ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE
SAEISI Environmental Meeting 2006
Thailand Country Report
Dr. Decha Pimpisut, Senior Engineer
Bureau of Industrial Water Technology and pollution Management
Department of Industrial Works, Ministry of Industry, Thailand
pdecha@yahoo.com
Introduction
The consumption rate of iron and steel around the World was estimated based on 2.6%
1
growth rate to increase from 864 million tons in 2003 to 1,142 million tons in 2013. The major consumers are
China, EU and North America which was expected to consume 371, 171 and 145 million tons in 2013
respectively. Thailand has consumed iron and steel products increasing from 3.54 million tons in 1998 to 12.7
million tons in 2003 despite the economics crisis in 1997. It was expected that the consumption rate would be
1
increased to 19.0 million tons, the highest rate among ASEAN countries of total 56.6 million tons, in 2013 .
Nevertheless, the iron and steel products consumption per capita is considerably low, 200 kg/capita/year,
compared to developed countries such as Japan, 601 kg/capita/year, Germany, 473 kg/capita/year, and the
United States, 409 kg/capita/year. The consumption rate is also lower than Malaysia which consumed 278
kg/capita/year.
The schematic processes for making end-use steel products in Thailand as shown in Figure 1
reveals that there are two primary processes for making molten metal before casting; blast furnace- basic
oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) route and electric arc furnace (EAF) route.
The BF-BOF route, Basic Blast furnace was selected by Sahaviriya Group, one of the
2
potential investors according to the Board of Investments award projects , as a technology for making Iron &
Steel from Iron ores in Thailand. The Blast furnace required many auxiliary processes including coke making
from coal3. This process changes iron ores in to ferrous oxide in molten metal form with carbon content 3.00 –
4.50% and carbon content is reduced to 0.10 – 0.30 by BOF before making ingot or casting.
The EAF route is widely used in Thailand using steel scrap as raw materials rather than
sponge iron from direct reduction process. The steel scrap was molten using electric as source of energy and
then the molten steel was continuous casting.
-2-
Schematic Diagram from iron ores -> steel products
ยานยนต์
เครือ่ งใช้ ไฟฟ้า
การผลิต
เหล็กพรุ น
เหล็กแผ่น รี ดร้ อน
แร่ เหล็ก
เตาไฟฟ้ า
Slab and
Thin Slab
Skelp
Conventional
Ingot Teeming
เศษเหล็ก
Lime & Flux
การหล่อแบบต่อเนื่ อง
Basic Oxygen
Furnace
สั ง กะสี มุง หลัง คา
เหล็กรางรถไฟ
ก่อสร้าง
เหล็กรางรถไฟ
Hot RolledBar Cold Drawn Bar
Blast
Furnace
Pig Iron
Casting
Hot Forging
Billet
Rod
การผลิต
เหล็กกล้ า
เพลา/ชาฟท์
ลวดเหล็ก
ลวดเหล็ก
Tube Rounds
การถลุงและ
การผลิตเหล็ก
Steel Pla te
เหล็กแผ่น เคลือบ
สั ง กะสี
Structure Shape
Open Heart
Furnace
ถ่านหิ น
Temper เหล็ก
Rolling เคลือบดีบุ ก
กระป๋ อง
Welded
Pipe
Plate
Ingot
Breakdown Bloom
Mill
หิ น ปู น
กัดกรด เหล็กแผ่น การอบ
รี ดเย็น อ่อน
Seamless Pipe
ท่อก๊าซ ท่อประปา
การหล่ อ
การแปรรู ป
Figure 1: Schematic diagram for iron and steel production
การใช้
งาน
2
Sources: the Office of Industrial Economics , Ministry of Industry, Thailand.
Since the iron and steel production processes are energy intensive processes, there was a
4
study showed that energy used in BF-BOF and EAF processes took part around 25 and 17% of total
operation cost while the raw materials took about 55 and 70% respectively. Using energy, water and
chemicals in all production processes cause lots of pollutants that may impact environment and human health.
There was a study showed that in intermediate and downstream processes especially for getting rid of rust in
5
raw material preparation process emitted a lot of pollutants . There are about 300 intermediate and
6
downstream iron and steel production plants in Thailand . From this point of view, the environmental impacts
from iron and steel industry are air emission mainly SOx, NOx, CO2, VOCs, particulate matter (PM) and acid
mist in downstream processes, water effluent and solid waste including recyclable waste.
