Authors: M.V. Drumond, C.A. Chaves
SDMI2009, July 2009
Abstract
During most of its history, the metallurgical industry has been seen as a
source of pollution for the environment. However, during the second half
of the 20th century, as the world environmental legislation became more
protective and the global environmental conscience consolidated, this
landscape began to change. Metallurgical activities have become
increasingly related to the social and environmental impacts caused by
human activities.
With the adoption of environmental management in steel plants, there
has been a significant change in steel-related activities which have begun
to introduce modern plants, managed with environmental, social and
productive efficiency. More and more, steel companies search for a
decrease in negative impacts of their industrial operations on the
environment, fitting them to the current environmental legislation and
even increasing productivity and profitability. The steel industry has
started to become a clean and more efficient industry.
This work presents a case study of a sustainable steel plant project,
located in an environmental preservation area. The project includes
treatment and reuse of industrial liquid effluents, air emissions control,
noise control, recycling, recovery and adequate waste management. It
also incorporates production processes using clean technologies, capable
of coproducing energy resources which may be used in the plant showing
how is it possible to produce steel with environmental and social
responsibility and even increase the enterprise’s profitability.
