ABS1
JINDAL STEEL AND POWER LIMITED
Steel Industry
Time period under consideration: 2013-2020
Devarsh Meena (FT-20-122) Afshan Arif (FT-20-180) Nihal Shahare (FT-20-141)
Section-A Section-A Section-A
Contact- 7874762310 Contact- 9810150842 Contact- 8806581493
Circular Economy in Steel Industry
Steel- The permanent material in the circular economy
A circular economy is sustainable when the resources in the economy are used for as long as
possible. At full utilization, resources go through one of the four stages, namely, reduce, reuse,
recycle, and remanufacture, and get converted into a new product from the old form. Steel is
recycled and used again and again as it does not lose its properties when recycled.
Fig.1 4Rs for Steel
Steel is a useful and vital resource for the world as its applications are in manufacturing
industry, agriculture, transportation industry, housing, energy, etc. Industries have been
devising new economic models that will encourage circular economy practices and also
maximise the value of raw materials. The weight of many steel products will be reduced, losses
will be minimised and the already high recycling rate for steel will increase, resulting in more
recycled steel to make new steel products.
In the past few years, before 2014, approximately 650 million tonnes of recycled steel were
used in the production of new steel. The world’s demand was higher than the recycled steel
weight and the demand was not satisfied. But we still need to make steel from the raw material
as steel is durable and it takes a very long time (around hundred years) for the steel used in
buildings and infrastructure to be recycled. The positive side is that every ounce of steel can be
recycled eventually to meet the growing global demand for new steel.
Fig. 2 Steel markets and durability
Reduce
Optimization of steel weight products is an integral part of the circular economy. Research and
development and emergence of new technology in the steel industry resulted in the production
of advanced grades of steels and high strength steels over the past 55 years. Up to 40% of
weight of steel application has been reduced by using these advanced grade steels.
The amount of raw materials used is reduced by reducing weight and the amount of energy
used to make the product is reduced, lowering the demand for raw commodities. More light-
weight applications that make use of high-strength materials steels, such as those used in
automobiles, also emit fewer emissions in the use phase. When high-strength steels are used
instead of conventional steels in building, CO2 emissions are reduced by roughly 30% in steel
columns and around 20% in steel beams. Furthermore, the development of improved coating
methods leads to a longer service life and, as a result, a lower material requirement. At the
same time, the steel industry's reliance on raw materials has decreased.
Over 22 billion tonnes of steel have been recycled by the worldwide steel industry since 1900.
This has resulted in a 28 billion tonne reduction in iron ore use, as well as a 14 billion tonne
reduction in coal usage. Slag, dust, and process gases are all useful by-products that are fully
utilised in various applications and industries, reducing the requirement of main materials like
cement clinker. Reduced yield loss in downstream production processes is one area where the
steel industry and its customers are working hard to improve.
Fig 3. Reduce during steel production
In comparison to 1960, we save over 24 GJ per tonne of steel produced today. That's enough
energy to drive an average passenger vehicle 17,380 kilometres.
Use and Reuse
The reuse of a manufactured product is considered in the early design phases of its
manufacturing in a completely circular economy. This enables both small and large-scale
products to be repurposed for a new purpose quickly and efficiently once their original purpose
has been met. High-speed rail tracks can be constructed to wear out to the point that they can
be reused as low-speed rail tracks. Buildings are a great example of how designing for reuse is
essential if we want to save resources. Consumers and steelmakers alike will benefit from the
integration of reuse into the economy.
Fig. 4 Reuse in steel applications
Use of by-products
The steelmaking process today, relies heavily on material efficiency. The goal is to utilise all raw
materials to their maximum potential, resulting in zero waste from the steelmaking process.
This goal ensures that practically every by-product generated during the steelmaking process is
utilised in new products.
By-products like slag are used to make cement, fertilisers, asphalt, and road stone. Dust is used
to extract metallic contents like zinc and iron. Process gases produced in the steelmaking
process are used to power the steelmaking plants replacing electricity and steam. Other by-
products are used to make plastics, paints, etc.
Fig. 5 Main steelmaking by-products and their uses
Remanufacture
Remanufacturing is a process that restores things that have stopped working to as-new state in
a circular economy. The dismantling of a product, during which each component is thoroughly
cleaned, evaluated for damage, and either reconditioned to original standards or replaced with
a new or enhanced part, is referred to as remanufacture. After that, the product is reassembled
and tested to guarantee that it works properly. The goal is to develop an application that can be
sold with a guarantee that is comparable to or better than the original product. Many steel
products have already been remanufactured, including construction and farm machinery, truck
and vehicle engines, electrical motors, household appliances, and wind turbines. Steel
components are durable, thus remanufacturing takes use of it. Once recertified, the application
is as good as new and can be used for a longer period of time. Remanufacturing is especially
well suited to steel applications. The process of recovering discarded steel goods to as-new
condition also helps communities create jobs.
