Spring 2015
Steve Richards
Emellie Karlsson
Minkyu Lee
Submitted to:
College of Engineering
School of Engineering Design, Technology and Professional Programs
Penn State University
29 Apr 2015

 Dean, College of Engineering
Amr S. Elnashai, FREng, The Harold and Inge Marcus Dean of Engineering
 Department Head, SEDTAPP
Dr. Sven Bilèn PE
 Course Instructor
Professor John Berezniak
 Laboratory Assistants
Thomas Andrews
Gaukhar Balkassmynova
Heather Dawe
 Lakshmi Niwas Mittal
United States Headquarters: 1 S Dearborn St Ste 1800, Chicago, IL 60603
Local Plant: 215 S Front St., Steelton, PA 17113

The Pennsylvania State University
ArcelorMittal
Waste Steam Reuse and Recycling
2.1 PROJECT OBJECTIVES
2.2 PROJECT BACKGROUND
2.3 SPONSOR BACKGROUND
2.4 PROJECT CATEGORIES
2.5 PROBLEM STATEMENT
3.1 SUSTAINABILITY
3.2 RATIONALE FOR SELECTION
3.3 DESCRIPTION OF ALTERNATE CONCEPTS
3.4 REGULATORY ISSUES
3.5 STAKEHOLDERS
3.6 ASSESSMENT OF AMOUNT OF WASTE DIVERTED FROM LANDFILL
3.7 ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT
3.8 SYSTEM DIAGRAM/MODEL
3.9 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
3.10 PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING
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The Pennsylvania State University
ArcelorMittal
Waste Steam Reuse and Recycling
This report will introduce the project’s objectives as well as who the project was designed for.
Sustainability will be discussed along with the rationale for choosing the refractory furnace brick waste stream. The final suggested design as well as a few other potential designs will be introduced as well as the regulatory issues that need to be addressed coinciding with the implementation of the suggested design. The benefits to all stakeholders of the company will be outlined to garner support for the suggested design. Also, the approximate amount of landfill waste that will be saved will be detailed along with an economic assessment of the design, a model of the design, environmental impacts, and finally how the product design should be marketed.
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The Pennsylvania State University
ArcelorMittal
Waste Steam Reuse and Recycling
2.1 PROJECT OBJECTIVES . To reduce the waste stream at one of ArcelorMittal’s facilities by designing an opportunity to reuse and/or recycle one or more of the largest sources of refuse: pallets from incoming material delivery, empty drums or totes received from delivery of fluids, or waste refractory brick.
2.2 PROJECT BACKGROUND . Steel is one of the most common materials in society, and a resource with large, finite reserves. Because of this, industries that use iron and steel initially developed a linear production cycle (see figure below. Since iron is seemingly rich in the Earth, it was common for steel to be disposed in a landfill. www.storyofstuff.org
By recycling most of our materials, it is possible to greatly reduce the strain on resources and on waste disposal. For the greatest impact, this must be combined with lowering growth in consumption, eventually reaching a steady‐state or even shrinking consumption.
Use of recycled steel has always been a part of steel industry, but while steel is often recycled effectively, some of the byproducts of production are not. Many steel companies are able to sell the slag produced in the process of making liquid steel for roadbed filler, and some also sell the iron oxide mill scale byproduct. ArcelorMittal espouses company values of Sustainability, Quality, and
Leadership. In support of the value of sustainability, they look to reduce their overall waste stream to improve the sustainability of their processes. Reducing the amount of waste will also reduce disposal costs, and improve the long time sustainability.
2.3 SPONSOR BACKGROUND . Our partner in this project is ArcelorMittal USA, the largest producer of steel in North America. ArcelorMittal is the leader in all major global steel markets, such as automotive, construction, household appliances, and packaging. With over 285,000 employees in over
60 countries, it is also the world’s largest and most global steel company both when it comes to revenue and production. ArcelorMittal are active in three divisions in the USA: Flat Carbon, Long Carbon, and
Tubular. The Steelton, PA, plant is in the Long Carbon division. Similar to the other Long Carbon plants,
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The Pennsylvania State University
ArcelorMittal
Waste Steam Reuse and Recycling the Steelton plant manufactures steel from recycled scrap metals. This plant has a liquid steelmaking capacity of about 1.1 million net tons of steel per year. ArcelorMittal USA have Product lines that include erverything from cast and rolled blooms for the forging and rerolling industries; rails for railroad, transit, and crane application; rolled billets, squares, and flats to construction equipment sections.
2.4 PROJECT CATEGORIES . There are three major categories in this project, recycling of bricks, oil drums, and wooden pallets. ArelorMittal, being a producer of all of these three, is looking for a way to recycle or reuse the materials. In order to do this, we have been asked to follow a few steps, the first being to identify the opportunity for re-use or recycling of waste materials.
