Focusing on Nitrogen Oxides and Sulfur Oxides
POSCO Group is planning to invest 1.07 trillion won (US$903.11 million) by 2021 to reduce fine dust emissions from its still mills by 35 percent.
POSCO is focusing on nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides as the two substances account for 65 percent of the total fine dust emitted by its mills.
For starters, the group is planning to shut down six of its 21 by-product gas generating units by 2021. It will invest 350 billion won (US$295.31 million) to build new plants equipped with latest technology. It will also additionally invest 330 billion won (US$278.22 million) to install selective catalytic reduction (SCR) facilities in the remaining 15 by-product gas generating units and three sintering furnaces. These measures are expected to reduce nitrogen oxides emissions by 65 percent to 85 percent.
Lowering the level of dust scattering is also one of the key challenges for POSCO. The company currently operates 33 storage facilities with the capacity of 1.79 million tons, including closed-type silos that prevent iron ore and coal dust from scattering. The group is planning to build 10 more indoor storage facilities, including eight 400,000-ton silos, by 2020 with an investment of 300 billion won (US$252.97 million).
In addition, POSCO will invest 90 billion won (US$75.91 million) to create slag cooling systems and expand dust collectors. The group expects that it will be able to reduce the emissions of air pollutants by about 35 percent by 2022 by improving the structure of filter dust collectors and integrating smart technology into environment facilities.