ferrosilicon aluminum plant will be built in Karaganda with the participation of large metallurgical companies from Germany and Japan. We will continue to work not only on our new alloy, but also on other innovative areas.

Continuing the academician's story, Eduard Kramer, General Director of KSP Steel LLP, a metallurgist and scientist, said that the launch of the Kazakh alloy production is the most outstanding metallurgical event in the last hundred years. This is one of those innovative new-level projects that the President of Kazakhstan constantly talks about the need to develop. There is no such thing in the world. Moreover, this development solves not only the technological problems of high-quality steel smelting, but also environmental ones, since ferrosilicon aluminum is obtained from Ekibastuz low-grade high-ash coal, which goes into landfills, causing damage to the environment. And now, out of four tons of such a "rock" comes a ton of scarce "Kazakh alloy".

To understand the degree of achievement of Kazakhstani scientists, it is necessary to talk about ferrosilicoaluminium itself and its purpose in metallurgy. To put it simply, during the melting of steel, it contains oxygen, which degrades the quality of the metal. To extract this impurity, a technique called deoxidation of steel is used. That is, ferrosilicon and aluminum are added to its molten mass in "ingots". The technologies for producing aluminum and ferrosilicon are energy-intensive and require high costs when preparing raw materials for smelting pig aluminum. Pavlodar ferrosilicon aluminum, according to Vadim Savitsky, director of the Pavlodar branch of KSP Steel LLP, significantly reduces energy costs and consumption of ferrosilicon, and the steel itself turns out to be of higher quality. Therefore, KSP Steel LLP, which produces oil pipeline and tubing pipes, steel blanks, and other metallurgical products, has relied on the production of ferrosilicon aluminum, which will cover its own needs. And with the commissioning of two more furnaces, it will be possible to sell this deoxidizer for other metallurgical industries.

…This is already visible now. After receiving the first "Kazakhstan alloy", a memorandum of cooperation was signed between the National Center for Integrated Processing of Mineral Raw Materials of the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the South Korean corporation Posco.

Commenting on this event and the release of ferrosilicon aluminum in Pavlodar, Akim of the region Yerlan Aryn said:

– Pavlodar region is one of the leaders in the implementation of the Program of accelerated industrial and innovative development of the republic for 2010-2014. The total amount of investments in 82 projects of the Industrialization Map is 750 billion tenge, with the creation of over 10 thousand jobs. So ferrosilicoaluminium allowed 350 employees to gain permanent employment. The cost of this project is 8.1 billion tenge. The payback period is four years. At the moment, one ferrosilicon aluminum smelting furnace with a capacity of 9 MW has been launched. Two more furnaces of 24 MW each will be put into operation by the end of 2013. This will increase the production of the alloy to 30 thousand tons per year. And now the signing of a memorandum with the largest metallurgical company in the world is a direct confirmation that foreign companies are focused on the purchase of these products. In other words, the production will work not for the warehouse, but for specific consumers. All this is the fulfillment of the direct instructions of the Head of State on the industrialization of the country.

Source: www.kazpravda.kz