Remanufacturing is a common notion in emerging economies, giving many families access to
labour-saving technology that would otherwise be out of their financial grasp. Manufacturers
are encouraged by the steel industry to design their products with disassembly and
remanufacturing in mind.
Recycle
Steel has been recycled since the beginning of its production. In a closed material loop, all
available steel scrap is recycled again and over to make new steel products. Steel that has been
recycled retains its original characteristics. To develop the many thousands of sophisticated and
commodity steel grades available, these qualities can be adjusted during the steelmaking
process or by mechanical methods. The steel product's quality can also be increased through
recycling. This makes steel the most recycled material in the world.
Approximately 650 million tonnes of steel are recycled each year, cutting over nearly 900
million tonnes of CO2 emissions. This includes both pre-consumer and post-consumer scrap
from steel goods that have reached the end of their useful lives. Despite the fact that all
available steel scrap is recycled, there is insufficient scrap to meet demand for new steel
products. While many steel items, such as packaging and automobiles, have a short to medium
service life, large-scale structures like skyscrapers and bridges are built to last decades or
centuries. All of this material will be recycled in the future to supply our ever-increasing
demand for steel.
Fig. 6 Steel Recycling
JSPL & Circular Economy
Sustainability is critical for business and it is our constant endeavour to deliver quality products
in a responsible manner, respecting people, their safety and the environment. JSPL committed
to improve our production processes to limit environmental impacts of products and
simultaneously achieve shorter innovation cycles. In accordance with this JSPL not only
committed to growing business but also worked diligently on new technologies that have the
potential to significantly reduce environmental footprint. Commitment towards the
environment plays an important role in design and operate projects and facilities and relentless
focus is on managing impacts. Also, safeguarding and respecting people:employees, suppliers
and neighbours ‒ is fundamental to how JSPL does business.
The sustainability approach of JSPL is dependent on five sustainability pillars.
Fig. 7 Sustainability Pillars
Pillar 1: Driving Sustainable Business Growth
JSPL strives to build a social enterprise, with businesses and processes designed to serve the
social cause of building the nation. Sustainable business practices are the primary focus and
have been working towards developing a robust governance system to adopt a proactive
approach to make business sustainable while acting in an ethical manner. This Pillar includes:
JSPL Group Code of Conduct:
JSPL has adopted the JSPL Group Code of Conduct(GCoC) to maintain constant vigil and ensure
ethical conduct of its operations. It is mandatory that all internal stakeholders of JSPL Group are
subjected to work within the boundaries of the GCoC.
Ethics or Governance Policies:
At JSPL, they have instituted various policies and frameworks to assure ethical conduct of
businesses. With these policies, the Company strives to conduct its business and strengthen its
relationships in a manner that is dignified,distinctive and responsible. JSPL strongly upholds the
highest ethical standards to ensure integrity, transparency, independence and accountability in
dealing with all stakeholders. JSPL has adopted various codes and policies to carry out its duties
in an ethical manner. These Codes and Policies are:
Key Codes:
● Group Code of Conduct
● Internal Procedures And Conduct For Prevention of Insider Training
● Practices and the Procedure for the fair disclosure of Unpublished Price-
Sensitive Information
Key Policies:
● Environment Policy
● CSR Policy
● Total Productivity Management Policy
● Safety & occupational Health Policy
● Quality Policy
● Group Whistle Blower Policy
Public Policy:
JSPL has on-site emergency plans for its sites. Thison-site emergency plan details the
products,by-products, inventory of all the hazardous substances or gases produced/generated
during process, plot plan that identifies the Hazard Zones, IsoRisk Contour, Emergency Control
Room, assembly point s , main, material & emergency exits,fire hydrant line along with the
number of hydrant points in different colour codes, emergency command structure along with
the role of each key personnel, names of members of the combat and rescue team along with
the safety coordinator. Theon-site emergency plan also details the action plan for any on site
emergency.
Economic Performance:
Even with the on-set of the Covid-19 pandemic towards the later part of FY 2019-20, JSPL was
able to achieve record growth in production level across the board. JSPL grew by more than
12% on a consolidated basis and by more than 13% on a standalone basis, compared to the
previous financial year.
Fig. 8 JSPL Standalone - Generation and distribution of economic value
Risk Management Policy:
JSPL has a strong risk management framework that enables regular and active monitoring of
business activities for identification, assessment and mitigation of potential internal or external
risks. JSPL has established processes and guidelines, along with a strong overview and
monitoring system at the board and senior management levels. Our senior management team
sets the overall tone for the risk minimisation culture through defined and communicated
corporate values, clearly assigned mitigation responsibilities and appropriately delegated
authority. We have laid down procedures to inform Board members about the risk assessment
and risk minimisation procedures. As an organisation, we promote strong ethical values and
high levels of integrity in all our activities, which by itself, significantly mitigates the risk.
