Taiyuan Iron and Steel (Group) Co., Ltd. (Hereinafter TISCO), has become one of the largest iron and steel complex, and the largest stainless steel production base. With the large-scale production equipments and according auxiliary equipments for mine, mill run, sinter, coke, iron-making, steel-making, steel rolling, etc, the products are stainless steel, cold rolled silicon sheet (coil), hot rolled coil (plate), axle shaft steel, alloy die steel, steel for military use. Among them, electromagnetic pure iron, axle shaft steel, tear plate, gas bottle plate, high alloy die steel, they rank the first in domestic market shares. In 2003, the production of stainless steel reached to 4.06 million tons, steel products reached to 3.99 million tons, among them stainless steel was 0.66 million tons, distribution income was 20.7 billion Yuan, profit was 2.5 billion Yuan.

TISCO is located in the north of Taiyuan city, provincial capital of Shanxi Province, to the windward of the downtown area, and the top of Taiyuan part of Fen River . The distance from TISCO to the city center is within 10 km in direct line.

Taiyuan is around of mountains from three sides, north, east and west, the topography is that the north is high and the south is low. The climate of the city is that drought, full of wind and sand. The air is dry, and the humidity is lesser. The appearance of thermal inversion is high frequency and high intensity. Water resource is badly lack.

It is because that the geography circumstance and the position that TISCO located makes it very important that TISCO devotes to the improvement of Taiyuan City’s environment. In the end of 90’s, main infectants of TISCO were: smoke and powder dust 32000 tons; waste water: 37 million tons; partly they occupied 14.3% and 42.3% of general pollute burthen of Taiyuan City.

In the face of this status, TISCO’s survive and developments are restricted. Under the supporting of the government, TISCO adopted measures to improve treating the pollution and cleaner production. Through years of effort, at the same time of TISCO’s development, all the energy and resource are effective used in reason; pollution let quantity descend in large scope; and environment quality is notably improvement. The practice proved that only attaching importance to protect environment, company can realize sustainable development.

1.      Treat waste slag, Change the concept

The first milestone of TISCO environment protection is that Li Shuangliang treating the slag mountain. At that time, through years of pulling, the slag mountain’s area was 2 km², the highest part of the mountain was over 20 meters. As the slag mountain was continuously heighten, it is very difficult for the train to transfer the waste slag to climb up the slag mountain, and when the wind season comes, the dust flies around. For the sake of solving the problem, ensuring the production and controlling the pollution of the dust, Li Shuangliang, the retired employee of TISCO, began to treat the waste slag. During the past 20 years, he and his workers have moved waste slag over 10 million tons in all, income 455.2307 million Yuan; profit 143.7786 million Yuan; reclaim scrap steel 1.4237 million tons; turn the old waste slag mountain into a beautiful garden. They used the saving ground to build schools, workshops, office buildings and lodging houses. To treat the waste slag, they not only solve the let problem of the latter working procedure，but also reclaim plenty of useful scrap steel resources, using the rejectamenta produce the timbering, reduce the pollution of the slag dust. He was awarded the Global 500 by United Nations Environment Program. The feat that Li Shuangliang treat the slag mountain not only bring the environment improvement, realization of the economic benefit, releasing the productive forces, but also establish the base of sustainable development for TISCO in the future.

2.      Treat the pollution, Push the cleaner production, To make more survive and development room for our company

The second milestone of TISCO environment protection is reaching the standard of environment protection in 2000. In 1996, China government required that all the industries must realize the main infectant let would reach the standard in 2000. According to the environment status at that time, there were many pollutant sources and the polluted area are large, so it was very difficult to reach the standard. And the procedures, technology, equipments of TISCO were in dire need of fund to innovate, so TISCO was facing the crises of survive and development. Past fully proved, TISCO realized that the most important thing was to solve the problem of environment pollution. Within one year, 2000, TISCO had raised funds of 327 million Yuan to build 8 keystone pollution projects, ensure the realization of reaching the standards. To further deduce the pollution and improve the environment, TISCO collects the technical alteration with pollution control, fall into disuse a lot of procedures and equipments, such as the procedure of open-hearth furnace and cupola，all the horizontal-array rolling mill, folded sheet rolling mill, 50 ton EAF of the second steelmaking plant of TISCO, 150m³ small blast furnace, downdraft kiln of refractory plant, gas producer, small heating furnace, small cupola, 32 sets of chemical industry equipments, 62 sets of small boiler and water boiler, and update 229 sets of small boiler and water boiler.

