MMK continues to improve energy efficiency
The analysis showed that the new version of MMK's energy policy, approved in March 2020, meets the Company's mission and strategic goals as well as the requirements of the international standard ISO 50001. The Company's production activities for H1 2020 were carried out in accordance with the requirements of Russian legislation in the field of energy conservation and improving the energy efficiency of production, as well as in accordance with the international standard ISO 50001:2018.
Among the key areas for improving energy efficiency are improving the system of control over the use of energy resources, increasing the efficiency of their use at each workstation, and making the most complete and efficient use of secondary energy resources.
An important component of improving MMK's energy efficiency is to involve Company personnel in energy-saving activities. In H1 2020, MMK Group submitted 356 energy-efficient ideas proposed by employees on the Company’s energy management platform (an application for collecting ideas in the field of energy efficiency and other categories), 68 of which have been implemented and are expected to have a total economic effect of more than RUB 60 million. Another 146 energy-efficient ideas are currently in the works.
Among MMK Group’s best energy-saving practices in H1 2020, was, in particular, the optimisation of process water supply modes to the spray cooling circuit at mill 5000. The project has a short payback period, and this small capital investment will save the Company around 700 thousand KW of electricity and about RUB 2 million.
Another project involves providing accurate metering of chemically treated water through the KF-2 cationite filter by replacing the mechanical flow meter with an electronic one. This will save up to 1,800 tonnes of water per year on filter flushing, as well as reducing the cost of reagents. The expected economic effect will be about RUB 70 thousand per year.
Optimisation of the operation mode of drainage valves on the compressed air pipeline Du500 in the mechanical repair complex from compressor station No. 6 of the oxygen shop will allow the Company to save more than 2 million cubic metres of compressed air, which will give an economic effect of about RUB 720 thousand without any capital investment.
These and other technical measures to improve energy efficiency and optimise energy savings mean that MMK can make a significant annual contribution to energy savings in support of the Company's sustainable development agenda. The plant's activities in this area have been highly evaluated by the expert community on more than one occasion. Most recently, MMK received the international Energy Management Insight Award in the field of energy sconservation and improving the energy efficiency of production in accordance with the international standard ISO 50001.