London, November 25, 2021

Primetals Technologies receives final acceptance for replaced laminar cooling at Baosteel in China

• Replacement of entire strip cooling
• Extends product mix and product range
• Executed remotely due to pandemic conditions

Recently, Primetals Technologies received the final acceptance certificate for the replaced laminar cooling section installed at the 2050mm hot strip mill in the Shanghai, China production site of Baoshan Iron & Steel, Co., Ltd. (Baosteel). The new laminar cooling enables Baosteel to extend its product range up to a thickness of 19 millimeters for high toughness line pipe grades at low temperature, and dual -phase and multi-phase steel grades in a thickness range of 2 to 8 millimeters. The project was executed remotely due the ongoing pandemic conditions.

The 2050mm hot strip mill has a design capacity of 5.9 million metric tons per year. It produces strip with thicknesses between 1.2. and 25.4 millimeters at a width of 1,900 millimeters. The length of the cooling line amounts to 140 meters. A total water flow of 38,000 cubic meters per hour can be achieved.

Primetals Technologies was responsible for basic and detail engineering of all mechanical and hydraulic equipment for the entire laminar cooling, including the turbo laminar section, the laminar section and trimming section, the swiveling unit, steel structure, fixed guide, cross spray, overhead tank including steel structure, Interconnecting piping, and was responsible for the supply of the entire laminar cooling header, swiveling unit, cross spray, overhead tank and steel structure. Advisory services for installation and commissioning as well as training of the operation and maintenance personnel were also performed by Primetals Technologies.

The communication with Baosteel was handled by the local office of Primetals Technologies. Despite the massive influence on engineering and supply due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Baosteel and Primetals Technologies managed to catch up on all resulting delays and to deliver all equipment on time. Under the conditions given, this was the first time that significant parts of the project were executed remotely, including advisory service. Because of the joint effort, the restart date was 48 hours earlier compared with the original project plan.

“After the revamp, the stability and uniformity of cooling water have been significantly improved. In addition, the new laminar cooling technologies provide a high quality technical platform for new steel grades development in the future,“ said Chen Jianron, Head of Hot Rolling Dept., Baosteel Limited.

Baosteel is a globally leading modernized integrated iron and steel company and the core enterprise of China Baowu Steel Group Corporation, which is listed in Fortune’s Global 500. It owns such main manufacturing bases as Shanghai, Wuhan, Meishan, and Zhanjiang. The company ranks second in crude steel production, third in automotive sheet output and first in oriented electrical steel output among all the global listed steel companies. The company is also one of the global steel enterprises with a wide range of flat products of carbon, low-alloyed and alloyed steel grades for various applications.

New laminar strip cooling implemented by Primetals Technologies at Baosteel

Primetals Technologies, Limited, headquartered in London, United Kingdom, is a pioneer and world leader in the fields of engineering, plant building, and the provision of lifecycle services for the metals industry. The company offers a complete technology, product, and services portfolio that includes integrated electrics and automation, digitalization, and environmental solutions. This covers every step of the iron and steel production chain—from the raw materials to the finished product—and includes the latest rolling solutions for the nonferrous metals sector. Primetals Technologies is a joint venture of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and partners, with around 7,000 employees worldwide. To learn more about Primetals Technologies, visit the company website www.primetals.com.