[ESG Management Era] Dongkuk Steel Steps Up as Eco-Friendly Steelmaker with Scrap Recycling Steelmaking Method

Continuous casting is being carried out to produce rebar from molten steel made by melting steel scrap at Dongkuk Steel's Incheon plant. (Photo by Dongkuk Steel)

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Dongkuk Steel is advancing its electric furnace production method, which melts scrap metal to produce molten steel, to reduce carbon emissions and is emerging as an eco-friendly steel manufacturer.

Dongkuk Steel is the first company in Korea to introduce a modern electric furnace business. Unlike blast furnaces, electric furnaces melt scrap metal to create new steel products. The steel scrap recycled by Dongkuk Steel amounts to 4 million tons annually. Using the electric furnace steelmaking method allows scrap metal to be recycled about 40 times. Compared to the blast furnace method, carbon dioxide emissions are about 25%, and the energy required for operation is less than that of blast furnaces, enabling energy savings.

In particular, Dongkuk Steel’s Incheon plant’s "Eco Arc Electric Furnace" is the only high-efficiency eco-friendly steelmaking facility in Korea. To reduce energy, scrap metal is continuously supplied to the electric furnace to maximize energy efficiency, focusing on reducing greenhouse gas emissions through an environmentally friendly electric furnace steelmaking process. When investing in new facilities at the Incheon steel mill in 2010, Dongkuk Steel transformed the entire plant with eco-friendliness in mind from the planning stage.

Dongkuk Steel’s "Eco Arc Electric Furnace" consists of an electric furnace and a shaft furnace. Scrap metal is preheated and continuously charged into the electric furnace. Through the introduction of the Eco Arc Electric Furnace, Dongkuk Steel improved energy efficiency by 30% compared to the conventional electric furnace method. Additionally, before rolling semi-finished products for rebar production, the company uses induction heater equipment to maintain the semi-finished products at a certain temperature or higher, reducing fuel and electricity consumption. To prevent air pollution caused by exhaust gases, the heating and rapid cooling processes use incinerators and cooling devices to minimize dioxin emissions.

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