To lighten the pollution of transportation and rave about the material, TISCO invest nearly 100 billion Yuan to alteration six open air coal fields into full close jars, build special alleyway for transport coal. It not only decent dust pollution and waste of coal, but also change the old coal field into large sheet of lawn and garden. From 2000, TISCO has already invested 100 billion Yuan, build smelt waste water treatment, dedust for coke oven, dedust for powder supply boiler, pure cycle soft water system over 30 important environment projects.

On the base of sustainable cleaner production, TISCO paid attention to biological found, invested over hundred million to renovate environment these years: dismantled bounding wall 44000 meter and waste or old building 221200 m², tore out 24 railroad crossings, broadened and reconstructed road 85000 m², refitted and beautified pipe surface of energy sources and medium, planted over 240000 trees, lawn area 460000 m², newly add 270000 m², the rate of green coverage reaches to 28% in TISCO. It’s good for ensure the health of employee’s heart and soul, and mobilize the employee.

To be sure that the environment management is scientific, sustainable and validity, ISO 14001 environmental management system was established, which is scientific and linking to international environmental management system, to strictly control about 400 environment aspects, which effected the production badly. This makes the environmental management of TISCO into the track of systematism, standardization and institutionalization, waste sewage and general emission amount reduced largely, environmental quality improved notably. Compared with the last century, the emission amount of fume was reduced by 76.34%, the industrial sewerage discharge reduced by 59.60%.     

For the sake of changing the ending control into cleaner production and reducing the energy consumption and the pollution from the procedure, Continuously TISCO put in practice of spraying coal in blast furnace, continuous casting,  

TISCO save water and environmental

main guideline change chart from 1998

continuous rolling, hot billet transport, gas reclaim from converter, reclaim remaining heat of sinter machine fume，fetch in city gas to product, top gas recovery turbine and boiler using gas from blast furnace. For energy sources and dynamic medium, including electric power, coal gas, steam, water, TSICO carried out system check-up balance, and focused on managing them all together so as to reduce water from flowing, emitting, drop, leak and waste energy for un-correct use.

During the period of protecting environment, TISCO enlist the support of government and international society. Japanese Government ODA Loan is Achieved, totally 14.144 billion Japanese Yuan（0.96 billion Yuan RMB）, adding up according fund, to build 7 cleaner projects, totally invest 1.569 billion Yuan (Coke Dry Quencher Plant, Desulphurization/HCN Removal Project, Electric Arc Furnace, Steel Dregs Treatment Plant, Sewage Treatment Plant, Top gas recovery Turbine Plant, Blast Furnace Gas Combined Cycle Power Plant). Until 2006, these projects will be finished, environmental quality of TISCO will be better, improve the utilization level of energy sources.

3.      Cherish the resource, Push circulating economy

Solving the problem of production by treating the slag mountain, Li Shuangliang aroused people's enthusiasm to pay attention to the environment; Reaching the standard of 2000, we solve the surviving problem, and we realize that the importance of protecting environment. Compared with two changes forced by position at present, TISCO emphasizes on go-aheadism and sustainable development.

Lacking of energy resource effected the development badly for these years; there will be more grimness in the future. The challenge for TISCO Today is to reduce the resource consulting and making use of the limited resource. To consume less resource means that reduces more pollution.

The lower limit grade of iron ore of TISCO Jianshan Mountain was reduced by 15% from 20%. Then, in a short period, although we add the cost of mining and mineral separation，reduce the production and the benefit; but for a long period, we can add 0.7977 million tons iron ore every year than before, we can produce mineral fines about 6 million tons in 20 years. According to present market situation, we can prolong the service years by 3.86 year; can add up benefit 1.239 billion Yuan. TISCO give up the benefit at present, elevate the using rate of resource, advance the sustainable development ability of the mine and market competitiveness, ensure the benefit of stratagem and long range. At same time, TISCO reduced the silicon content of mineral fine and added the ferrum content of mineral fine to elevate the iron grade, and so as to reduce the dosage of dolomite and limestone, reduce the quantity of slag in blast furnace, cut the dosage from the headstream.

