A superb team effort has delivered a recycling record at British Steel’s Scunthorpe iron ore blending beds.

The process of building an ore bed is a complex task; each bed undergoes months of planning and several weeks of detailed construction in order to create an optimized ore blend suitable for sintering and furthermore blast furnace consumption.

However, it is not just prime material that is stacked on an ore bed; a significant proportion of the blend is made up of arising process reverts – materials that can be recycled and reformed for use in our manufacturing operations.

Examples include mill scale, flue dust, lagoon cake, or ferrous material in the form of spillages or undersized materials from our screening processes.

Over recent years our Ironworks team have successfully conducted a series of detailed trials into the use of these reverts. Our research has enabled more of these products to be consumed via the ore blend – maintaining the product quality synonymous with the British Steel name, and increasing recycling rates.

And it has culminated in a new site record for the volume of reverts used in an ore blend – with the team delivering an 11.5% increase on its previous best.

Josh Aitken, Plant Manager at our Ore Preparation Plant, said: “The use of these products enables us to minimize the site’s waste material, which would otherwise be destined for external disposal (in some cases at a cost), whilst also allowing us to recoup valuable Fe units back into the process, giving a significant benefit to the business.

“The new record is an outstanding achievement which is the result of incredible teamwork across the business. Well done to everyone involved.”

Source: British Steel