Circular Steel: How Information and Actor Incentives Impact the Recyclability of Scrap

Recycling plays a vital role in preserving resources like steel and consequently in a circular economy. Scrap dealers and steel mills, the main business units in this system, often encounter opposing financial and sustainability incentives in using scrap as feedstock because regular sorting and scrap-preparation infrastructure cannot deal with the increasing complexity of steel scrap. Mismatches between the inputs and the target composition of the recycled steel result in trade-offs that favor the economics at the expense of resource efficiency. By examining literature and interviewing several actors, different scrap characteristics were identified as dimensions of scrap quality. Quality is typically associated with chemical composition, which is important, but this study aims to elaborate the concept of quality further and to connect it to the realities of scrapyard operations. Industry actors have different definitions for desired content, physical condition, shape and size, and homogeneity, based on their needs. Very few studies examine these details. Additionally, the relationship of quality and the level of information about the characteristics of the material was established. Having more definitive information on scrap increases opportunities for resource-efficient actions. This work offers an alternative perspective on how to address issues pertinent to recycling. Graphical Abstract

Influence of parameters on the development of landslides in the Estrada de Ferro Vitória-Minas slopes

Landslides have been the object of extensive studies in the world, not only for their importance as active agents of modifications of relief forms, but also because can damages and losses to people and exposed structures, affecting various kinds of enterprises. This study had as objective the determination of influencing parameters on the development of landslides in the slopes aside of Estrada de Ferro Vitória-Minas (EFVM). EFVM is located in the southeastern region in Brazil and is an important railroad for the transportation of iron ore to the steel mills and for exportation, as well as for passenger transportation. The database used herein was collected from field work in EFVM, together with image processing and data in laboratory tests. The parameters selected to be evaluated were Atterberg limits, cohesion, friction angle, permeability and classification of soil in the slopes. Estimates were done on the volumes and areas of landslides that have already occurred in the slopes. Among the studied parameters, the results obtained for the Atteberg limits and soil cohesion were the most relevantly correlated with the field results, which is in accordance with other studies from literature. It is concluded that Atterberg limits are directly related to soil ruptures, and soil cohesion contributes to soil stabilization in slopes.

MODELING ROLLERS USING TERRESTRIAL LIDAR POINTS IN A HOT-ROLLING STEEL MILL

Terrestrial lidar scanners are increasingly being used in numerous indoor mapping applications. This paper presents a methodology to model rollers used in hot-rolling steel mills. Hot-rolling steel mills are large facilities where steel is processed to different shapes. In a steel sheet manufacturing process, a steel slab is reheated at one end of the mill and is passed through multiple presses to achieve the desired cross-section. Hundreds of steel rollers are used to transport the steel slab from one end of the mill to the other. Over a period of use, these rollers wore out and need replacement. Manual determination of the damage to the rollers is a time-consuming task. Moreover, manual measurements can be influenced by the operator’s judgment. This paper presents a methodology to model rollers in a hot-rolling steel mill using lidar points. A terrestrial lidar scanner was used to collect lidar points over the roller surfaces. Data from several stations were merged to create a single point cloud. Using a bounding box, lidar points on all the rollers were clipped and used in this paper. The clipped data consisted of the roller as well as outlier points. Depending on the scan angles of scanner stations, partial surfaces of the rollers were scanned. A right-handed coordinate frame was used where the X-axis passed through the centers of all the rollers, Y-axis was parallel to the length of the first roller, and the Z-axis was in the plumb direction. Using a standard diameter of the roller, model roller points were created to extract the rollers. Both the lidar data and the model points were converted to rectangular prism-shaped voxels of dimensions 15.24 mm (0.05 ft) × 15.24 mm in the X and Z directions and extending over the entire width of the roller in the Y-direction. Voxels containing at least 40 lidar points were considered valid. Binary images of both the lidar points and the model points were created in the X-Z axes using the valid voxels. The roller locations in the lidar image were located by performing 2D FFT image matching using the model roller image. The roller points at the shortlisted locations were fitted with a circle equation to determine the mean roller diameters and mean center locations (roller’s rotation axis). The outlier points were filtered in this process for each roller. The elevation at the top of every roller was determined by adding their radii and Z-coordinates of its centers. Incorrectly located and/or modeled rollers were identified by implementing moving-average filters. Positively identified roller points were further analyzed to determine surface erosions and tilts. The above methodology showed that the rollers can be effectively modeled using the lidar points.

