From August 14 to 17, 2024, the Chinese Society for Metals (CSM) held the 2024 National Metallurgical Energy and Environmental Protection Production Tech Conference and High-End Forum on Green Low-Carbon Metallurgy in Baotou. Focusing on “Scientific Pollution Reduction, Energy Saving, Carbon Reduction, and Efficient Synergy for Green Development”, the conference emphasized the exchange and discussion of technologies, processes, and equipment related to green low-carbon development, cost reduction, oxygen-enriched combustion, desulfurization, carbon capture and utilization, pollution reduction, and environmental protection cost reduction. PKU Pioneer closely follows the green development of the steel industry, and presented a technical report titled “Industrial Exploration of Low-Cost Blast Furnace Oxygen Enrichment, Steel-Mill Gas Purification and High-Value Utilization” at the conference as a high-quality supplier of gas separation technology in the steel industry.

On August 14, 2024, supported by PKU Pioneer, a conference on the Technical Requirements for VPSA Oxygen Generation for Blast Furnace Ironmaking Standard and Energy-Saving Environmental Technologies was held by the Chinese Society for Metals (hereinafter referred to as CSM) and in Baotou.

In April 2024, a Chinese large cement plant successfully launched a demonstration project for purifying 200,000 tons of CO2 per year using oxy-fuel combustion. As of now, the system has been operating continuously and stably with excellent results. The project is currently the largest carbon capture and utilization initiative in the Chinese cement industry and is set to become a benchmark project for oxy-fuel combustion coupled with low-energy carbon capture technology globally.

Based on actual production of industrial equipment and relevant national standards, PKU Pioneer made significant upgrades and adjustments to the appearance spraying process and effect of the VPSA (Vacuum Pressure Swing Adsorption) oxygen generation plant to further standardize the coating colors, enhance product quality and aesthetics, and improve customer satisfaction. At the same time, the basic identification colors, symbols and maintenance markings for non-standard components and pipelines have been refined.

In January-June 2024, Turkish steelmakers increased steel production by 16.9% compared to the same period in 2023, to 18.61 million tons by data from WorldSteel. And Turkey has surpassed Germany to become Europe’s largest steel producer, according to data from January 2024.

It is projected that by 2050, the scrap ratio in India could reach 25% (currently about 20%), with major steelmakers achieving 20% (currently about 10%). In short-process EAF steelmaking, the application of Vacuum Pressure Swing Adsorption (VPSA) oxygen units is crucial for improving furnace control and production efficiency. VPSA oxygen plants employ molecular sieves to generate enriched oxygen from air. Compared to traditional cryogenic systems, VPSA oxygen systems have lower construction and operating costs, and can adjust oxygen flowrate according to demand variations during steelmaking, which helps optimize furnace atmosphere and chemical reactions in the melt to further improve furnace operation efficiency and steel product quality and contribute to substantial reductions in energy consumption and emissions, thereby lowering the overall carbon footprint.