Then, the factors that may have an impact on the steel and related industries and may affect
their environmental decision-making or performance can be summarized as follows;
-31. External Influence
a. Regional
The factors that may have an impact on the steel and related industries of this region and may
affect their environmental decision-making or performance can be discussed as follows;
(1) Influence of the Ratification of “Kyoto Protocol”
Since almost all of Asean countries were ratify to the Kyoto protocol, effective on 16
February 2005. Greenhouse gases emitted from using of fuel for energy is the key issue and the iron & steel
manufacturing plants are considered as an energy intensive sector. Then, manufacturers may face the pressure
from public to use energy more effective in order to reduce effect on climate change, the crucial topic
nowadays.
7
(2) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in Asia .
There are several initiatives in Asia dealing with FTA either in term of trade area to
individual country such as ASEAN-China, ASEAN-Korea, ASEAN-Japan or country to country such as
Thailand-Japan, Thailand-Australia. The FTA may effect the iron & steel industry in terms of lower cost of
raw materials for importers but, on the other hand, manufacturers might have to improve their productivity
and introduce new technology for cost effective in production processes to maintain their competitiveness.
b. National
b1. Policy and Legislation
New and emerging environmental policies, legislations, regulatory control levels and any
other factors that are the concerns of the steel and related industries can be summarized as follows;
8
(1) Ministry of Industry issued a new Notification on Industrial Solid Waste Management
Ministry of Industry by the Department of Industrial Works has adopted the Ministerial
Notification on December 27, 2005 to reorganize the industrial waste management. The notification, which
was effective 3 months later, aimed to clarify the duties of waste generator, transporter and processor, and
final disposer. The liability of each concerned party has been indicated. Manifest and reporting systems were
strengthened.
(2) Ministry of Industry Supported the Establishment of Primary Processes for Iron & Steel
2
Industry
In 2003, the Iron & Steel Industry of Thailand studied “Restructuring of Thailand’s Iron &
Steel Industry”. The study, commenced by Mckinsey company (Thailand), recommended the government to
support the industry on the establishment of primary processes to produce raw material for the following
-4processes, which were affected by the fluctuation of cost and quantity of the imported raw materials. Then, the
Ministry of Industry through the Board of Investments has awards of three projects namely;
(a) NaKhon Thai Strip Mills co.ltd. produces 1.5 million tons/year of sponge iron located in
the Eastern Sea Board area
(b) G Steel (Public Company) produces 2.65 million tons/year of pig iron
(c) Sahaviriya co.ltd. produces 30 million tons/year of pig iron located in Bangsaphan,
Prachuapkirikhan province. The project is submitting EIA report of the first phase to the Office of Natural
Resources and Environment Policy and Planning (ONEP) for approval.
All projects will affect the recruitment of raw material in both quantity and cost to the middle
and down stream processes in Thailand.
b2. Guidelines/codes of practice.
Major environmental guidelines or code of practices which may impact on the steel and
9
related industries is the Department of Industrial Works provided Environmental Management Guidelines for
pickling processes in steel industry.
In 1999, the Department of Industrial Works in cooperation with Thai-German Technical
Office (GTZ) studied and set up Environmental Management Guidelines for Steel industry - pickling
processes. The guidelines provided the information of pollution sources and technologies for treatment,
reduction, reuse/recycle of waste in get rid of rust in material preparation processes. The guideline also
recommended regulatory agencies to set up new emission and effluent standards in order to motivate the
pollution prevention scheme.
b 3. Reduction measures and programmes.
Major programmes, sponsored through government, the national and/or local regulators, to
reduce emissions from industrial processes, reduce environmental burdens or the impact of emission on health
or the eco system can be summarized as follows;
(1) Trend in Waste Management and Recycling Regulations
The Department of Industrial Works has identified the commercial shop for recycling
materials as factory type 106. The waste stream for all types of waste were then in control. The owner of
factory type no. 106 has to obtain permission from Department of Industrial Works before transporting the
reuse/recycle materials to iron & steel plants. With this regulation, the recycle rate shall increase along with
the quality of waste that might need lower energy consumption to make a new product.
(2) Promotion of Eco-Industrial Parks
The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand supported by GTZ has initiated the eco
10
industrial estate projects in many industrial estates during 2001-2004. The projects introduced the waste
exchange and waste utilization within and outside the estates. With this approach, the recycle rate should
increase and the environmental impacts should decrease while the competitiveness of enterprise shall increase
-5through cost saving.
