Enviromental management

High standard of environmental protection

We need air to breathe, water to drink, the earth to feed us. That is why ThyssenKrupp Nirosta has always made a big issue of environmental protection. It is a challenge employees at all levels work on together. The results are there to see. By intensively further developing our process technology we have drastically reduced energy consumption and lowered emissions.

Integrated environmental protection systems ensure the water we use is efficiently recycled. At all our sites we have introduced an effective environmental management system in line with the highest international standards which is implemented on a day-to-day basis by full-time environmental officers.

Here are just a few examples:

At our meltshops modern facilities were installed to enhance the efficiency of the dust collection units. As a result, dust emissions have decreased further.

In Bochum the electric arc furnace is so well insulated against noise that it meets the extremely low night-time target of 40 dB (A) - a level regularly exceeded by public road traffic.

Significant progress has also been made with environmentally benign slag treatment methods.

The acid regeneration plants in Krefeld, Benrath and Dillenburg reclaim unreacted acids from the pickling tank and thereby reduce the volume of waste.

In addition, four annealing and pickling lines were fitted with catalytic converters which reduce the nitrous oxides produced during the pickling process from a maximum of 1500 to well below 200 mg/m3.

Using our products is also a way of protecting resources. At the end of their service life, products made of NIROSTA® can be reused for the manufacture of new material. When it comes to recyclability, stainless steel is virtually unrivalled.