SHS Services GmbH (Dillingen, Germany):

Marion M., Mag. Eng.

Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann (Duisburg, Germany):
Baldermann M.

ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe GmbH (Duisburg, Germany):
Domels H.-P.

VDEh Institute of Industrial Research (Düsseldorf, Germany):
Hensmann M.
Stranzinger B.

VDEh Steel Institute (Düsseldorf, Germany):
Sprecher M., e-mail: marten.sprecher@vdeh.de

Energy efficiency is one of the most popular tags in the present time. This means using less energy to reach the same aim. For the steel industry, this means to use energy completely. The fully use of energy is the key to get more energy efficiency, but with every improvement of energy efficiency more and more energy will stay unused. The reason is that the by-product gases like coke oven gas, blast furnace gas and other gases are process-related. Reasonable use of the by-product gases in the whole energy network in an integrated steel mill must be provided. Not all systems run equally well with each by-product gas. Fuel switching must be considered in terms of efficiency in each aggregate and the impact of ETS also has to be taken into account. "Clever" and more rational use of by-product gases is an important resource-saving process. Additional possibilities of its optimization have to be used from the ecological and economical point of view. Actual innovations of metallurgical plants are directed on widening of possibilities of utilization of by-product gases and on rise of the ratio of this utilization together with improvement of working conditions for personnel. However, we need to take into account the restrictions connected with lack of synchronization between producers and consumers. It is concluded that in the future it is required to put into practice the new ways, such as chemical processing of by-product gases (to manufacture chemical products) or of synthesis gas (to use consequently in chemical industry).