Tata Steel utilises many forms of energy for the purpose of steel production. The Company, through its Energy Policy is committed to conserving the scarce energy resources of the earth. Through an intensive energy saving campaign, the specific energy consumption of the Company has seen a drop of more than 36 % in the last 12 years and now it is at a level of 27.580 G. Joules/ tonne of crude steel in 2008-09.
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Tata Steel India

Tata Steel's energy conservation initiatives include:

Tata Steel continually develops and implements energy conservation and efficiency measures. Its initiatives under implementation for the reduction of energy consumption include:

  • Design, installation and commissioning of rotary hearth furnace where power consumption is expected to reduce from 3,500 KWh/tonne to 2,800 KWh/tonne.
  • Installation of top recovery turbine at ‘G' & ‘H' Blast Furnaces.
  • Recovery of sensible heat of coke by installation of Coke Dry Quenching system in Batteries 5, 6 & 7 at Coke Plant.
  • Enhancement of waste heat recovery at Sinter Plants.
  • BF Gas fired re-heating furnace at Hot Strip Mill.
  • Improvement in LD Gas recovery.

Renewable energy & product energy efficiency initiatives

Use of renewable energy is highly limited in the main steel making process, due to techno-commercial non-viability. However, Tata Steel encourages and promotes the use of renewable energy in the form of solar electricity, biogas etc. In the Renewable Energy for Rural Livelihood Project, deprived villagers have been assisted to adopt solar lighting and bio-gas plants; this has reduced the use of wood as fuel thereby enabling farmers to switch from fertilizers to biogas manure in the future.

Additionally, Tata Steel is considering energy sourcing

  

Energy saved due to conservation and efficiency improvements in 2007-08:

  • Conversion of coal-fired boiler no. 7 & 8 at Power House-3 to by-product gas firing. All the four boilers at this power house now have by-product gas firing
  • Installation of Variable Frequency Drives at LD Shop and Hot Strip Mills
  • Measures for reducing electrical power consumption

Impact of energy conservation measures during 2007-08:

  • Lowest ever Plant Specific Energy Consumption of 6.655 Gcal/tcs
  • Lowest ever boiler coal consumption of 38.97 kg / tss
  • Higher LD Gas Recovery of 66.80 Nm3 / tcs
  • Higher combine boiler efficiency of 83.67%

and energy efficiency very carefully in its product development. It is developing and producing a range of high specification product solutions with attractive, more sustainable qualities – for example products that are lighter, stronger and more durable. These products meet customer needs and will allow them to develop better, cheaper and more environment-friendly products for the end user. Stronger and more durable products will facilitate more advanced uses and less frequent replacement (reducing further impacts of production) whilst other features, such as lighter weight, can mean that the end product is more energy-efficient or effective. For example, lightweight steel designed for cars allow automotive customers to produce a lighter-weight vehicle that will have greater fuel efficiency and will be less polluting to the atmosphere.

Specific Energy Comsumption ( Gcals/tcs )

Specific Energy Consumption

Tata Steel Europe

Adhering to its commitment towards creating a sustainable environment, Tata Steel Europe focuses on finding energy efficient solutions for the construction, packaging, transport and other industries. Tata Steel Europe's Electrical steels are supplied to various markets where they are used to generate, transmit or facilitate the use of electrical power. It's small energy dissipation per cycle helps reduce CO2 emission by reducing energy losses. Electrical steels are gradually being incorporated into renewable energy technologies, and the Company is collaborating with customers to develop more energy efficient transformers, traction motors of hybrid vehicles and wave power generators.

By using recovered fuel oil as a chemical reductant in the blast furnace at Teesside Cast Products, TSE has achieved a substantial reduction in annual consumption of coke, with an associated CO2 saving equivalent to more than 25,000 tonnes per annum.

TSE’s priority is to utilise gases arising at its blast furnaces, coke ovens and steel plants as efficiently as possible, thereby curtailing the use of supplementary fossil fuels and electricity imports to the site. The Company has achieved very high levels of on-site electricity generation.

Tata Steel Thailand

TSTH has undertaken many initiatives to improve energy use. By installing a new cooling tower for indirect water, TSTH saved energy consumption upto 5%. The company has also applied Natural Gas (NG) to its Electric Arc Furnace consequently saving energy by 3% (or 17-kWh/tonne billets).

NatSteel Holdings

Actions to reduce electricity consumption at NatSteel's operations include substitution of cheaper chemical energy for electrical energy by operating the Virtual Lancing Burners and closing all outlets during operation to retain heat. This is evidenced by the decreasing consumption rate of electricity per tonne of billets produced.

Some of the initiatives undertaken to minimise energy consumption are:

  • Keeping scrap dry and clean to minimise inclusion of soil when scrap is charged into the furnace, reducing electricity consumption and increasing steel-making yield.
  • Preheating scrap in shaft furnace before each change.
  • Charging hot billets from Continuous Caster to Rolling Mill.
  • Installing Virtual Lancing Burners to introduce chemical energy to replace electricity and fuel in electric arc furnace.
  • Implementing office energy saving measures