The stoves of blast furnace 2 at Formosa Ha Tinh steelworks were heated up in January, two months ahead of schedule and a major stepping stone towards the blast furnace’s hot commissioning.

Formosa Ha Tinh Phase One has twin blast furnaces, both with a volume of 4,350m³.The first has been running stably since start-up last May.

Systems at the second are approaching the final stages in readiness for hot commissioning and start-up. The hot commissioning spare parts are due to arrive at site in mid March and start-up is scheduled for May.

Once the twins are operating, Formosa Ha Tinh expect to boast world-beating performances. The ironmaking plant will save 140,000 tonnes of coal and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 600,000 tonnes every year. In addition, workforce productivity is expected to increase to triple that of conventional blast furnaces.

CISDI-designed and -constructed blast furnace 1 showcases CISDI’s high-efficiency and low-consumption blast furnace key technologies and no-bell top equipment.

The daily tapping output of this blast furnace can achieve a maximum of 9,425 tonnes, some 290 tonnes more than the guaranteed daily output of 9,135 tonnes. Its 4,000m³-level blast furnace technology, standard and equipment have been widely recognised as a successful package export.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China listed the development of the Formosa Ha Tinh steelworks in a report on China’s Top 10 Major Events of 2017. It was the only engineering project to be given such an honour.

Blast furnace 2, currently under construction at Formosa Ha Tinh steelworks

Production at blast furnace 1 at Formosa Ha Tinh steelworks, running smoothly