Fig. 9 Risk Management Strategy of JSPL
Pillar 2: Manufacturing World-Class Products
The Company Produces Economical and efficient steel through backward and forward
integration. The Company's product portfolio spans across the steel value chain from widest flat
products to a whole range of long products and rails. JSPL exports its diversified product
portfolio to more than 22 countries.
Product Stewardship:
JSPL is committed to limit the environmental impact of its products by ensuring resource
efficient and sustainable manufacturing processes and technologies . JSPL continuously
optimizes utilization of natural resources. Further, they have established a multidisciplinary
R&D department that is sufficiently agile to adapt to changing market tastes and regulatory
constraints. We practice high-quality needs -based customer segmentation that can guide
customer centric innovation and product planning.
Value Chain:
At JSPL there is a demand-oriented approach to streamline the supply chain. In the process,
they create value for customers by offering them greater flexibility in lead times and order sizes
as well as a source for metals in many geographical regions. They have a dedicated supply chain
management team to oversee raw materials,inventories, customer project deadlines,
transportation and distribution. Their main raw materials are iron-ore and coal. The iron-ore is
sourced from captive mines through long-term alliance with the domestic mining companies.
Coal is sourced from captive mines in India,Australia,South Africa and Mozambique.
Marketing & Communications:
JSPL has been ranked the third-largest producer of steel inIndia in terms of tonnage capacity
and occupies the fourth position in terms of assets.JSPL has a major influence in various
industry sectors such as oil & gas, mining, power, steel and infrastructure. Continuous
innovation and deployment of state-of-the-art technologies to bring out the best products in
the market have been hallmark and are a core part of product development policy. Pricing of an
element decides the success or failure of a product and the company and at JSPL,have applied
this principle quite well to create a sizable share in the domestic market.
Fig. 10 4Ps at JSPL
Pillar 3: Acting on Our Environment
JSPL have incorporated sustainable environment friendly procedures and practices as one of
their mission plans to achieve business excellence. JSPL understands that being in the steel and
power businesses, we are major users of water and energy.JSPL working diligently to use new
technologies that have the potential to significantly reduce environmental footprint.
Raw Materials:
Steel and power manufacturing, being a continuous and energy-intensive process, require an
uninterrupted supply of raw materials. JSPL consumes a considerable amount of mineral
resources such as slime, iron-ore, etc. Iron-ore is sourced from captive mines and through long-
term purchase agreements with mining companies. Our plants are located at strategic
locations,inclose proximity to the raw materials. Attaining raw material sufficiency without
having a significant impact on natural resources is part of our environment strategy. Here,usage
of steel scrap will minimize the use of virgin steel. JSPL identifies alternate sources key raw
materials at close proximity of manufacturing facilities supported by identification of alternate
modes and routes of material transportation. These steps go a long way in de-risking the raw
material supply.
Fig. 11 Raw Materials used at JSPL
Environment & Climate Change:
Climate change is one of the biggest issues that the steel industry is facing in this century. JSPL
understands that reducing CO2 emissions in steelmaking must be tackled on the global level
and JSPL committed to making substantial CO2 reductions by implementing breakthrough
technologies transfer and collaborating with industry associations and leaders. JSPL aim to
implement a number of promising technological innovations to tackle the ill-effects of climate
change. Reducing CO2 by making use of the efficient use of energy has always been one of the
key priorities.
Air emission:
Installation of high-efficiency pulse jet bag filters, electrostatic precipitators, scrubbers and dust
suppression systems across emission sources such as DRI kilns,SMS,blast furnaces,submerged-
arc furnaces,coke ovens and interplants.
Installation Of Continuous Online and manual ambient air quality monitoring stations around
the manufacturing location to monitor air quality, with real time data being linked to the
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)
● Utilization of waste gases and heat to generate power.
● Suppression of dust and fugitive particles
● Emission reduction through mobile sprinklers
Water management:
JSPL, place key focus on water management. JSPL manages water resources in strict accordance
with the Corporate Responsibility of Environmental Protection(CREP) along with the local water
withdrawal permits for manufacturing sites. To reduce dependency on external water sources,
continuously engineering improvement programmes. JSPL have implemented rain water
harvesting systems in and around plant locations for groundwater
recharge.Checkdamsandmultiplesettlingpondshavealsobeenconstructedforrainwater
harvesting. The Surplus Rainwater ,therefore, collected in the open pits is used as make-up
water during plant operations. Water for our plants is drawn from surface water, ground water,
and municipal water supply.
