Proposals for Energy-Saving New Technologies and Process Innovations
Kim Hugon, Steelmaking Department, Awarded Best Employee Prize
POSCO Gwangyang Steelworks (Director Lee Jin-su) announced the results of the ‘Energy Saving Idea Contest’ held last September to secure energy competitiveness at the steelworks and devise energy-saving measures, successfully concluding the event on the 7th.
In response to the rapidly increasing nationwide energy demand, Gwangyang Steelworks held the Energy Saving Idea Contest for about a month last September, aiming to establish innovative ways to save energy through the collective efforts of all employees.
Employee Kim Hugon from the Steelmaking Department, who won the grand prize in the contest [Photo provided by Gwangyang Steelworks]
Gwangyang Steelworks comprehensively evaluated the applicability, expected effects, and creativity of the ideas submitted by employees, selecting one grand prize winner, two excellence awardees, and four encouragement awardees, and announced the final results on this day.
The grand prize was awarded to employee Kim Hu-gon from the Steelmaking Department, who proposed an energy-saving method in the steelmaking process.
Employee Kim Hu-gon suggested a process to finely adjust the composition of molten iron from the early stages of the steelmaking process (which improves the cleanliness of molten iron from the blast furnace), thereby omitting the secondary refining process and shortening the refining process to reduce energy costs.
Kim Hu-gon expressed his gratitude, saying, "I thank my senior and junior colleagues who helped me come up with this innovative idea," and added, "I will continue to seek practical measures for energy saving."
Deputy General Manager Kim Sung-jun from the Hot Rolling Department and Assistant Manager Song Min-jung from the Galvanizing Department won the excellence awards by proposing ideas to maximize the heat use efficiency of slabs and recycle steam using by-product gas, respectively.
Deputy General Manager Kim Sung-jun proposed an idea to reduce fuel consumption for reheating slabs, which are semi-finished products made in the casting plant.
Casting is the process of producing slabs of a certain size from molten steel created through the steelmaking process.
Kim Sung-jun suggested installing heat-retaining covers on slabs during their transfer from the casting plant to the hot rolling mill to minimize heat loss during transportation.
Assistant Manager Song Min-jung proposed an energy-saving idea by reutilizing the heat from by-product gas emitted during the production of galvanized steel sheets.
To ensure the quality of galvanized steel sheets, drying operations using steam are performed, and by utilizing the heat from by-product gas to produce steam internally, energy consumption for steam production can be reduced.
Additionally, Section Chief Lee Kang-bok from the Ironmaking Department, Section Chief Seol Bong-il from the Rolling Equipment Department, Assistant Manager Lee Han-sung from the Production Technology Department, and employee Yang Do-hoon from the Energy Department received encouragement awards for proposing practical energy-saving measures applicable on-site through various process innovations.
Lee Jin-su, Director of Gwangyang Steelworks, said, "Through this idea contest, we were able to develop innovative energy-saving measures through the collective intelligence of our employees," and added, "We will continue to provide full support to ensure that the various measures proposed by employees are effectively applied on-site."
Meanwhile, Gwangyang Steelworks operates seawater desalination facilities that purify nearby seawater for reuse as process water to reduce water resource consumption, and as a member of the ‘Gwangyang City Sustainable Environment Council,’ which includes local community stakeholders and environmental experts, it transparently discloses its activities to external stakeholders and continues various energy-saving initiatives.
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