Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works has been awarded a special prize in the “ERAECO 2017” national awards, under the nomination for “ECO-TECHNOLOGY”, for its reconstruction project of the gas cleaning system at the arc-furnace melting plant. The prize, which was established by the ERAECO social movement under the UNESCO umbrella, is awarded annually for the best ecological developments implemented in Russia.

Within the framework of the project, which was concluded at MMK in July of this year, two out-dated wet gas purification systems, No 32 and No 33, were replaced with modern, dry gas purifiers. The new equipment is designed for catching, cooling and purifying flue gases from the two-bath steel-making unit (DSPA-32), as well as irregular emissions that did not previously enter the gas outlet. Gas purification efficiency has reached 99%, and remaining dust levels are up to 20mg/nm3. Dust emissions should reduce at a rate of 1,800 tonnes a year. Contractual equipment for reconstructing the gas purifying system was supplied by PO ECOTECH. The general contractor was Prokatmontazh and the general project designer was Magnitogorsk Gipromez.

This year, the prizes were awarded within the framework of the federal programme “ECO-Project Russia”. The competition received 167 applications from 57 cities. Large companies, scientific and educational institutions, media, banks and environmental organisations competed for victory. On the eve of the awards ceremony, which took place in Moscow on the 17th November, the nominees presented their projects to the awards ceremony guests, including the heads of relevant ministries and departments, representatives of the State Duma and Federal Council committees, heads of regions and business structures, media, and representatives of foreign missions in Russia.

“Competitive projects reflect current issues of environmental management and education. They are all united by one thing: the desire to protect the environment. The emerald “Crystal drop” – our awards trophy – symbolises the beginning of new life, a new era, if you like. If you put all the drops together, rivers emerge from every single one, creating waves of movement protecting our planet for future generations” said Natalia Alova, chairman of the ERAECO social movement.

The prizes are awarded with nominations in the areas of environmental education, state policy for nature protection, eco-management, activity of environmental conservation areas, the marketing of eco-products (goods, services), and innovation in the fields of business, science and technology.

About MMK

MMK is one of the world's largest steel producers and a leading Russian metals company. The company's operations in Russia include a large steel-producing complex encompassing the entire production chain, from the preparation of iron ore to downstream processing of rolled steel. MMK turns out a broad range of steel products with a predominant share of high-value-added products. In 2016, the company produced 12.5 million tonnes of crude steel and 11.6 million tonnes of commercial steel products. MMK Group had sales in 2016 of USD 5,630 million and EBITDA of USD 1,956 million.

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