Waste Management:
JSPL places an ongoing emphasis on reducing and recycling waste. We are aware of the
environmental implications associated with waste production and follow a strict waste
management protocol. We prioritize waste prevention equally to recycling, as this approach
minimizes resource consumption, in addition to costs. Waste generated from operations
include tailings, slag and sludge, fly ash, tar and char. For recycling waste, such as fines and
iron-dust, installed a sinter plant at Raigarhand Angul. Fly ash generated from plants is utilised
for manufacturing of fly-ash bricks, lightweight aggregates, etc. Blast Furnace Slag produced i s
being utilised in the manufacturing of cement and brick. Slag Processing plants have been
installed at RaigarhandAngul,basedonslagatomising technology of Ecomaister, Korea. Slag
atomization Process (SAP) i s the most environment-friendly and efficient slag handling facility
that uses a compressed air and mist cooling system which converts waste steel slag into a high
compensation product called precious slag ball, which is used for abrasive blast material.
Pillar 4: Creating a Safe & Engaging Workspace
JSPL strives hard to provide a dynamic work environment to all its employees, to ensure higher
productivity rate and employee satisfaction. JSPL believes in nurturing individual growth of our
employees to provide a collective sustainable growth for the organisation. JSPL believes that
our employees are our backbone and implement different policies for their professional
growth. JSPL encourages the senior leadership to engage with their team and keep them
updated with the latest industry trends. JSPL, thus, aspires to build a skilled, cohesive and
dedicated workforce.
JSPL provides different development programs for the employees:
● Skill Development
● Human Rights & Security Practices
● Workforce Relations
● Occupational Health & Safety
Pillar 5: Delivering Value to Stakeholders
The strategic objectives of JSPL is to create superior value for the stakeholders by meeting
customers’ needs, maximizing free cash flows from their world class assets and allocating
capital with discipline. JSPL focuses on three parameters for sustainable business growth
strategy.
● Building a clean and green India and sustainable commitment around population
stabilization and education
● With the motto - “One-Time-In-Full-Delivery” JSPL focuses on customer centricity.
● As their corporate governance philosophy, JSPL has a Group Code of Conduct (GCoC) for
its employees, managers, etc.
JSPL claims to be a zero waste producing business. JSPL follows a strategically planned circular
economy. At the raw material stage, JSPL has iron and coal as its prime raw materials. Both iron
and coal are procured in two forms, namely, iron fines and iron lumps, and coal fines and coal
lumps. Only iron lumps, iron fines, and coal lumps are used in steel making as coal fines chokes
the blast furnace and if the blast furnace stops working, it takes around 10-12 days to restart it
again which is a huge loss for the whole steel making business. Also, coal fines decrease
permeability. Coal fines are used in internal captive power plants. Iron fines are converted into
sinter and are used in blast furnace. Iron lumps and coal lumps are directly put into the blast
furnace.
Another material with iron and coal is put into the blast furnace which is limestone. Limestone
is procured in big sizes as small size limestone produces dust and causes pollution which is
harmful for the environment. The final output from the blast furnace is Hot metal. By-products
produced are slag and carbon dioxide gas and other gases.
Slag is first cooled to form granulated slag and is further used for construction purposes.
Carbon dioxide gas, with heat, is used to preheat raw materials and reheating furnaces of
rolling mills.
Hot metal (output from blast furnace) is mixed with alloy to form steel in four forms, namely,
slab, billet, bloom, and round. All these forms are produced after casting of steel. Steel making
after mixing hot metal and alloy is a zero waste producing process as alloy is used in the exact
amount that is needed to produce steel. After steel is formed, wastes like side cuts, defective
pieces, and steel dust are collected and are again rerouted towards Steel Making Shop (SMS).
Bloom Round Slab Billet
Fig. 12 Forms of Steel
After the steel making, the products are rolled to produce finished products. Here, the Carbon
dioxide produced as a by-product from the blast furnace is used. Other gases produced in blast
furnace are used in heating boilers in power plants. Defective finished goods, end cuts, and
scrap are also put back into SMS.
JSPL’s power plants use coal fines from other nearby plants with water to produce electricity.
Water comes from the internal ponds of JSPL at plant locations and is recycled and used again
and again. Waste produced in this process is fly ash. Fly ash is converted into bricks and is used
for construction and in cement manufacturing (JSPL has an internal cement manufacturing unit
as well). Also, fly ash is used to fill mines of iron and coal ores after mining which is termed as
earth filling.
JSPL tries to use all its by-products and waste products within the steel making system and is
very effective till date following a circular economy.
References
● https://www.worldsteel.org/en/dam/jcr:00892d89-551e-42d9-ae68-abdbd3b507a1/
Steel+in+the+circular+economy+-+A+life+cycle+perspective.pdf
● Business Sustainability Reports (Volume 1-6), Jindal Steel and Power Limited
