Baosteel Zhanjiang’s phase II is on target for full start-up in June 2022.

Construction began in March 2019 and all unit plants and lines are going full-steam ahead to meet the deadline.

The steel complex, which will be centralised around its blast furnace 3, is designed to be a streamlined and super-efficient Green Factory, a world-leader in cost-effectiveness, quality and environmental control.

Phase I, which went operational in July 2016, had achieved its designed output and performance standards and hit efficiency and reduced consumption targets by 2017.

Phase II will stay true to the principles set for Baosteel’s new base in southern China, and in alignment with its role as a global steel leader.

Zhanjiang Steel will improve competitiveness even further via the restructuring of its product mix, optimisation of its production lines and their functions, and the operation of its green, smart manufacturing methods at phase II.

CISDI is providing Baosteel Zhanjiang with the majority of its design, supply, construction and management requirements.

Its expertise for phase II includes the master design, stockyard expansion, blast furnace 3 (with a volume of 5,050m³), 1,650mm continuous caster, 1,780mm hot strip mill, plant-wide water treatment expansion, plant-wide power supply and distribution system expansion, plant-wide lab expansion and the plant-wide solid waste treatment system expansion.

To ensure all projects meet their targets, over 100 CISDI management and technical assistance specialists are on site.

 

Aerial view of Baosteel Zhanjiang, showing its phase I in operation and its about-to-run phase II

 

The project in detail:

◆        Smart, Green Stockyard

Phase II’s stockyard project will run alongside those at phase I and its upgrades. It will store, process and handle raw materials and fuels required for a hot metal output of 12 million tonnes a year when Zhanjiang phase II is operational.

Phase II’s build includes a blending yard (B5) and supportive charging, crushing, screening, proportioning and other sub-systems and utilities.

CISDI is responsible for the intelligent, unmanned stockyards at both of Zhanjiang’s development phases.

Keenly aware of the local climate and conditions, CISDI’s team had to carefully pre-plan, design and order, to enable an acceleration of construction in the dry season.

The blending yard has been operational since January and the transport, crushing and screening systems are currently being commissioned. A multi-disciplinary on-site CISDI team is providing technical assistance throughout.

 

An artist’s view of Zhanjiang’s stockyards

 

Zhanjiang phase II’s stockyard under construction

 

◆        Blast furnace 3 - an industry giant

Blast furnace 3 is at the centre of Baosteel Zhanjiang phase II’s operations.

It has a volume of 5,050 cubic metres and a wealth of CISDI-based core tech and equipment – BCQS no bell top, top combustion stove, heavy-duty blower and large, dry TRT.

The furnace’s intelligent casthouse and stoves enable smart production and operation.

Compared with blast furnaces 1 and 2 at phase I, BF3 has a more compact layout, will operate more smoothly and give easier access for maintenance, thanks to CISDI team’s surveys and systematic optimisations.

The four top-combustion stoves supplied by CISDI were successfully heated up in March, laying the foundation for a full start-up.

 

The blast furnace 3 in process of construction at Baosteel Zhanjiang

 

CISDI team celebrates the heating-up of BF3’s stoves

 

◆        1,650mm continuous caster, operating with world-leading levels

The CISDI-supplied 1,650mm continuous caster was the first major plant to be hot-commissioned and go into operation at Baosteel Zhanjiang phase II.

It produces high-strength steel, silicon steel, deep-drawing steel and other high-value-added slabs.

CISDI did the casting plant’s design, casting and finishing equipment supplies, and construction of its centralised control centre.

The caster is operating at world-leading levels for automation, economy, safety and efficiency. It is equipped with intelligent facilities and controls for quality, operation and management and boasts the world’s largest ladle turret (520 tonnes).

Robots man the casting and automatic mould powder charging positions, the mechanical scarfing machine is online and efficient, green utilities are featured.

Operational from January, the caster is performing well and is on target to achieve its designed production capacity of 2.80 million tonnes a year. It feeds stock slabs into the downstream 1,780mm hot strip mill.

