ChelPipe Group Launches a New Water Refining System - AQA Crystal
The modern water refining system AQA Crystal has been launched at the premises of the Chelyabinsk Pipe Rolling Plant (ChTPZ, part of ChelPipe Group), a Metal-Expo regular exhibitor. It will create a closed circuit and enable the plant to significantly reduce its potential environmental impact. The investment in the facility implemented as part of the AQA multi-phase project to upgrade water systems at ChelPipe Group's assets amounted to RUB 750 million.
The online ceremony was attended by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Russia Viktor Yevtukhov. The facility was launched by the Governor of the Chelyabinsk Region Alexei Teksler, shareholder and Chairman of ChelPipe Group's Board of Directors Andrey Komarov, Managing Director of the Chelyabinsk Pipe Rolling Plant and First Deputy Chairman of the Environmental Committee of the Legislative Assembly of the Chelyabinsk Region Evgeny Gubanov.
AQA Crystal is based on the best available domestic environmental technologies and uses the latest generation equipment - an automated process monitoring and control system which records every parameter related to water quality and consumption.
The AQA Crystal technology delivers a multi-stage treatment of effluents formed after the pipe pickling process, including homogenisation, reagent treatment, softening, sedimentation, filtration, demineralisation, ion exchange, and slurry evaporation to obtain waste in the form of crystalline salts. The resulting process water enters a closed circuit where it is used in steam and water heating boilers of ChelPipe's power park, while mechanically dehydrated sludge and salts are transferred to licensed companies for neutralisation.
The launch of AQA Crystal will make it possible to purify about 600 cubic metres of acid waste daily and reduce the total iron content in the water by 6,000 times, suspended solids - by more than 35 times, sulphates - by more than 100 times and chlorides - by 50 times.
"Metallurgical facilities received more than RUB 900 bn in investments over the last five years, and a considerable portion of those was used to reduce the environmental footprint of production. The AQA Crystal and AQA Genesis projects implemented by ChelPipe Group using the best available environmental technologies are a good example of such investments," said Viktor Yevtukhov, State Secretary, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Russia. "In order to be competitive in Russia and internationally, today's companies need to keep meeting progressively more stringent requirements of the environmental law, and I am confident that ChelPipe Group, which launches breakthrough industrial and environmental facilities, is well-positioned to stay among the leaders of the domestic and global metallurgy.""ChelPipe Group gives priority to environmental issues and strives to consistently reduce its environmental impact. Over the past ten years, the Company has launched a number of cutting-edge METAllurgy facilities that meet the highest standards of environmental safety," commented the shareholder and Chairman of ChelPipe's Board of Directors Andrey Komarov. "By treating over 525,000 cubic meters of water annually, the state-of-the-art facility AQA Crystal minimises the potential environmental footprint, contributing to the region's environmental well-being. Thanks to ChelPipe's water circulation systems, our customers can be assured that we use eco-friendly technologies to manufacture our high-quality pipe products.
AQA Crystal is part of ChelPipe Group's large-scale programme to upgrade industrial effluent treatment facilities and reduce impact on water resources. In September 2020, the Pervouralsk Pipe Plant (PNTZ, part of ChelPipe Group) launched the AQA Genesis facility aimed at creating a "clean" water circuit system, which made it possible to reduce the content of suspended solids in the process water by seven times, iron - by six times, oil products - by more than 100 times, and cut the discharge of industrial effluents by 30%.
