Resource efficiency
In the manufacture of our products we attach great importance to making efficient use of resources. We continuously work toward reducing the consumption of energy, materials and water in our production processes and plants.
Moving closer to zero-waste production
To enhance resource efficiency, we recycle waste materials in our production processes wherever possible. For this purpose we developed, for example, the unique OxyCup® technology for steel production. It permits the recovery of pig iron from previously unrecyclable iron-containing steel mill waste in a special shaft furnace at the Duisburg location.
In addition, a number of mostly mineral by-products are produced. These are processed and virtually fully re-utilized, either in our own production processes or as materials for other industries such as granulated blast-furnace slag for the cement industry and blast-furnace slag for road construction. This recycling system has taken us a big step closer to zero-waste production.
Water recycling
Water is a particularly valuable resource. Using it responsibly is therefore one of our key priorities. In steel production, almost all the water we use in steel production is recycled. Large volumes of water of differing quality are needed in the various production stages. ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe operates water recirculation systems at all its sites enabling water to be reused up to 40 times before it either evaporates or is discharged as cleaned wastewater.
