The sinter shop is the first division in a large production chain of Zaporizhstal. For more than seven decades, it has been providing blast furnace workers with high-quality agglomerate, and every year it becomes better, more productive, and more efficient. In August, the sinter shop of Zaporizhstal turned 74 years old.
The shop has come a long way of modernization and reconstruction. After Zaporizhstal merged into Metinvest Group, it was here that all key equipment was upgraded as a matter of priority.
Thus, a new sinter machine No. 1 with a sintering area of 75 m2 was built. Effective gas and dust cleaning systems were installed on all six sinter machines; the manufacturing process was almost completely automated. This allowed Zaporizhstal not only to increase efficiency, but also to significantly improve the quality of the agglomerate and significantly reduce the impact on the environment: reduce dust emissions by 90%, sulphur emissions by 50%. Additional dust cleaning systems on the tails of sinter machines have also been built and put into operation. Investments in the eco-modernization of the sinter plant amounted to about UAH 1.5 billion.
Bag filters are maintained every month simultaneously with repairs and maintenance of sinter machines. A contrast powder sensitive to ultraviolet radiation is still used for diagnostics. It passes through the filters and, in the light of special lamps, allows you to detect even the slightest damage to the filter fabric. Rejected filtering elements are replaced with new ones. The work is performed by both specialists of contractors and workshop employees who have undergone special training. Every year, the plant allocates more than UAH 30 million for the maintenance of the gas cleaning system.
Attention to the quality
The employees of the sinter shop also care about the quality of the final product of their division. After all, they understand that the stable production of hot metal depends on this.
"The energy crisis, staff shortages, security risks – all this, of course, affects our work. But these are the conditions in which the whole of Ukraine lives and works today. Reality requires us to take different approaches to work. So, we change what we can influence: we are looking for new solutions, optimizing processes to protect equipment and maintain its stable efficient operation and provide blast furnace workers with high-quality charge," said Anton KEREBKO, Head of the Shop.
In 2024 and the first five months of 2025, sinter shop employees achieved the production target by 101.63%, and the share of first pass yield charge was 99.96% with a standard of 99.80%. These indicators are the result of long-term and systematic work of the sinter shop team.
The shop's team implements cost-effective solutions to avoid unnecessary costs in the production process: over the past year alone, the economic effect of such projects amounted to at least USD 20 thousand. The most noticeable is the reequipment of sinter machines with a heavy grate bar, which reduced the cost of changeable equipment. In addition, pilot tests are systematically carried out in the shop. As a result of the most successful of them, the optimal angle of inclination of the loading tray at sinter machines and the temperature regime of heating the sinter charge before sintering were selected.
This year, on the occasion of the Metallurgist and Miner's Day, the shop's team was awarded the Certificate of Merit of the Metinvest's CEO for outstanding achievements.
"Our achievements are the result of the interaction of professionals of different specialties – process personnel, repairmen and power workers, process engineers, production planning specialists. Now all our efforts are aimed at preserving the enterprise in these difficult times. Thank you all for your work, colleagues, and congratulations on the anniversary of your native shop!" said Anton Kerebko.
