Durgapur Steel Plant

Set up in the late 50's

with an initial annual
capacity of one million
tonnes of crude steel per
year, the capacity of
Durgapur Steel Plant
(DSP) was later expanded
to 1.6 million tonnes in
the 70's. A massive
modernisation programme
was undertaken in the
plant in early 90's, which,
while bringing numerous
technological
developments in the plant,
enhanced the capacity of
the plant to 2.088 million tonnes of hot metal,1.8 million tonnes crude steel and
1.586 million tonnes saleable steel. The entire plant is covered under ISO 9001:
2000 quality management system.

The modernized DSP now has state-of –the-art technology for quality steel making.
The modernized units have brought about improved productivity, substantial
improvement in energy conservation and better quality products. DSP’s Steel
Making complex and the entire mills zone, comprising its Blooming & Billet Mill,
Merchant Mill, Skelp Mill, Section Mill and Wheel & Axle Plant, are covered under
ISO: 9002 quality assurance certification.

With the successful commissioning of the modernized units, DSP is all set to
produce 2.088 million tones of hot metal, 1.8 million tones of crude steel and 1.586
million tones of saleable steel annually.

PRODUCT-MIX TONNES/ANNUM
Merchant Products 2,80,000
Structural 2,07,000
Skelp 1,80,000
Wheels & Axles 58,000
Semis 8,61,000
Total Saleable steel 15,86,000

Location
Situated at a distance of 158 km from Calcutta, its geographical location is defined
as 230 27' North and 880 29' East. It is situated on the banks of the Damodar
river. The Grand Trunk Road and the main Calcutta-Delhi railway line pass through
Durgapur.

Environment control
Durgapur Steel Plant has always made relentless efforts to maintaining a healthy
and clean environment. The units in DSP are provided with necessary pollution
control facilities and the liquid effluents and chimney emissions from the plant are
well within norms.

DSP has undertaken massive afforestation to maintain clean environment. Some

3,266 acres of land have been covered with 14 lakh plantations. In order to develop
healthy awareness about the environment amongst the younger generation, eco-
clubs have been formed in DSP schools.

Centre for Human Resource Development

DSP has always attached maximum importance on proper training and
development of its employees. Its Centre for Human Resource Development has all
modern facilities including the state-of-the-art Electrical and Electronics laboratory,
Hydraulics and Pneumatics laboratory and workshop for effective training and
development of its employees.

Communication
The Public Relations Department publishes monthly house journals in English,
Bengali and Hindi for extensive information of company affairs to the employees.
DSP also has an in-house TV studio (DSTV) along with all modern facilities, which
telecast news and a gamut of other programs covering various aspects of plant and
township activities.

Durgapur – The Happening City

Durgapur, which is on the main Kolkata – New Delhi line, is fast turning into the
most happening city in the region. From a sleepy settlement, the town today boasts
of a variety of educational institutions, posh shopping malls, complexes with
eateries and a multiplex, etc. With the change in the mindset of the people has
come a change in the lifestyle also. Quality consciousness has steeped in,
accompanied with quality brands making their presence felt in the market.
Durgapur is fast turning into the central location for the entire region – with the
entry of big business houses and entrepreneurs, the city is all set to undergo a
change in its own lifestyle and in the outlook of its residents.

PROCESS FLOW CHART: DURGAPUR STEEL PLANT

Raw Materials
Iron ore, coal and limestone are the three basic raw materials for the steel industry.
Durgapur Steel Plant draws its coal from the adjacent Jharia-Ranigunj coal belt. A good
amount of prime coking coal, having fairly low ash content, is also imported. Bulk of iron
ore lumps and fines come from the mines at Bolani in Orissa. Lime stone comes from a
variety of sources: Birmitrapur (Orissa), Jaisalmer (Rajasthan), and Jukehi and Nandwara
(Madhya Pradesh).
Raw Materials Handling
To improve and ensure consistency in raw material quality, the facilities, which have been
installed, are:

• Beneficiation/washing facilities, both for lump ore and fines at Bolani

• Screening of lump iron ore inside the plant,
• Selective crushing of coal at Coal Handling Plant,
• Base blending facilities for Sinter Plant,
• Silo-cum- Blending bunkers

