2nd March 2022

Paul Wurth supports emissions reduction and life extension of coke battery at Luleå steelworks

Paul Wurth’s service team achieved high performance during the strategic renewal project to reduce emissions and extend the life of SSAB EMEA’s Luleå steelworks’ coke oven battery.

On 14 December 2021 SSAB and Paul Wurth’s service team signed the performance achievement document for the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) revamp of the coke oven battery at Luleå steel works in northern Sweden.

Paul Wurth’s scope of work included the replacement of the entire raw gas system, along with the ascension pipes, goosenecks, the single oven pressure control (SOPRECO®) system for emission reduction, Gas Collecting Main (GCM) and off-takes.

The replacement of the entire raw gas system was carried out with the 54-oven coke battery in operation. This was in order to minimize production stoppages and guarantee sufficient coke oven gas availability for the heating up of the battery itself.

Additionally, the Paul Wurth team, using an innovative technique, took the advantage of the ovens being empty during the GCM replacement to substitute the battery ovens’ roof, including several upper refractory layers, transversal and longitudinal tie rods and the charging machines’ rails.

The ‘completeness based’ project achieved the required performance level in record time: about 22 months from order award. The team successfully overcame the constraints of COVID-19 during the design, procurement, delivery and installation phases.

The sales and proposal team responsible for developing the project concept remained in charge of project implementation after the awarding of the project to Paul Wurth.

As a construction and commissioning-driven project several design features were studied and optimised during implementation to speed up installation (pre-assembly concepts), faster start up (pre-tests), and a reduction of production losses (erection and commissioning methodology focussing on coke production saving).

Finally, the mitigation of erection risks was managed by having a range of potential scenarios established in advance. This facilitated the quick reorganisation of activities in case of adverse weather conditions.

For further information about this project, please contact: Cesare Laviosa (cesare.laviosa@sms-group.com)