2.5 PROBLEM STATEMENT . Arcelor Mittal purchases refractory brick of different kinds, used for many various applications, one of which is the furnace brick. In 2014, ArcelorMittal disposed of 216 MT of furnace brick for the electric arc furnace. Furnace bricks are usually disposed of in construction and industrial landfills, but the brick does not have to go to waste but can be recycled and reused by following the procedure presented in this report.
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The Pennsylvania State University
ArcelorMittal
Waste Steam Reuse and Recycling
3.1 SUSTAINABILITY . Sustainability is the practice of implementing environmentally friendly methods of production and thereby supporting the conservation of natural resources and maintenance of a balanced ecosystem. Sustainability is important on a global scale because today’s choices and actions has a direct impact on the future. It is imperative that we make environmentally efficient decisions today to avoid limiting future generations. There are a finite number of environmental resources and conserving them to make them last for is crucial or life as we know it will be significantly altered.
3.2 RATIONALE FOR SELECTION . The improvement of the waste stream involving the disposal of spent refractory materials was chosen because this is a major problem due to the hazardous components that make up refractory brick such as chromite bearing materials, specifically chromite, which can be toxic. Improving this waste system would not only benefit the environment by reducing the amount of material placed into landfills, but the company as a whole as well through saving money.
3.3 DESIGN CONCEPT.
The design concept chosen includes reusing the material in the refractory bricks to produce new bricks, as well as using the rest of the spent material for prolonging the lives of the electric arc furnaces used by the company. First, the process includes crushing and screening of the spent refractory brick. Following this process, the material will undergo a magnetic separation process. The material will be on a conveyor belt and passed under a magnet that is able to separate the magnetic chromite. Because this material contains iron, it will respond to the magnet. This magnetic material can then be reused to make new refractory brick, which will save the cost of buying new ones. The rest of the material that is not magnetic is rich in magnesium oxide (MgO). Mixing this magnesium oxide with potassium hydroxide (KOH) and slag (stony waste matter separated from metals during smelting) creates a substance that can be used as a protective coating for electric arc furnaces that are employed by the company to make their product. This coating reduces corrosion and thereby extends the lives of the furnaces, which is another money-saving practice in the long run because new furnaces will not need to be purchased and the cost of repairing them will be minimized. Other designs considered include using the spent refractories for a source of radiation and using them for landscaping or creating athletic tracks.
3.4 REGULATORY ISSUES . There are a few regulatory issues concerning the spent refractory materials, specifically iron chromite. Both occupational and environmental issues arise. As far as occupational issues, there are a few potential health hazards that come into play when workers have to handle the material. The material can cause irritation to the eyes and skin.
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The Pennsylvania State University
ArcelorMittal
Waste Steam Reuse and Recycling
These concerns can be thwarted by requiring the employees to wear goggles and clothing that covers their skin when handling the material. Another health concern is the inhalation of the material. This can cause irritation to the nose and throat, as well as the respiratory tract. Over time, inhalation of the material can lead to bronchitis, reduced ability to breathe and lung disease. Once again, this problem can be easily addressed by requiring the employees to wear masks to prevent inhalation of the material whenever they have to handle it. As far as environmental issues, iron chromite can pose serious damage to ecosystem if it happens to enter any bodies of water according to PrinceMaterials Material Safety Data Sheet. It does not pose any harm to the ground due to the fact that is found naturally in the earth. According to
PrinceMaterials, it is suggested that this material be collected and reused when possible, which is exactly what our design does.
3.5 STAKEHOLDERS . A stakeholder is any person without whose support, a given company would not be able to exist. They are impacted by the company’s actions, objectives and policies. There are two types of stakeholders in any company. First, there are primary stakeholders. This includes people who actually engage in economic transactions. Typically, these re people who hold a stock or are actually members of the company. There are also secondary stakeholders, who are people outside of the company who have no direct economic exchange with them, but are still affected by its actions. Secondary stakeholders can include the general public, communities surrounding the company, and other businesses. The suggested design can benefit the primary stakeholders in numerous ways. First, it can save them money. By prolonging the lives of the electric arc furnaces and selling the recycled material back to brick manufacturers, maintenance costs are reduced and another stream of income is created. The design will also give the company a good name by gaining public approval due to the economically efficiency of recycling and reusing material that would otherwise be disposed of in a landfill. Secondary stakeholders would also benefit. The general public and communities would be better off because our environment would benefit by reducing landfill waste and promote cleaner and more sustainable communities.
3.6 ASSESSMENT OF AMOUNT OF WASTE DIVERTED FROM LANDFILLS . The suggested design would potentially divert a substantial amount of waste from entering landfills. The design process is efficient in saving approximately 80% of the spent refractory material for reuse. According Arcelor-Mittal, 216 million tons of furnace brick were put into landfills in
2014. The suggested design process would be able to prevent roughly 172.8 million tons of furnace brick from being subjected to landfill waste.