As part of the modernisation programme, new raw material handling storage and blending
facilities with selective crushing of coal have been installed in order to ensure consistency
in raw material quality.
The beneficiation/washing facilities, both for lump ore and fines at Bolani, have a capacity
to process 3.44 million tonnes (wet basis) per annum so as to be capable of catering to the
entire requirement of the plant after modernisation.
Durgapur is the only steel plant in the country to have a coal washery at the plant site.
Raw Materials Handling Complex
Durgapur Steel Plant consumes about 7.4 million tonnes of different raw materials
annually which comprises over 1.84 million tonnes of coal and 2.9 million tonnes of iron
ore lump and fines. Besides the two major raw materials, the plant also requires limestone,
dolomite, manganese ore, bauxite, silico manganese, ferro manganese, ferro silicon, etc.
Coke Ovens & Coal Chemicals
No of batteries -5½
No. of ovens per battery - 78
The coke ovens and coal chemicals zone is divided into four basic sections namely coal
preparation plant, coal carbonisation plant, coke handling plant and coal chemicals.
Presently, DSP is operating only three batteries.
The Blast Furnace grade coke produced in Coke Ovens is directly used in Blast Furnaces
while the undersized coke is used for sinter making.
The volatile matters, which emanate during the process of coke making subsequently
produce a variety of by-products like naphthalene oil, heavy creosote oil, light oil, crude
tar partially distilled tar, “Raja” brand fertiliser, nitration grade benzene, nitration grade
toluene, industrial grade toluene, light solvent naphtha etc.
The coke oven gas is generally used in combination with the Blast Furnace gas and BOF
gas as fuel and is carried through pipelines to the different areas of the plant. The adjoining
Alloy Steels Plant under SAIL is also supplied with this fuel gas from DSP.

Sinter Plant
In order to enhance the productivity of blast furnaces, a high percentage of sinter charge is
a prerequisite. Sinter is an agglomeration of iron ore fines, coke and limestone in the form
of cakes. To ensure sinter burden in the blast furnaces at 75 per cent, a total of 3 million
tonnes of sinter was envisaged for a production of about 2 million tonnes of hot metal. A
technologically modern and fuel efficient sintering machine having 198 sq metres sintering
area has been added as part of the modernisation scheme to produce 1.7 million tonnes of
sinter. The balance requirement will be met from the revamped old sinter plant.
Sinter mix, a mixture of fines of iron ore, limestone, coke, dolomite and flue dust, blended
proportionally at the RMHC, is a prepared material which is self fluxing. In ignition
strands it is burnt under controlled conditions to form a porous cake type substance called
sinter, which used in blast furnaces enhances productivity and reduces coke rate.

Raw Material Preparation & Handling

Raw Material Handling Plant

Durgapur Steel Plant requires annually over 7.4 million tonnes of different raw materials,
which comprises over 1.84 million tonnes of coal and 2.9 million tonnes of iron ore lump
and fines. Besides the two major raw materials, the plant also requires limestone, dolomite,
manganese ore, bauxite, silico manganese, ferro manganese, ferro silicon, etc.

Blast Furnaces
Blast Furnaces
Blast furnaces are referred to as the ‘mother unit’ of an integrated steel plant. Iron ore as
available in nature is basically an oxide. It is charged into a blast furnace either as lump ore
or in the form of sinter and reduced to molten iron by the coke at temperatures ranging
from 1, 200 – 1, 400 degrees centigrade. The limestone, acting as flux, absorbs the
impurities in the molten iron and goes out as slag. The major portion of liquid hot metal is
transferred to steel melting shop for conversion to steel and the rest portion is cast into pig
iron in pig casting machines. Blast furnace slag high in lime-content is used for cement
making.

There are three numbers of blast furnaces operating presently at DSP. The useful volume
of two furnaces is 1,400 cubic meters each and that of the other one is 1,800 cubic meters.
The furnaces are presently operating at a productivity level of 1.3-1.4 tonnes/cubic
meter/day. The furnaces are equipped with sophisticated and modern computerised control
system and are operated with high blast temperatures (1,100 degree centigrade) and high
top pressure (0.7 Kg/ sq. cm). The cast houses are provided with facilities like twin tap
holes, rocking runners etc. There are also two numbers of Slag Granulation Plants, which
convert molten blast furnace slag into granulated forms for ready use in the cement
industry. There are three pig casting machines, with a total capacity of 2,12,000
tonnes/year.
Blast furnaces
No 1 No 2 No 3 No 4
(being modernised)

Capacity (t/day) 1, 250 1, 820 1, 820 2, 340

Useful volume (cum) 1, 323 1, 400 1, 400 1, 800
Stoves 3 3 3 3
Productivity (t/cu m/day) 1.000 1.3 1.3 1.3

Steel Melting Shop

Mixers - 2 x 1, 300 t
Converters - 3 x 110 t (nominal heat size)
Molten iron is further refined at the Steel Melting Shop (SMS) to produce steel, which is
hard and malleable.

At DSP, there are 3 converters (Basic Oxygen Furnace) of 110-130 tonnes each. The SMS
also has a Vacuum Arc Degassing (VAD) unit for making special grades of steel.

