NKK Honored for Activity to Curb Global Warming
NKK has been honored with a fiscal 1999 global warming prevention activity award of the Environmental Agency. The ministerial award recognized NKK's contribution to environmental preservation through its development and commercial application of a waste plastics recycling system to feed blast furnaces. The Agency presents annual awards in several categories to companies and research groups that have made significant contributions to curbing global warming. NKK received the award in the category of recycling. To respond to acute social needs for waste plastics disposal and resource recycling, NKK introduced in October 1996 the integrated waste plastics recycling and blowing system at the No. l blast furnace of its Keihin Works. The system enables sorting, crushing and agglomeration of industrial waste plastics, which are then blown into the furnace through tuyeres as a reducing agent in place of coke. Since installing the first system, NKK's waste plastics recycling operations have expanded steadily. At present the Keihin system annually recycles about 40,000 tons of industrial solid plastics and films collected from more than 400 contracted customers across Japan. The NKK system offers many benefits, including:1) 80% or higher energy and resource-use efficiency in the blast furnace, 2) reduced CO2 emissions leading to the mitigation of global warming, 3)reduced use of coke in ironmaking, serving to conserve coal resources, and 4) elimination of the need for permanent waste disposal sites. |
