Zero discharge into water boidies — a closed loop water system at NLMK Group companies
One of the most important environmental goals of NLMK Group is termination of industrial discharge of all the Group’s companies into water bodies. This goal can be achieved. Specific discharge of NLMK Group companies was reduced practically to zero. The Lipetsk site stopped discharging waste water into the Voronezh River in 2009.
Termination of industrial discharge into water bodies is possible by means of a closed loop water system where the water used in the production process is cleaned and returned into the process cycle.
NLMK Group’s VIZ-Steel in Sverdlovsk Region was the first steel company in the global steelmaking industry to develop and implement a zero waste water system in 1973. Commissioning of the closed loop water system eliminating water discharge into natural water bodies solved the environmental safety issue for the production facility located on the bank of the Verkh-Iset basin, Yekaterinburg’s major source of drinking water.
Novolipetsk Steel completely stopped the discharge of industrial effluents into the Voronezh river in 2009. At the same time its river water consumption was reduced 3 times. The environmental impact is lowered thanks to a major overhaul of the water-supply facilities and the implementation of a new production flow chart.
The project included construction of a new pipeline system and launch of new pump stations, as well as renovation of the existing ones. The measures resulted in the improved quality of industrial waste water, which made it possible to substitute the fresh river water with it for further use.