To Assess the Physical Morbidity Profile among the Welders

Introduction: The welding profession poses many health hazards that the welders are exposed to everyday during working time. This leads to a large number of health consequences and diseases. Worldwide 10 million employees are exposed to iron fumes. Most are exposed by inhaling welding fumes that have iron as their main component. Exposure to iron fumes in steel mills and iron/steel foundries is also significant. Background: For welders it is most important to take safety measures during working time. Welders are exposed to various types of hazardous substances that can affect their health. Worldwide welder’s morbidity is in a large number of welders affected. We conducted a study to find the physical morbidity pattern of welders in the Wardha region. Objective- To assess the physical morbidity profile among the welders, and associate the physical morbidity profile with selected demographical variables in Wardha, India. Methods: A purposive sample was conducted among 100 welders to identify the physical morbidity among welders. Welding workshop in separated space outside and inside the city of Wardha.one way ANOVA and t-test used to estimate the degree of association between the physical morbidity profile and the selected demographic variables. Results: All welders were having some type of physical morbidity. The most frequent issues with the welding workers are injury to the eyes and skin. Age of welding worker, educational qualification, experience of welding work, hours worked per day are in association with the physical morbidity among welders. Conclusion: In this study, the physical morbidity pattern of welders is identified. 87% welders were identified with mild physical morbidity and 13% of welders with moderate physical morbidity. Need some training program for welders to do right and safety welding and certificated course for welders.

Transitioning of Steel Producers to the Steelworks 4.0 –Literature Review with Case Studies

The publication presents a picture of modern steelworks that is evolving from steelworks 3.0 to steelworks 4.0. The paper was created on the basis of secondary sources of information (desk research). The entire publication concerns the emerging opportunities for the development of the steel producers to Industry 4.0 and the changes already implemented in the steel plants. The collected information shows the support environment for changes in the steel sector (EU programs), the levels of evolution of steel mills, along with the areas of change in the steel industry and implemented investment projects. The work consists of a theoretical part based on a literature review and a practical part based on case studies. The work ends with a discussion in which the staged and segmented nature of the changes introduced in the analyzed sector is emphasized. Based on the three case studies described in the paper, a comparative analysis was conducted between them. When we tried to compare methods used in the three analyzed steel producers (capital groups): ArcelorMittal, Thyssenkrupp, and Tata Steel Group, it can be seen that in all organizations, the main problem connected with steelworks 4.0 transition is the digitalization of all processes within an organization and in the entire supply chain. This is realized using various tools and methods but they are concentrated on using technologies and methods such as artificial intelligence, drones, virtual reality, full automatization, and industrial robots. The effects are connected to better relations with customers, which leads to an increase in customer satisfaction and the organizations’ profit. The steel industry will undergo further strong changes, bringing it closer to Industry 4.0 because it occupies an important place in the economies of many countries due to the strong dependence of steel producers on the markets of the recipients (steel consumers). Steel is the basic material needed to make many products, and its properties have been valued for centuries. In addition, steel mills with positive economic, social, and environmental aspects are part of the concept of sustainability for industries and economies.

Ways of reduction of environmental risks of slag heaps of metallurgical enterprises, Ukraine

The purpose of this work is a quantitative assessment of the level of reduction of environmental risks of slag heaps of metallurgical enterprises with the use of metallurgical slag as an alternative road construction material.Methods. Quantitative analysis of the emergence of the risk of environmental hazard is carried out in accordance with the "Methodology for determining the risks and their adopted levels for the declaration of safety of objects of high danger", which determines the procedure for conducting a hazard analysis and risk assessment of high-risk objects, which is carried out through the definition of the probability of undesirable consequences of accidents on based scripts for their emergence and development. For the risk assessment, a logical-probabilistic hazard response scheme in the form of a "failure tree" is constructed and analyzed, which is a form of an ordered graphical representation of the logical-probabilistic connection of random events that results in an undesirable result. The calculation of road surface design with alternative road-building materials is carried out in accordance with the VBN V.2.3-218-186-2004 "Construction of vehicles. Non-rigid type of road clothes" taking into account the requirements of the GBN V.2.3-218-007: 2012 "Environmental requirements for highways Designing".Results. To determine the main causes of environmental hazards in the dumps of metallurgical combines and the nature of their impact on the environment, a tree of problems has been constructed that allows us to determine the main causes of a high level of environmental hazard and the emergence of hazardous situations, namely, the large volumes of metallurgical waste stored on the territory of dumps. For the dumps around the steel mills in Mariupol a "tree of failure" was built and the probability of occurrence of an ecologically dangerous situation or an accident which is connected with places of storage of metallurgical deposits of PJSC "Azovstal Iron and Steel Works" and PJSC "Mariupol Iron and Steel Works named after Ilyich" is calculated. The risk of the risk of storing slags in the dumps of metallurgical combines of the occurrence of the main event is 0.636. The main environmental hazards are the amount of slag and slag dust in the dump area. Design of road clothing with the use of metallurgical slags. The content of metallurgical slag in the proposed designs of the DO reaches 25 ... 32%. The use of metallurgical slags, which are low-toxic waste, that is, waste of Class IV hazard, in road construction will reduce the level of existing environmental risk, provided the metallurgical slags of consumer properties.Scientific novelty. As a result of the performed research, an effective approach to reduce the environmental risks of slag heats of steel mills was identified through the use of large volumes of slag as an alternative road construction material. The design of road clothing for the construction of roads of different categories and the level of reduction of the ecological risk of the dump impact on the environment and health of the population of the region are determined.Practical significance. The practical application of the proposed approach was made for slag heaps of the metallurgical combines of Mariupol (Ukraine). The level of ecological safety of the region by reducing the amount of metallurgical slags can be increased by 27-30%, which will allow the company to obtain a total ecological and economic effect in the amount of 1.22 million UAH.

