A new blast furnace 2 has been blown in at Xianfu Steel in China’s Yunnan Province.

CISDI designed the entire plant and supplied and constructed the main facilities.

Since going into operation, the blast furnace has been outperforming its main design targets.

The 1,350-cubic-metre furnace and its new utilities were built in a tight and restrictive space previously occupied by an older and smaller 450m³ blast furnace.

The projected annual pig output is set at 1.22 million tonnes. It will be charged into the downstream steelmaking plant.

The project was also successfully supplied with coke silos, a dry coal shed, truck unloading and raw material and fuel feeding systems, and a casthouse expanded compressed air station.

CISDI worked through numerous challenges posed by the limitations of space, a variation of elevations and complicated landforms. The team designed five platforms at elevations ranging from 1,100.70 to 1,136.00 metres.

Modifications were made to a number of existing facilities needing to be retained. BF2’s raw material and utilities had to be interfaced with the older systems and those of the new BF1.

Throughout the project, it was crucial that production remained unaffected at the site’s neighbouring blast furnaces 2 and 3.

Throughout the project, the team’s tech and management expertise was brought to the fore and close communications between the customer and the construction teams were maintained throughout.

CISDI staged frequent meetings to find and apply solutions to challenging situations, most notably overcoming the difficulties posed by the restricted construction spaces.

To transform complicated geographical conditions into usable spaces, the BF2’s main belt conveyor was cut down and transfer stations were reduced in size at the raw material and charging areas.

These solutions also played an important role in cutting costs.

Xianfu Steel’s blast furnace 2 is pictured during construction