PJSC "ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih" reduces waste by applying innovative solutions

PJSC "ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih" uses blast furnace slag as a ballast layer for the railroad bed instead of traditional crushed stone. This practice is used for the first time in Ukraine and allows the company to reduce waste and reduce the share of purchased crushed stone.

For all types of railway track repairs, the enterprise annually requires about 20 thousand tons of crushed stone. The company annually allocates about UAH 4.3 million for its purchase. Instead of crushed stone, the enterprise now uses its own blast-furnace slag to backfill the superstructure of the railway tracks. It contains a certain amount of iron that can conduct current, so it can only be used on non-electrified sections of the railway. ways. The new method will allow PJSC "ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih" to save up to UAH 1.4 million per year, as well as reduce the volume of waste disposal at blast-furnace dumps.

The basis for the experimental use of blast-furnace slag instead of crushed stone was the results of the research work of specialists of the Ukrainian State University of Railway Transport (Kharkov). In terms of its physical and mechanical properties, blast furnace material is very similar to crushed stone, so it can be used as a railway. ballast. Blast furnace slag can be divided into fractions necessary to create two layers of ballast - from 25 to 60 mm, and the grain composition corresponds to the parameters of GOST, the material is frost-resistant.

Mikhail Mostitskiy, Engineer of the Refractory Materials and Waste Management Department of the Transformation and Quality Department of PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih:

- On a fifty-meter railway. the site was replaced by 50 tons of crushed stone. In the near future, we are planning to repair another 450 meters of railroad tracks using slag. In the future, we can offer this method of replacing crushed stone with slag as ballast to other enterprises where railways are operated. If our experiment is successful, it will give us the opportunity to enter a new market - the sale of slag as a railroad. ballast.

Help:

Ballast is one of the most important elements of the railway track superstructure. It ensures the stability of the canvas under the influence of train loads and changing temperatures. The general condition of the railway track, the level of permissible train speeds, the service life of rails, fasteners, sleepers, the cost of the current maintenance of the track and its repairs depend on the design and quality of the ballast layer.

Blast furnace and steel-making slag as a material found application four centuries ago. In the 16th century, cannonballs were cast from them, in the 18th they began to be used for construction purposes, from the middle of the 19th century - for road construction.