Rare Metal Recovery Equipments in the Stainless Steel Manufacturing Process

NSSC has decided to introduce equipments at the Hikari Works that will make it possible to retrieve rare metals, such as chrome and nickel both from ‘dust’ during the melting process and from ‘sludge’ and ‘scale’ during further processing.

These contain chrome and nickel, which are part of a group of metal called rare metals. The dust is recycled by collecting it, processing it through the existing RHF equipment and then returning it to the electric furnace as raw material, thereby contributing to resource conservation. On the other hand, ‘sludge’ and ‘scale’ contain fluorine [F], which degrades the manufacturing equipment when it is mixed into the raw materials. The volume that can be recycled is restricted due to the limited capability of the RHF, etc.

NSSC has received a subsidy from the “Project of introducing industrial equipment, etc. using rare earth, etc.” being implemented by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and will introduce new rare metal recovery equipments. This will enable us to expand the amount of rare metals recycled each year by more than 1,000 tons.

Overview of the current investment

1. Content of investment: New installation of a melting furnace
   Capacity increase in the existing RHF *1
   (*1 RHF: Rotary Hearth Furnace)
2. Effect: Increase the amount of chrome, nickel, etc. recycled (by more than 1,000 tons/year)
3. Investment amount: Approx. 5 billion yen (part of the subsidy from the “Project of introducing industrial equipment, etc. using rare earth, etc.” being implemented by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will be used)
4. Planned completion: September 2012

NSSC has steadily proposed products that conserve resources, such as the world’s first Sn-added, extra-low interstitial ferritic stainless steel, the ‘FW (forward) series,’ as well as the ‘duplex stainless steel,’ which contains less nickel than general-purpose austenite stainless steel. In regards to the manufacturing process, too, NSSC will strive for business operations that contribute to the development of a sustainable society through efforts to attain zero-emissions, including the recovery of rare metals, increasing the amounts recycled and improving the recycling rate, as well as making use of the highly recyclable and eco-friendly characteristics of stainless steel.