(3) Promotion of Sustainable Development for Thai Industry
The Department of Industrial Works has set up its goals to promote the sustainable
development among Thai industry. The activities implemented include Cleaner Technology, EMS for SME,
LCI/LCA and cooperation projects with developed countries i.e. Japan and Germany. The Management
Information System (MIS) for Industrial Pollution Prevention and Control under Eco-efficiency component of
Thai-Germany Project is the example project that employs the MIS for supporting the industry for their
sustainable development. Other tools that support sustainable development in the enterprise are also
promoting among Thai industry.
c. Public, Non-government organizations (NGOs), Pressure groups.
The current main environmental concerns of the public, NGOs and pressure groups and how
these groups interact with industry, government and regulators (e.g. direct action, stakeholder forums, etc.).
Particularly, issues that have arisen between steelworks and local communities are air pollution and waste
disposed from industry that may effect their living environment. International, green peace, and local NGOs
are actively involved in any development in Thailand especially major industry projects. Recently, there were
protests against power plants in Prachuapkirikhan and Saraburi province. The regulatory agencies have
decided to integrate the Survey of Public Perception in to Environmental Impact Assessment Processes. Then,
all NGOs and leaders of communities nearby the factories can share their view through this process.
Specific environmental incidents that have occurred both within or external to the steel and
related industries that have drawn the attention of the above groups is social responsibility of the enterprise.
The issue can make the neighborhood living together peacefully. It is widely accepted among major industries
in Thailand.
d. Surveys, Studies and forecasts.
The surveys, studies or forecasts carried out by government organizations, regulators,
academia, pressure groups or other parties concerning emission trends, environmental burdens or the impact
of emission on health or the eco system can be summarized as follows;
(1) Pollution Control Department developed an Emission Inventory of PCDDs/PCDFs for
Enabling Activities of a National Plan for Implementation of the Stockholm Convention on POPs in
11
Thailand .
In 2005, the Pollution Control Department developed the emission inventory of
PCDDs/PCDFs in Thailand. The annual release from Ferrous and Non-ferrous metal production were found
19.776 g I-TEQ to air and to 98.77 g I-TEQ residue, which accounted for 7% and 12.99% of total release
respectively.
-64
(2) Iron and Steel Institute of Thailand studied energy used in Thai’s steel industry .
Assawadornviset studied the using of energy in the Steel Industry in Thailand. The study led
the industry to improve their productivity and reduce environmental impact in using less energy. In the same
time, reduction of energy used and environmental impacts can lead to cost reduction as a whole.
(3) Office of Industrial Economics studied Benchmarking for Competitiveness of Thai
Industry
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In 2003, the Office of Industrial Economics studied the competitiveness of Thailand iron &
steel industry through benchmarking concept. In the study, four indices, Productivity, Efficiency, Asset
Utilization, and Financial Ratio were adopted and World Best Practice was used for benchmarking.
The Table 2 is the example for benchmarking of productivity index.
Table 2: Benchmarking of Construction steel productivities in Thailand vs Germany
World Best
ผู้ผลิตเหล็กเส้ นก่ อสร้ างไทย
Practice
เตาหลอมทัน เตาหลอมรุ่ น
เ ยอรมนี
สมัย
เก่า
ไม่ มีเตาหลอม เตาหลอมทันสมั
(3 โรง)
(4 โรง)
(4 โรง)
ย
1. ตัวชี้วัดด้ านผลิตภาพ
ผลผลิตจริ งเฉลี่ย (พันตันต่อปี )
ชัว่ โมงทำงำนเฉลี่ยต่อสัปดำห์
ผลผลิตต่อคนต่อปี (ตัน)
สัดส่ วนกำรใช้แรงงำนรับเหมำ (ร้อยละ)
อัตรำส่ วนกำรผลิตสิ นค้ำคุณภำพรอง (ร้อยละ)
ชั้นคุณภำพที่ผลิตได้
กำรผลิตขั้นต่ำต่อครั้ง (ตัน)
ระยะเวลำส่ งมอบสิ นค้ำ (วัน)
งบประมำณในกำรวิจยั และพัฒนำ (ร้อยละของรำยได้)
130
48
432
5 - 10
~ 0.5
ทุกชั้นคุณภำพ
~ 60
~ 30
150
48
335
2-3
~ 0.5
ทุกชั้นคุณภำพ
~ 40
~ 30
165
48
1,351
3 - 10
~1
ตำมคุณภำพวัตถุดิบ
< 20
~ 30
611
40
2,878
11.24
< 0.2
ทุกชั้นคุณภำพ
90
< 15
<1
ไม่มี
ไม่มี
> 5%
The project will impact the iron & steel manufacturing in Thailand to increase their
performance to be competitive in the World market.