3.7 ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT . The design does require a significant cost to purchase and install the required equipment needed to carry out the design process. The brick crusher of appropriate size will cost approximately $125,000. The screener and magnetic separator of appropriate sizes have costs of roughly $50,000 and $25,000 respectively. In total, the total input costs will be around $200,000. As stated, the input costs are significant, but in the long run, this can be made up in savings of material costs and avoided maintenance costs of electric arc furnaces. After these costs are made up, the savings will turn into profits for the company.
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3.8 SYSTEM DIAGRAM/MODEL .
The Pennsylvania State University
ArcelorMittal
Waste Steam Reuse and Recycling
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The Pennsylvania State University
ArcelorMittal
Waste Steam Reuse and Recycling
3.9 ENVIRONMENT IMPACTS . As previously stated, approximately 216 million tons of furnace brick were put into landfills in 2014. The suggested design will prevent 172.8 million tons of reaching that point. This means that the suggested design conserves natural resources by not having to buy new bricks and preventing the waste of spent ones. Also, the prolonging of the electric arc furnace life is environmentally friendly because new furnaces will not need to purchased, saving money and other resources, and ultimately preventing the process of getting rid of the material that composed furnaces that would otherwise not be able to be used.
3.10 PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING . The product development process would begin with small-scale control testing of the suggested process. This enables the company to determine how fast the process would go as well as be able to figure out labor intensive the process would be. Next, testing would enable the company to determine how much money can be made from selling the spent material back to brick manufacturers. Earlier in this report, it was stated that approximately 172.8 million tons of refractory material could be recycled and reused to make new brick. This means that the company could sell this amount back to brick manufacturers to make more bricks. If the company sells this material at a target selling price of $5 per ton, an estimate sales value of $864,000,000 can be attained. This design can then be advertised to other steelmaking companies as well as any other company that uses a mass amount of natural resources as an exemplary example of recycling and promoting the conservation of raw material to support the environment and future production of goods.
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The Pennsylvania State University
ArcelorMittal
Waste Steam Reuse and Recycling
By implementing the suggested concept design, everyone within Arcelor Mittal as well as those affected by the company will benefit. The company itself will save money, which means benefits for primary stakeholders and employees. There are benefits to those outside of the company as well. The environment benefits greatly with so much waste being diverted from landfills, and because the environment is being conserved, secondary stakeholders such as surrounding communities and people also benefit as well.
There are many strengths to the design. Among these are the effective re-use of roughly 80% of the furnace brick material, which enables the company to conserve so much waste from going into landfills. Also, there are few health concerns with the refractory brick. What little hazards there are can be effectively dealt with by the simple means of proper attire when working with the material. Environmentally, the iron chromite in the brick can pose harm to ecosystems if it enters any bodies of water, so it is suggested that it be recycled and reused whenever possible, and that is point of the design, so this is another strength as well. Another strength is that the design is revolutionary. If Arcelor Mittal implements this design, it will have the right to market it and sell it to other companies, creating another avenue for revenue. One weakness of the design is the material handling that goes into the design. We must take the brick from Arcelor Mittal and then transport it to our company facility, where it will undergo the suggested design process. Following this design process, the magnetically separated material will be sold back to brick manufacturers, and the non-magnetic material that is rich in
MgO will be transported back to Arcelor Mittal to be used as a protective coating for the electric arc furnaces.
Implementing the design creates many money-saving advantages. Not only does the design implement the recycling of a most of the refractory material, but it also provides a way to reuse this material as a protective coating for the electric arc furnaces. Preserving material and the company furnaces are each money-saving practices that can add up to be significant savings in the long run. One disadvantage of this design’s implementation is the input cost that goes into the process. It will cost money in the beginning for the equipment and it will require cost to keep the process running. However, in the long run, this input cost will pay for itself because
Arcelor Mittal will be saving money by preserving their furnaces and saving costs on raw materials and bricks as well.
As previously stated, this design can be implemented in any other steelmaking company that uses electric arc furnaces and refractory brick. As suggested, the design can be optimized and then marketed to other companies. Not only will this spread the conservation of natural resources and the environment as a whole, but it can make the company more money as well.
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The Pennsylvania State University
ArcelorMittal
Waste Steam Reuse and Recycling
The feasibility of implementation is likely. Arcelor Mittal will save money on material cost and long-run furnace preservation through this design process. There are few disadvantages and weaknesses, and each are heavily outweighed by the strengths and advantages of the design.
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The Pennsylvania State University
ArcelorMittal
Waste Steam Reuse and Recycling
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