Neutralization of Acidic Wastewater from a Steel Plant by Using CaO-Containing Waste Materials from Pulp and Paper Industries

In this study, CaO-containing wastes from pulp and paper industries such as fly ash (FA) and calcined lime mud (LM) were utilized to neutralize and purify acidic wastewaters from the pickling processes in steel mills. The investigations were conducted by laboratory scale trials using four different batches of wastewaters and additions of two types of CaO-containing waste materials. Primary lime (PL), which is usually used for the neutralization, was also tested in the same experimental set up in the sake of comparison. The results show that these secondary lime sources can effectively increase the pH of the acidic wastewaters as good as the commonly used primary lime. Therefore, these secondary lime sources could be potential candidates for application in neutralization processes of industrial acidic wastewater treatment. Moreover, concentrations of metals (such as Cr, Fe, Ni, Mo and Zn) can decrease dramatically after neutralization by using secondary lime. The LM has a purification effect from the given metals, similar to the PL. Application of fly ash and calcined lime mud as neutralizing agents can reduce the amount of waste from pulp and paper mills sent to landfill and decrease the need for nature lime materials in the steel industry.

Accounting signifiers, political discourse, popular resistance and legal identity during Pakistan Steel Mills attempted privatization

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd Using the privatization of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM)as an empirical site and drawing on Laclau and Mouffe's (1985)discourse theory, this paper traces the discursive struggle between two discourses on the valuation and privatization of PSM. Specific signifiers were articulated and re-articulated into different chains of equivalence to create an appeal for each discourse surrounding the steel mill's valuation. The anti-privatization discourse's ‘success’ derived from its ‘interdiscursivity’ i.e. drawing on disparate signifiers from different meta-discourses; accounting, nationalism, state corruption and ‘informal’ signifiers such as ‘family silver’, ‘market value’ and ‘throw away price’. In contrast, the pro-privatization discourse drew on a homogenous (financial)economics discourse using more formal and technical signifiers such as ‘going concern’ and ‘sensitivity adjusted discounted cash flow value’. The anti-privatization discourse, with its diverse and informal (accounting)signifiers gained ‘empirical validity’, ‘narrative fidelity’, ‘and experiential commensurability’, appealed more to the masses, the media, and the judiciary. It convinced them selling PSM was a grave injustice, which must be prevented. Hence the Supreme Court reversed the privatization decision, which soured executive-judiciary relations, and led the military government to suspend the Chief Justice of Pakistan, and later the judiciary, media outlets, and the Constitution, which precipitated a successful social movement for an independent judiciary and the restoration of democracy. Events were shaped by the various interests of parties concerned and created new identities for them. The paper concludes by reflecting on how the findings contribute to, and add new issues for accounting research using discourse analysis.

Accounting signifiers, political discourse, popular resistance and legal identity during Pakistan Steel Mills attempted privatization

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd Using the privatization of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM)as an empirical site and drawing on Laclau and Mouffe's (1985)discourse theory, this paper traces the discursive struggle between two discourses on the valuation and privatization of PSM. Specific signifiers were articulated and re-articulated into different chains of equivalence to create an appeal for each discourse surrounding the steel mill's valuation. The anti-privatization discourse's ‘success’ derived from its ‘interdiscursivity’ i.e. drawing on disparate signifiers from different meta-discourses; accounting, nationalism, state corruption and ‘informal’ signifiers such as ‘family silver’, ‘market value’ and ‘throw away price’. In contrast, the pro-privatization discourse drew on a homogenous (financial)economics discourse using more formal and technical signifiers such as ‘going concern’ and ‘sensitivity adjusted discounted cash flow value’. The anti-privatization discourse, with its diverse and informal (accounting)signifiers gained ‘empirical validity’, ‘narrative fidelity’, ‘and experiential commensurability’, appealed more to the masses, the media, and the judiciary. It convinced them selling PSM was a grave injustice, which must be prevented. Hence the Supreme Court reversed the privatization decision, which soured executive-judiciary relations, and led the military government to suspend the Chief Justice of Pakistan, and later the judiciary, media outlets, and the Constitution, which precipitated a successful social movement for an independent judiciary and the restoration of democracy. Events were shaped by the various interests of parties concerned and created new identities for them. The paper concludes by reflecting on how the findings contribute to, and add new issues for accounting research using discourse analysis.