For Immediate Release
Public Relations Division
Public Affairs Department
1170 Eighth Avenue
Bethlehem, PA 18016-7699
(610) 694-3711 - Phone
(610) 694-1509 - Fax
BETHLEHEM, Pa., December 8, 1998 -- Bethlehem Steel Corporation has reached an agreement with DTE Energy Services under which DTE Energy Services will construct, own and operate a Pulverized Coal Injection (PCI) facility to provide fuel for the blast furnace operation at Bethlehem's Sparrows Point, Md., Division. DTE Energy Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of DTE Energy Co.
Curtis H. "Hank" Barnette, chairman and chief executive officer of Bethlehem Steel Corporation, said, "The introduction of coal injection at 'L' blast furnace is expected to reduce the Division's coke consumption and result in substantial cost reductions, further improving Sparrows Point's overall competitiveness and contributing to its comprehensive plan to achieve and sustain a superior return on the assets invested at the Division."
As part of the 12-year agreement, Bethlehem Steel will lease land to DTE Energy Services, adjacent to Sparrows Point's "L" blast furnace for construction of the PCI facility. "L" furnace is one of the largest, most efficient blast furnaces in North America.
The target date for completion of the new PCI facility is in the second quarter of 2000. The facility will employ about a dozen people.
Last year, Bethlehem's Board of Directors authorized a capital expenditure of approximately $300 million for construction of a new continuous cold mill complex at Sparrows Point. That investment, coupled with the pulverized coal injection facility and cost competitive initiatives developed by Sparrows Point management with significant participation by the United Steelworkers of America, comprise the Division's plan to better serve its customers, to achieve and sustain a competitive rate of return on the assets invested in the Division, and to help Bethlehem Steel enhance value for its stockholders.
In steel manufacturing, blast furnaces are used to produce iron, which is subsequently refined into steel in basic oxygen steelmaking furnaces. The prime fuel for ironmaking traditionally has been coke (baked coal) with natural gas and oil as supplemental fuels. The PCI process will help reduce coke needs and essentially eliminate the use of oil and natural gas.
A major advantage of the coal injection process is that a wide range of abundant, relatively inexpensive coals can be used, while coke can only be made from coals with specific physical and chemical properties. Sparrows Point's PCI system will be capable of injecting about 2,000 tons of pulverized coal per day.
PCI technology currently is in use at Bethlehem's highly modern Burns Harbor, Ind., Division.
The Sparrows Point PCI facility will be a vertical structure, measuring approximately 150 feet wide by 150 feet long and 200 feet high. Coal will be brought directly to the plant's unloading facilities and then transported to a storage area, which has a capacity of over 50,000 tons. From the storage area, coal is transported to the PCI facility where it is stored, dried and ground into a powdery consistency.
After grinding, coal is then injected by lance directly into the furnace where it ignites immediately in temperatures averaging about 3,800 degrees.
DTE Energy Services is an Ann Arbor, Mich.,-based provider of energy services that invests in, builds and operates on-site energy projects for large industrial and institutional customers. DTE Energy Services is a subsidiary of DTE Energy Co., an $11-billion, Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Its principal operating subsidiary is Detroit Edison, an electric utility serving more than two million customers in Southeastern Michigan.