Taiyuan is a city lacking of water badly，the price of industry water is 3 Yuan at present, and we couldn’t use the resource easily. There are 3 industry sewage treatment projects built in TISCO, deal with 0.18 million m³/day，the cost is only 0.6 Yuan. We must look sewage as production resource according to TISCO position. The biggest membrane treatment project of our country was finished in TISCO on Dec. of 2002. Its design ability is 3000 tons/hour, which can supply 2.4 million tons deepness desalted water for TISCO every year, desalted water 2.8 million tons and 14.4 million tons clean cycle water. It is not only make the best use of present sewage resource, but also improve the quality of sewage treatment, and reduce the consumption of fresh water.

Although iron and steel production use much consumption and practice much pollution, we need 5～6 t material, assistant material, fuel and above 200 m³ water (fresh waster 10～30m³) to produce 1 ton steel. Produce 1 ton steel, we need all kinds of energy resources about1.0～1.5tce, energy sources consumption occupied 10% of general national consumption. The emission of exhaust gas, waste water, waste residue in iron and steel industry occupied 10～15％of general emission in our country, among them, among them soot emission grade fourth, dust emission grade second, but its character make the energy consumption of iron and steel produce is less than other material: steel-making energy consumption only occupied 1/4 of the electrolytic aluminum, 1/3 of plastic (polyethylene)，with the development of steelmaking and continuous casting and continuous rolling technology, energy consumption of iron and steel making is reduced more, completely realize the zero emission of minus consumption of steelmaking and sewage, otherwise, compared with other structure material such as plastics, pottery, cement, steel has good ability of rebirth，almost all the iron and steel goods trash would be back to the factory to reuse. 45% of the steel output of the world is directly produced by scrap, rebirth quantity of iron and steel occupied 91% of metal reclaim, rebirth rate of waste plastic about 3%, other configuration material couldn’t be rebirth basically, the most important is, biological security of iron is good, it can be natural degrade microelement needed by propagation into nature. The bad effluence of iron and steel during the past two thousands years is more less than plastic during 20 years to destroy the environment, it is one industry more friendly than other industries, which can realize reduce, reuse and recycle.

Several Germany scholars, bring forward via plenty of demonstration, if technology and efficiency revolution are completely, under the same consumption of the resource, realize that four times of money，or money second times, resource consumption is one half. At present, some countries of European Unions, there has present some phenomena that the rising economic was assort with the consumption of the substance.

The practice proved that international advanced iron and steel company through the change of technology revolution and development model, iron and steel industry can realize sustainable development.

In the newly development, according to circle economy thought，compile work program of circle economy. Continuously change the produce model of traditional resource—production—rejectamenta, push the circle mode of resource — production — rejectamenta — rebirth resource.

Reclaim project of 1.5 million tons of stainless steel at present, abundant argumentation from the choice of product, enactment of process, configure of equipment, technology feasibility, reuse of intermediate product, disposition of ending rejectamenta, advanced the accordingly policy. Fully actualize headstream-cutting and rebirth of rejectamenta, coordinate the process of coke, sinter, iron making, steel making, steel rolling, wash out present process and equipments whose large consumption creates large pollution；largely improve resource circle using rate of resource cycle, basically realize waste water 0 emission, reclaim energy resource from blast furnace gas, converter gas, coke oven gas and remaining heat、remaining pressure, realize fuel configuration optimize and rundle utilization energy sources configuration.

After the projects, TISCO’s production will reach to 3 million  tons，accordingly, integrated consumption/1 ton steel, industry water/1 ton steel and main economic technology guideline reach to the advanced international level; emission of industry soot, dust and SO₂/1 ton steel reach to advanced level in our country; industry sewage nearly reach to zero; integrated utilization factor of industry solid rejectamenta reaches to advanced level in our country. Air environmental quality in TISCO reaches to second grade of national standard.

According to TISCO’s target, we will build TISCO into an international advanced special steel producer mainly producing stainless steel, and then into the most competitive stainless steel producer in the world.

Since TISCO did a lot of work on protecting environment, and environment status has improved greatly, but, we still have much to do. As the circumstance today, compared with developed country during the period of industrialization, it’s far away that resource and environment are so limited. So we have to insist of sustainable thought and mode, can realize harmonious development of economy and environment. Let us hand by hand, try hard to create more comfortable, nice environment, for this celestial body, for our family.