Slab specifications range is 230mm thick, 900mm-1,650mm wide and 8,000mm-11,000mm long.

 

Running smoothly: The CISDI-supplied 1,650mm continuous caster at Baosteel Zhanjiang

 

 

◆        1,780mm hot strip mill - Baowu’s first intelligent hot rolling line

Zhanjiang’s 1,780mm hot strip rolling line will be the first of its kind for Baowu Group.

Intelligent, super-efficient high-strength steel rolling will be achieved. State-of-the-art tech gives centralised control, and intelligent equipment diagnosis, quality control, roll grinding and warehousing.

CISDI has supplied the line’s three reheating furnaces and water treatment and high-pressure water descaling systems. It is also responsible for design of the plant and non-standard equipment.

Advanced tech and equipment has created ultra-low NOx emission, energy-efficient burners, composite, cascade excess heat recovery, nano thermal insulation material, zoned, real-time air-fuel ratio optimisation, energy-conservative hydraulic unit, cyclone pool’s orificed plate guide, fast filter leakage detection, innovative cyclone pool and horizontal sedimentation tank.

The rolling line was fed power for its high-voltage system in November last year and dried off its reheating furnace 3 in April this year.

 

The reheating furnace 3 for 1,780mm hot strip mill has been successfully dried off at Baosteel Zhanjiang

 

◆        Solid waste treatment centre to boost green credentials

The CISDI-supplied rotary hearth furnace 2 for Zhanjiang’s solid waste treatment centre phase II has been started up.

It adds another annual 200,000 tonnes of ferrous waste treatment capacity to that already provided by phase I’s rotary hearth furnace, which was also supplied by CISDI.

The treatment centre creates a greener, cleaner Zhanjiang Steel, achieving zero ferrous waste discharge while maximising waste to energy.

A very tight design and construction schedule was met by CISDI. It was a record for similar projects in China. The design was carried out from May 2020 to October, installation of hearth machinery began last July and dry-off of the furnace commenced last December. The furnace went into operation in April 2021.

 

 

Rotary hearth furnace 2, in operation at Baosteel Zhanjiang

 

◆        Water treatment plant with zero liquid discharge

Zhanjiang’s phase II water treatment plant plays a vital role in boosting green, waste-to-resource developments.

CISDI has undertaken the plant design and supplies of treatment systems A and B and the sludge treatment system, fulfilling its supplies ahead of schedule.

The alum identification and intelligent dosing system will be operating in June.

CISDI’s engineering manager, technologists and electric and automation specialists remained onsite for a long period. They monitored and controlled itemised schedules and supervised the implementation of every Change Order and installation quality check.

Their dedication and workmanship ensured timely, effective solutions were achieved for any site issues that occurred.

 

CISDI team celebrate the success of phase II’s deep processing system A at Baosteel Zhanjiang’s water treatment plant

 

◆        Intelligent, autonomous hot metal transport system for world-class steel logistics

Zhanjiang phase II’s autonomous hot metal locomotive acts as a supportive logistics system for all Phase II projects, which are centralised around blast furnace 3.

Phase I of the intelligent transport system went operational in 2019 and serves blast furnaces 1 and 2.

Two additional locomotives and nine torpedo ladle cars have been installed in Phase II. Commissioning of their intelligent units, which will upgrade the existing hot metal intelligent scheduling system, is now taking place.

The system needs to accommodate a longer hot metal transport route from blast furnace 3 to the steelmaking plant, and also to interface with the existing phase I system and cope with more complicated scheduling conditions.

To that aim, CISDI has optimised multi-object tracking algorithm models and software operation efficiency, and improved the stability of its core intelligent equipment.

CISDI is utilising Phase I’s massive data for reinforcement learning and algorithm iteration.

As a result, Phase II’s autonomous hot metal transport system will be even safer, more stable and efficient.

 

Phase II’s intelligent, autonomous hot metal transport system at Baosteel Zhanjiang is being commissioned and scheduled to operate in June