A major portion of the steel is routed through the Continuous Casting Plant. Another major
portion of the steel is taken to the teeming bay, where it is top poured into 8 tonne ingot
moulds for making ingot steel. A portion of highly controlled steel is cast at the Special
Casting Bay into fluted ingots and special quality blooms. Fluted ingots are bottom poured
and are used for making wheel steel for DSP’s Wheel & Axle Plant. A portion of the liquid
steel is also bottom poured to make axle ingots.
Continuous Casting Plant
The state of the art CCP has 2 Nos machines having 6 strands each. The other basic details
are as follows: -

Design limits- 80-150 sq .mm, casting radius- 6 metres

Casting time – 85 minutes, Cut-off lengths- 6 / 9 / 12 metre
No of ladle treatment stations-2
Mould level controller - Automatic (Radio-active Co-60)
The steel ladle from BOF is taken to the ladle treatment station. At the ladle treatment
station, liquid steel is rinsed with nitrogen to homogenise its temperature and composition.
After the rinsing, the ladle containing liquid steel is placed on the turret and brought over
the tundish. The tundish acts as a buffer and enables the liquid steel to move
homogeneously down through the six nozzles, provided at the bottom of the tundish into
moulds. The automatic mould level controller controls the steel level in the mould. The
subsequent primary and secondary cooling transforms the liquid steel into billets of the
required dimensions and is drawn out with the help of a withdrawal and straightener unit
and cut into the required length by the shear provided in each strand. The continuous
casting process is the result of a unique synchronisation between Basic Oxygen Furnace
and CCP. Once a ladle is emptied, another ladle is brought into casting position and the
casting continues.
The billets are gradually shifted to the cooling beds and then stacked orderly at the
despatch end for outside despatch. The details about the cast number and quality of the
billets are marked on the billet stack. The Merchant Mill of Durgapur Steel Plant utilises
billets for rolling TMT bars and other merchant rounds, while a sizeable portion is sold in
the domestic and foreign markets.

Rolling Mills
Ingots weighing 8 tonnes each are heated in the soaking pits (numbering 20) for about 7 to
12 hours at around 1, 200 degrees centigrade and thereafter rolled in the 42” primary and
the 32” secondary blooming mills. These are rolled further into different shapes and sizes
in different finishing mills.
Blooming mill
Installed Mill capacity - 1.47 million tonnes/year
Ingot weight - 8 tonnes
42" Mill:
42" x 102" reversible Blooming Mill
Output bloom size (min) - 300 mm x 250 mm

32" Mill:
32" x 84" reversible Intermediate Mill
Output bloom size (min) - 180 mm x 180 mm
Billet Mill
Installed Mill capacity - 0.957 tonnes / yr.
Type - Continuous Morgan design
Horizontal stands - 6, Vertical stands - 2
Product Range
Billets - 100 mm square to 125 mm square
Sleeper bars - 352 mm x 12.5 mm
Skelp slabs - 140 mm x 75 mm to 240 mm x 90 mm
The ingots after heating are rolled in the Blooming Mill to make blooms of the sizes
mentioned in the table and then a part of the same are then further rolled in the Billet Mill
for making rolled billets or slabs as per the above details.
Section mill
The Section Mill rolls out light and medium structural like joists, channels and angles.
Mill capacity - 0.2 million tonnes / year
Re-heating furnaces - 2 x 40 t/hr
Roughing Mill - 2 high reversible
Intermediate Mill - 2 stands of 3 high non-reversible
Finishing Stand - 2 high non-reversible
Product range:
Joists - 200 mm x 100 mm, 175 mm x 85 mm
150 mm x 75 mm, 116 mm x 100 mm
Channels - 200 mm x 75 mm, 175 mm x 75 mm
150 mm x 75 mm, 125 mm x 65 mm
Angels - 150 x 150 mm, 130 x 130 mm
110 x 110 mm, 100 x 100 mm
Fish plate bars for 52 kg rails

Merchant Mill
Merchant mill
The Merchant Mill produces plain round and Thermo-Mechanically Treated (TMT) bars in
the range of 16mm - 28mm. The entire product range of TMT bars and rods at DSP is
branded and has been able to create a niche market.
Capacity - 0.28 million tonnes / year
Type of mill - continuous Morgan design
Horizontal stands - 13, Repeaters - 4

Product range
Plain rounds - 12 - 32 mm dia
TMT bars - 12 - 25 mm dia
Skelp Mill
The Skelp Mill produces skelp in the range of 146 to 235 mm primarily for tubes and pipes
making industry.
Capacity - 0.25 million tonnes / year
Type of Mill - Continuous Loewy design
Horizontal stands - 11
Vertical stands -6

Product range
Strips & Skelps - 75-242 mm wide to 1.47-2.34 mm thick
Railway Products

