Iron and Steel Works

The main production cycles:

• production of metals from natural raw materials and other metal-containing products ;
• production of alloys ;
• metal processing in hot and cold state ( metal rolling manufacturing);

Basic tools:

• Coke oven battery
• Blast furnace
• Open hearth furnace
• Converter production ( Bessemer process , Thomas process )
• Rolling mill
• Metallurgical crane

Typical structure of the main production of the iron and steel industry:

• Blast furnace shop, blower ;
• Steel production ( open-hearth , converter );
• Services involved in the preparation of the charge and the removal of slag ;
• Rolling shop;
• Foundry;
• Central factory laboratory and quality control department .

In addition, divisions serving the main production are formed at metallurgical plants, which may be:

• Power plant, thermal power station, energy distribution system;
• Oxygen plant, compressor station;
• Large repair units (lining of furnaces, rolling rollers - the "consumable" of metallurgy, which has a very definite service life before replacement);
• Gas facilities;
• Transport units (for example, the in-plant railway can have more than a hundred only its own locomotives);
• Departments of in-plant communications, instrumentation, automated control systems .

Non-production units typical for enterprises of an appropriate scale - sales department, accounting department, planning department, design and preparation units for new industries, fire protection, civil defense, medical service, environmental protection service, social services, housing and communal services, organization food, construction base.

For the mining and metallurgical plant, branches of extraction and preparation of raw materials are added - a quarry or mine , an enrichment plant .

The non-ferrous metallurgy plant may include extensive chemical production - both for the preparation of raw materials and for the separation and purification of the final product; electrolysis shops for the production of aluminum, nickel, titanium, etc., electrolytic refining (for example, copper). The composition of the equipment varies both from the type of the final product, and from the properties of the ore of a particular deposit and the technology used for its processing. As a rule, non-ferrous metallurgy is very energy-intensive: electrolysis, electric melting in a vacuum or inert atmosphere can be used for the entire volume of production. In this case, the electrical economy is complicated by powerful converters to power the plants. Non-ferrous metallurgy waste contains a wide range of heavy metals, arsenic, sulfur compounds, etc. and require special recycling facilities and isolated storage facilities, which are also part of the plant.

The concept of "plant" was formed during the period of industrialization of the USSR and in this regard is usually interpreted more broadly than just a "full cycle plant." The scope of the planned production, the amount of labor required entailed the construction of a city-wide settlement next to the plant under construction, all spheres of life of which were determined by the needs and capabilities of the “ city-forming enterprise ”. The construction of such an enterprise near an existing large settlement, as a rule, is impossible due to the remoteness from raw materials and the extreme environmental harmfulness of the production process.

The first metallurgical plant built in the USSR “from scratch”, apparently, should be considered Novokuznetskiy , the first decisions on which date back to the 1920s. Other factories were either formed on the basis of pre-existing metallurgical industries, or were founded later on the basis of newly explored deposits. As another large-scale construction site of that time, the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works is often mentioned. Among the first large construction projects of non-ferrous metallurgy, the Norilsk Mining and Metallurgical Combine built beyond the Arctic Circle by prisoners should be noted.

In the construction of the first Soviet plants, cheap labor was extensively used - from hired laborers from the impoverished peasantry to Gulag prisoners. Due to the lack of engineering and scientific personnel, production design and construction supervision, the supply of many of the most complex units were carried out by American, German, and English firms with payment in hard currency. If possible, internships of domestic specialists were carried out abroad.

In general, by the beginning of World War II, the metallurgical industry of the USSR was already formed, however, a considerable part of enterprises was built in the southwestern and central parts of the country, and during the war many metallurgical plants of Ukraine and central Russia were destroyed or badly damaged (including destroyed during the retreat of the warring armies ). After the war, an extensive campaign was launched “for the restoration of the pre-war level of metallurgical production”, which led to a new influx of labor to the restored facilities. By the beginning of the 50s, the pre-war volumes of iron and steel smelting were restored, and the construction of new facilities began. In addition to the traditional main consumers - mechanical engineering and transport, a new one appeared - mass reinforced concrete and metal frame construction.

The post-war development of non-ferrous metallurgy was largely determined by military needs - both an increase in the production of structural aluminum and titanium, and the need to create nuclear weapons . At the same time, the use of structural aluminum in the national economy was growing, and electric power, electrical engineering, and electronics, requiring millions of kilometers of wires, were developing.

The next leap in the development of large metallurgical industries took place in the 1970s and was associated both with an increase in the demand for metal (intensification of mechanical engineering; the “ arms race ”) and with changes in the industry itself (obsolescence and resource use of old equipment; increase in the share of alloyed steels and improved cast irons; the requirement for greater production efficiency), and with the development of the ore and energy resources of Siberia (aluminum plants in combination with the giant hydropower plants that feed them; the availability of natural gas and coal her). At the same time, environmental issues of production are still not being addressed.

With the collapse of the USSR, metallurgical plants replaced owners, restructured, but for the most part production itself was preserved. Metal and rolled metal are in steady demand in both the domestic and foreign markets, and full-cycle metallurgical enterprises in a resource-rich country continue to operate even against the backdrop of a general recession. One characteristic is the concentration in one hands of metallurgical and corresponding mining and processing enterprises, even geographically dispersed. Greater emphasis on ecology is being proclaimed, but the pressure on the environment has still not subsided. The share of new and high-quality steels and alloys is growing; at the same time, the decline of mechanical engineering, science, and the military industry has the opposite effect on the metallurgical industry. A change in the structure of demand leads to the closure of large units that have become unprofitable given the costly periodic repairs.

Today, when environmental problems become more urgent, it is not enough just to compensate for harmful emissions by financial costs. Environmental management policy has become one of the most important factors determining the reputation of an enterprise. The world community considers any environmental damage as an omission in the quality of the enterprise. ^[one]

For example, at the metallurgical plant ( Severstal ), 67% of the generated waste is disposed of , about 30% is disposed of in dumps and accumulators, and 3% is transferred for use.

There is a certification of compliance of such enterprises in the field of ecology with the ISO 14001 : 1996 standard (quality management system, environmental management).