2. In the Steelworks.
a. Overview.
The new factors, decisions or directions of the steel companies which have had or may have
an impact on operations or may affect environmental decision making or performance (e.g. profitability,
technology/product strategy, restructuring, rationalization, expansion, etc.) can be summarized as follows;
a 1. More Attention on Social Responsibility of Industry
The Cooperate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a crucial topic among the enterprises. The
-7enterprises shall support the development and living conditions of people within and outside their
communities. The CSR can support the business to increase their market share through a good will image
while the society get support from enterprise for improving their living condition.
a 2. Efforts on the Pollution Prevention
The sustainable development is more emphasize after the Johannesburg Implementation Plan
based on Agenda 21. Environment, Social and Economic aspect has to be accounted for every development
projects including iron & steel plants. Pollution prevention scheme is widely accepted. The common tools are
Cleaner Technology, LCI/LCA, and etc.
b. Process stages.
Major developments including new plant, pollution control measures/plant, measurement
programmes, reduction programmes, problems, incidents, future strategies etc. by process area are;
According to Environmental Impact Assessment, all plant has to set up the reduction of
13
environmental impact and monitoring programmes. Sahaviriya group company , for example, not only
follow the reduction of environmental impact and monitoring programmes but also integrate cleaner
technology concept in to the Environmental Management system (EMS) –ISO 14001.
c. General issues.
There was no information on this issue.
3. Special Topics
a. R&D activities
Provide information of any active or proposed research activities relating to the
environmental performance of plant. Where appropriate, indicate the drivers for carry out the research
There was no information on this issue.
b. Environmental Strategy
Provide the focuses of company environmental strategy and potential developments resulting
from current and expected future environmental concerns.
There was no information on this issue.
-8-
References
1. Sahaviriya Groups, 2005. Iron & Steel Making Project for Thailand. Presentation materials for
the Board of Investments of Thailand, Bangkok, Thailand.
2. Office of Industrial Economics, 2005. Summary report for Minister of Industry in discussion with
Sahaviriya Group. Ministry of Industry, Thailand.
3. Iron and Steel Institute of Thailand, 2002. Feasibility Study of Setting up the Upstream Iron &
Steel Making Project for Thailand. Prepared by Materials and Metallurgy Institute,
Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.
4. Assawadornviset, K., 2006. Energy use in the Steel Industry in Thailand. Iron and Steel Institute
of Thailand, Bangkok, Thailand. http://www.isit.or.th
5. Department of Industrial Works, 1999. Technical Guideline for Environmental Management Raw Material Preparation Processes in Intermediate and Downstream Iron & Steel Production.
Ministry of Industry, Thailand.
6. Bureau of Information and Communication Technology, 2006. Factory statistics. Department of
Industrial Works, Ministry of Industry, Thailand.
7. Department of Trade Negotiations, 2006. Free Trade Agreement(FTA). Ministry of Commerce,
Thailand.
8. Department of Industrial Works, 2005. Ministerial Notification on Industrial Solid Waste
Management B.E. 2548 (2005). Ministry of Industry, Thailand.
9. Department of Industrial Works, 1999. Environmental Management Guidelines for Steel
Industry - Pickling Processes. Ministry of Industry, Thailand.
10. Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand, 2004. Development of Eco-industrial Estate and
Network; DEE+Net Project. Ministry of Industry, Thailand. http://www.ieat.go.th/
11. Pollution Control Department, 2005. Inventory Development for Sources and Releases of
PCDDs/PCDFs Production and Estimation. National Focalpoint for Stockholm convention,
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand.
12. Office of Industrial Economics, 2005. Benchmarking of focused industries in Thailand. Ministry
of Industry, Thailand.
13. Sahavriya Industry (Public Company), 2006. Summary Report submitted for Distinguished
Environmental Protection Award from the Ministry of Industry. Bangkok, Thailand.