Data from Russian analytical agencies show that Russian crude steel production increased to 75.8 million tons in 2023, an increase of 5.9% year-on-year, which is close to a resurgence to pre-Russian-Ukrainian conflict output. In addition, the iron production in 2023 was 54.5 million tons, meaning up 5.6% year-on-year.
Russia stepped up its steelmaking efforts despite internal restraints on production such as the crude steel consumption tax and export tariffs launched by the Russian government in January 2022 and October 2023 respectively, and external factors such as the sanctions imposed by the EU and other Western countries on Russia's economy and steel industry, all of which have reduced the export margins of the Russian steel sector in fact. As Russian steel manufacturers are excluded from most premium segments of the market, the government of the country imposed double taxation on production and export at the same time.
Overall, Russia's crude steel production has recovered significantly from the production reduction situation due to the economic recession after the conflict outbreak in 2022 and has almost caught up with the 76-million-ton output of 2021 before the conflict. In 2023, Russia's output of rolled steel products reached 65.6 million tons, up 5.8% year-on-year, while steel pipes also rose 9% y-o-y to 13.2 million tons.
Industrial oxygen plays a vital role in the steelmaking process. As an oxidizer, oxygen can react chemically with the carbon, impurities and other elements in the furnace, thereby effectively removing impurities and improving the purity of steel. At high temperatures, oxygen can also react with other gases to help raise the temperature inside the furnace, making the combustion inside more complete to improve the combustion efficiency and speed up the steelmaking process.
Compared with the traditional cryogenic process, the VPSA oxygen generation system is more stable and safer. Advantages including lower comprehensive operation cost, shorter construction period and more flexible load regulation make it not only adapt to the complex operating conditions of oxygen supply for steelmaking but also effectively improve the economic benefits. With the gradual popularization of electric arc furnace steelmaking, VPSA oxygen generation technology is bound to become the preferred oxygen supply solution for steel mills.
PKU Pioneer has been deeply engaged in the steel industry for nearly 25 years and is committed to providing steel enterprises with economical, efficient and reliable VPSA (Vacuum Pressure Swing Adsorption) and PSA (Pressure Swing Adsorption) oxygen generation equipment. Up to now, PKU Pioneer has constructed oxygen plants for nearly 70 top steel mills around the world, helping them save nearly 30% of comprehensive energy consumption. Among them, a VPSA oxygen unit set up by PKU Pioneer for a steel mill in China has achieved a new breakthrough- the total oxygen capacity reached 100,000Nm3/h. VPSA and PSA oxygen generation technology greatly helps promote the energy-saving & consumption reduction, quality improvement and efficiency enhancement of the iron and steel industry, it is an important force to boost the green and high-quality development with great sustainability of the steel industry.
PKU Pioneer has built multiple sets of air separation units for the steel smelting, chemical and other industries in Russia in recent years. As of March 2024, a set of VPSA-O2 plant (2,530m3/hr, 92%) and a PSA-H2 plant (8,017m3/hr, 99.9%) of PKU Pioneer exported to Russia are under construction, and both are expected to be delivered by this year.
