Open / Close Advertisement

Posco Starts Construction of Third FINEX Plant

07/06/2011 - Posco has started construction of its third FINEX plant, and the first one with an annual capacity of 2 million tonnes. Plans call for its completion in 2013.

Posco has started construction of its third FINEX plant, and the first one with an annual capacity of 2 million tonnes. It is the world’s largest plant in terms of using a non-blast furnace steel manufacturing method, according to Posco.
 
FINEX facilities skip the coking and sintering processes while utilizing cheap powder form iron ores or soft coal, reducing investments or manufacturing costs by 15%. They also are said to emit low levels of sulfur oxides, nitric oxides, and dusts (3%, 1%, and 28% of blast furnace, respectively).
 
Posco started research of the FINEX method in 1992, operating a pilot plant in 1996. In June 2003, an annual 600,000-tonne scale demonstration plant was constructed and commercialized, followed by the successful operation of the second FINEX plant with an annual capacity of 1.5 million tonnes in 2007.
 
Planned for completion in 2013, the third FINEX plant will allow 25% of Pohang Steelworks’ molten iron production, 4.1 million tonnes, to be produced by the FINEX method, leading to a 177.2 billion KRW reduction of costs annually by using low-cost materials, according to Posco.
 
The groundbreaking ceremony was held June 28 at Pohang Steelworks with 500 personnel attending, including Prime Minister Hwang-shik Kim, Vice Minister Sang-jik Yoon of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, and Chairman Joon-yang Chung.
 
“FINEX is a groundbreaking technology that allows the use of both normal coal and low-quality iron fine ores accounting for 80% of the world’s iron ore deposits, and dramatically lowers pollutants compared to the existing blast furnace method,” said Chung. “It will continuously contribute to sound development of Posco, a late starter in the world’s steel industry, as a leader in green steel manufacturing technology.”