Baosteel Xinjiang Bayi Iron and Steel ignited its first oxygen blast furnace on July 15 and has entered the stage of industrialisation testing, according to Chinese media reports.
The blast furnace is refurbished from the original 430 cubic metres traditional blast furnace of Bayi Iron and Steel with innovation of pure oxygen smelting technology.
The industrial testing is divided into two phases. The first phase is likely to take 3-4 months to break through the oxygen enrichment limit and achieve 35pc high oxygen enrichment smelting target.
In the second phase, carbon dioxide removal technology will be introduced and gas circulation process will start in 3-4 months to achieve 50pc ultra high oxygen enrichment.
Bayi Iron & Steel has an annual steel production capacity of 8mn mt. Its products include long steel products, steel plates and steel pipes, which are mainly sold in Xinjiang and other provinces in western China.