Business news

4 Dec 2024

Belarus’ steel mill BMZ launches innovative project to process metal dust

MINSK, 4 December (BelTA) – In recent years, issues of environment and sustainable use of resources have become more and more topical. In this respect, cooperation between the Belarusian steel mill BMZ and the Russian plant ZINCUM opens new prospects in the processing of industrial waste, BelTA learned from the BMZ press service.

"This is the first project in the post-Soviet space to process zinc-containing wastes, in this case gas cleaning dust from the steel-making shops, in a waste-free way, and to introduce the obtained elements (zinc oxide and iron clinker) into a circular economy,” said Director of Development and Commerce at ZINCUM Andrei Ovsyannikov.

The head of the BMZ sales department Ruslan Demchenko said that the steelmaking output at BMZ has multiplied: from the previous 12 melting sessions per day at one furnace to about 27. Accordingly, it produces a greater amount of metal dust. Previously, this dust was stored at BMZ-Ecoservice. Now, thanks to cooperation with the ZINCUM plant and the latest scientific achievements, BMZ will be able to process the entire volume of metal dust.

"Our 10-year contract with this company involves processing of dust both produced now and accumulated earlier at the landfill. The economic effect will be significant as we don’t have to pay environmental tax. Moreover, we are looking at solid sales revenue," Ruslan Demchenko said.

Such solutions contribute to improving the environmental situation in the region and a cleaner and safer future, the BMZ press service added.