INTERNATIONAL CLEANER PRODUCTION INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE

CASE STUDY #32
1.   Headline: Reducing emissions in steel pipe coating
2.   Background: NIF-NOT: Targeting cleaner production in
     Poland
     The NIF-NOT Cleaner Production Program is an independent,
     cooperative venture between the Societies of Chartered
     Surveyors from Norway (NIF) and Poland (NOT). Sponsored
     by the Norwegian and Polish governments, the program has
     been in operation since 1991. After three years of active
     work throughout the country, over 400 companies and
     institutions (such as universities and local authorities)
     and more than 600 individuals have participated in the
     program.
     Between 1992 and 1993, the Polish Ministries of
     Environment, Industry and Trade signed a Letter of
     Intent, aimed at achieving sustainable industrial
     development based on cleaner production as an
     environmental management tool.
     A Declaration of Cleaner Production was subsequently
     issued, to be signed by companies accepting the goals of
     the Letter of Intent, and applying the Cleaner Production
     strategy at company level. Added to the NIF-NOT program,
     these two documents have created a more formal and
     permanent structure, and stronger support for the
     program.
     At the time of writing, over 150 companies have signed the
Declaration and are working in accordance with the Cleaner
Production strategy.
     According to clients' requirements, the Ferrum steelworks
     manufacture steel pipes must have an outside insulation
     which is corrosion resistant. The pipes are coated with a
     bitumen compound , a coating process which is very
     harmful to the environment, producing toxic gaseous
     emissions of 47.6 tons/year and generating 194 tons/year
     of solid waste.
     The Ferrum steelworks manufacture a wide range of
     pressure and galvanizing tanks, boiler drums, turbine
     pipelines, constructions for metallurgical and building
     machine industries, and steel pipes. The company employs
     approximately 1 500 people.
3.   Cleaner Production Principle: New technology
4.   Description of Cleaner Production Application: The new
coating technology consists of the following process.
     - shot blasting
     - successive deposition of:
          * powdered epoxide resins
          * copolymer as a combining agent
          * ethylene plastics as the outside layer.
5.   Economics:
          Reduction in environmental
            fees and operating costs       US $3.5m
          Capital investment             US $6.2m
          Payback period                1.75 years
     These figures are based on a production rate of       670
000 m2 of insulated coating. The capital investment was half-
financed by a low-interest loan from the National Environment
Protection Fund.
6.   Advantages: Use of the new coating technology has
     resulted in reductions in the emission of aromatic and
     aliphatic hydrocarbons and in solid wastes. This has led
     to a decreased impact on the municipal waste dump, and
     improved air standards in the surrounding area. Harmful
     bituminous substances have been eliminated, and the
     lifetime of the pipes has been prolonged by 100 per cent.
     Environmental benefits:
          Source and type          Emissions (kg/year)
          of emission           before       after
          Air emission
          Dust                   140        33
          CO                     323        31
          NO2                   2492       235
          Phenol                  125         0
          Benzenapirene            0.1         0
          Aliphatic hydrocarbons  41 125         0
          Aromatic hydrocarbons    6 396         0
7.   Constraints: N/A
8.   Contacts:Ing. Malgorzata Kosmala, Project Leader
                  Environmental Protection Department
                  Huta 'Ferrum'
                  ul. Hutnicza 3
                  40241 Katowice
                  Poland
                  Tel: +48 3 155 56 77
                  Fax: +48 3 155 41 50
9.                  Keywords:Poland, Norway, metal, iron and
                    steel, coating, new technology, bitumen,
                    insulation, NIF-NOT
10.  Reviewer comments: This case study was originally
     published in the UNEP IE document "Cleaner Production
     Worldwide", Volume II. In the process of preparing the
     document the case study underwent a technical review.