OREANDA-NEWS. January 14, 2015. ArcelorMittal Zenica, the steel producer located in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), announced the start of a major project to install advanced new dust filters in its basic oxygen furnace (BOF) Steel Plant.

Using “Best Available Techniques”, the BOF secondary de-dusting system is the latest in a series of technical investments aimed at reducing the ecological impact of the plant, which was restarted in 2008 following almost two decades of disuse after the conflict of the 1990s. Work on the new filters is expected to be completed by early 2016.

The BOF Steel Plant project follows the successful completion in November 2013 of a USD 8m investment in filters at the site’s blast furnace, and brings the company’s total investments in ecological projects at Zenica to more than USD 6m since 2005.

Commenting, Mr Biju Nair, chief executive officer at ArcelorMittal Zenica, said:

“Today marks another important step towards our goal of building a long-term, sustainable future for steelmaking in this historical industrial city. Reducing our environmental footprint is an essential part of this journey. We are once again demonstrating our commitment to continued investment in the latest and best technology that will make a real difference to our city.”

When fully operational, the BOF secondary de-dusting system will meet all relevant B&H and EU standards and eliminate visible ‘red dust’ emissions from the plant. More than 95% of fumes from production operations will be captured and cleaned in the bag filter, which will result with dust emissions below 10 mg/Nm3.