Zero Waste
The Zero Waste project is committed to the valorisation and
recovery of waste from the production process as new products.
Zero Waste values waste
The steelmaking process in an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) starts with a charge of ferrous scrap, which is fully recycled waste material from end-of-life goods. After melting, the liquid steel is continuously cast. During the steelmaking process in the EAF a waste product is formed – better known as slag – which, after being cooled, is enhanced and transformed into a 100% recycled product, registered with the brand name Granella®. This product is used to replace natural basalt or porphyry in the construction of road surfaces with a high level of adherence and safety. To date, about 400,000 tons of Granella® are used per year instead of materials that would otherwise have to be extracted from quarries.
A complete project
An additional effect of the Zero Waste project is to pursue the recovery of most of the remaining waste through forms of industrial “symbiosis”. Smoke abatement dust and mill scale are destined to third-party plants that recover and valorise the substances contained in them.
The key objective to the Zero Waste Water strategy is to reuse water as much as possible by means of a Reverse Osmosis process, giving a two-fold advantage, namely reducing the use of water from water wells and the release of waste water to drain. Both in meltshops and hot rolling mills, for example, the water that is used to cool the various plants is recovered, treated and put back into the water circuits and partly integrated with well water. Below are the main results of the combined project obtained starting from 2010, referring to the plant of:
- Osoppo: reduction of about 50% in water consumption;
- Reduction of 71% in water discharges;
- Annual water savings of 1,000,000 m³
In the production and transformation of steel, the production processes are characterised by high energy requirements, a factor that has a significant impact on the interventions to be put in place to pursue those sustainable development objectives that are priorities for the Pittini Group.
Zero Waste Energy is based on an accurate census of all energy sources and consumption, on the certification of the management system, and on the continuous search for optimisation of use and recovery. One of the most significant results is district heating to the company buildings in Osoppo and for the benefit of the urban context in Verona, using hot water from the cooling circuits of the plants.
In 2012, Ferriere Nord S.p.A. achieved the Energy Management System certification in compliance with the UNI EN ISO 50001 standard.
Investments in renewable energy and efficiency goals:
- 2012: replacement of 6,000m2 of asbestos sheets with an 800kW solar photovoltaic system to prevent pollutants from being released into the environment and to save on fuel energy;
- 2013: deployment of an internal district heating network that recovers heat directly from the fume cooling system of the EAF that would otherwise be lost;
- 2014: the near zero impact design of the new Group headquarters located in Osoppo (UD). In winter, the heating requirement comes from the district heating network, whereas in summer, high-efficiency geothermal heat pumps (or ground source heat pumps) supply the cooling system
