Lok Sabha Question No. 227 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-14
Subject: Research and Development in Steel Industry
Ministry: STEEL
Asked by: Vijay Kumar

THE MINISTER OF STEEL

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.227 FOR ANSWER ON 14/09/2020

## RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN STEEL INDUSTRY

227. SHRI VIJAY KUMAR:

Will the Minister of STEEL be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the public sector companies in Iron and Steel sector are undertaking research and development work;
- (b) if so, the major achievements made by the said units in utilisation, productivity, quality improvement, cost reduction and utilisation of waste etc.;
- (c) whether  any  new  schemes  have  been  approved  to  promote  research  and development in iron and steel sector during the last three years and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the details of the research and development projects undertaken /proposed to be undertaken under the said scheme ?

## ANSWER

(SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

(a)&(b): Yes, Sir.  Some of the major achievements of the public sector companies in Iron and Steel sector regarding productivity and quality improvement, cost reduction and utilisation of waste are as following:-

## Steel Authority of India Limited(SAIL) :-

- i. Iron Ore Slime Beneficiation at Dalli Mines, Bhilai.
- ii. Quality improvement at SAIL Mines-Silica reduction planned at Dalli Mines.
- iii. Productivity improvement initiatives in Sinter Plants.
- iv. Increasing Coal Dust Injection for lowering BF Coke Rate in Blast Furnaces.
- v. Improvement in Converter Lining Life.
- vi. Improvement in Steel Ladle Lining Life.
- vii. Reduction  of  Specific  Roll  Consumption  &  Roll  Bite  Lubrication  in  Finishing Stands.
- viii. Development of various products and cost optimization like:-
9.  High strength/corrosion resistant rails.
10.  Fe-500  grade  high  strength  TMT  rebars  using  lean  chemistry  (lower carbon equivalent) to bring down the cost of production through reduction in alloying elements.
11.  High strength plates without using costly Niobium (Nb) micro alloying and having simple plain Carbon-Manganese (C-Mn) chemistry.
12.  Low  Nickel  Stainless  steel  at  Salem  Steel  Plant,  primarily  achieved through use of substantially lower amount of costly nickel and replacing it with higher amount of cheaper manganese to achieve similar properties.
13.  Low  cost  ferritic  stainless  steel  with  suitable  alloy  chemistry  having mechanical  properties  and  corrosion  resistance  equivalent  to  Ti  and  Nb dual stabilized AISI 441 stainless steel, for elevator application.

-  Laboratory based  research  to  develop  low cost Ni, Mo-free  ferritic stainless  steel  with  improved  corrosion  and  formability  properties  which are comparable with austenitic stainless grade AISI 304.
-  Lean  Duplex  Stainless  Steel  through  utilizing  transformation  induced plasticity effect to achieve comparable properties of traditional AISI 316L is another step towards reduction in cost of production.
- ix. Automation schemes to enhance yield and quality improvement in existing shops.
- x. Reduction in energy consumption.
- xi. Almost 100% utilization of Solid wastes like mill scale, flue dust, BF slag and waste refractory bricks.

## Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited(RINL) :

-  Re-design  of emergency  containers  for slag/steel dumping  resulting in decrease in the specific refractory consumption, cost savings and increase in the availability of cranes for production.
-  Optimization of Aluminium consumption in steel refining process in SMS-2 for production of cost effective 'Clean Steel'.
-  Study of De-Phosphorisation during Steelmaking at SMS-1 to improve quality & productivity.
-  Optimization  of  operating  parameters  for  Ca-Si  treatment  of  liquid  steel  at SMS-2 for improving castability of steel and produce clean steel.
-  Development  of  thermo-mechanically  treated  bars  having  improved  seismic and corrosion resistance.
-  Feasibility study on utilization of fly ash pellets as Ladle & Tundish covering compound to reduce environmental pollution.
-  Feasibility study on usage of ladle furnace slag as a replacement to synthetic slag for solid waste utilization and reduction in environment pollution.
-  Suitability of BF slag as a replacement for river sand in civil construction.
-  Development of Fe500S grade steel for seismic structural application, 10B21 & 15B25 Boron grade steel for automobile segment and CO2 grade steel for Welding Electrode segment.

(c)&(d):  Ministry  of  Steel  already  has  a  scheme  viz.  'Promotion  of  Research  & Development  in  Iron  &  Steel  Sector'  for  providing financial  assistance  to  various institutions  including  CSIR  laboratories  and   academic  institutions  for  carrying  out research in the iron & steel sector. Research projects under this scheme cover  the following research areas:-

-  Beneficiation of natural resources like iron ore & coal for improved productivity
-  Utilisation of wastes.
-  Improvement in energy efficiency.
-  Reduction in GHG emission to address climate change issues.
-  Improvement in quality of steel products.
-  Development of value added steel for import substitution.
-  Addressing the technological issues faced by the iron & steel industry.

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