Durgapur Steel Plant is the only major indigenous supplier of wheel sets, loco wheels,
carriage and wagon wheels, and axles to the Indian Railways. As per demand of the
Railways, the plant has developed loco wheels, which were imported earlier. The Wheel &
Axle Plant is producing wheels manufactured as per the latest IRS specifications, i.e. R-
19/93 for carriage and wagon wheels, R-34/99 for loco wheels and R-16/95 for axles.
The wheel plant of the Wheel & Axle Plant is provided with six PLC controlled band saws
for accurate slicing of the 14” and 16” fluted ingots. A fully computerised 63/12 MN oil
hydraulic press is there for forging and punching of the wheel blanks along with a fully
computerised vertical wheel mill and other down stream facilities. All the wheels are 100
per cent rim-quenched, tempered and tested as per IRS specifications.
Machining of these forged rolled and heat-treated wheel blanks are carried out in the 15
CNC machines. All the wheels are ultrasonically tested and inspected by RITES on behalf
of the Indian Railways. A number of sophisticated and modern online testing facilities are
there to conform to the stringent testing requirements of the Indian Railways.
Wheel & Axle Plant
Annual production of finished wheels - 1,00,000 nos.
Production rate in rolling/forging - 25 nos./hr
Production rate in machining - 22 nos./hr

Engineering shops
Durgapur Steel Plant has a number of captive engineering shops for repairs and supply of
spare parts. The Central Engineering Maintenance has a Machine Shop, Structural Shop,
Fitting and Assembly Shops. The Foundry produces Ingot moulds and bottom plates for
the steel melting shop. There are also Auxiliary Repair Shops such as Electrical, Wagon
and Loco repair.

Research and Control laboratories

The Research & Control laboratories are entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining
quality of products and also developing new products. It is well equipped for carrying out
sophisticated chemical, metallurgical and other tests.

Computerisation
An extensive computerisation has been undertaken in DSP for personnel, commercial,
process control, production and maintenance applications. The Production Planning and
Control network is thoroughly used for tracking of customer orders, material, monitoring
of quality parameters and ensuring availability of accurate, real time data to all agencies
needing access to the data.
Quality Assurance
In order to be fully competitive on the quality front, Durgapur Steel Plant has set out to
acquire ISO 9000 certification for all its units. The Merchant Mill is the first to secure the
prestigious ISO 9002 certificate. Subsequently, steel melting shop, basic oxygen furnace
shop, continuous casting plant, and wheel and axle plant were also awarded the ISO 9002
certification and recently the Skelp Mill has been awarded the ISO 9002 certification.

Community & Development

The abode of steelmen

The Durgapur Steel Plant township is spread over a sprawling 40 kms and has more than 25,000 dwelling
units. And it has housing facilities for the employees of DSP, ASP and other business associates. The other
amenities include schools, both primary and secondary, a modern 640 beds hospital with modern medical
facilities, the picturesque park, a number of cultural centres, a stadium with a sitting capacity of 15,000, etc.

Peripheral Development

Contribution to the region's development

Over the years, it has contributed in a major way for providing tube well facilities in the water-scarce
peripheral areas. Another notable contribution has been the efforts taken towards enlightenment of the
region through up-gradation or additions to educational facilities in basically rural areas surrounding the steel
township. It has also assisted in developing roads and other facilities.

Durgapur Steel Plant has played a major role in encouraging and developing small-scale industries in the
region.

Pollution control

Durgapur Steel Plant is conscious of its commitment for a healthy and clean environment.

All new modernised units have in-built pollution control measures while the pollution control measures in the
old plant are being strengthened in order to control the quality of both liquid and gaseous effluents and bring
them within the norms laid down by the government. All liquid effluents are well within norms and efforts are
being made to bring the emissions from all the 63 chimneys well within norms within a specified time frame.

All new units have been provided with pollution control facilities like bag filters, wet scrubbers, dust
extraction systems and electrostatic precipitators, at a total cost of Rs. 300 crores, which is around 7 per
cent of the modernisation outlay. In addition, Rs. 50 crores has been spent in updating pollution control
facilities in the older units.

Durgapur Steel Plant, having state-of-the-art pollution monitoring facilities, is also taking up pollution
monitoring work from outside agencies.

Afforestation
In consonance with these technological efforts, the
very basics for a clean environment - land
afforestation - has been further intensified. Some
2,264 acres of land have already been covered with
16 lakh plantations. Present annual efforts are to
plant around 2 lakh saplings, including 45,000 on
road sides.

In order to develop healthy awareness about the environment amongst the younger
generation, 44 eco-clubs have been formed in 25 schools in Durgapur.

Water Management

Water is an important input in industry. Modernisation of Durgapur Steel Plant also aimed at drastic
reduction in the levels of water consumption. As part of the modernisation programme, two new units, Raw
Water Treatment Plant and a new Drinking Water Treatment Plant were added. With conscious efforts,
water consumption levels have been brought down from 60 cubic metres per tonne of crude steel in the pre-
modernisation period to 10 cubic metres per tonne. The present consumption levels have almost touched 5
cubic metres per tonne of crude steel.