Tata Steel clears path for environment-friendly coke plant at Jamshedpur

Completes controlled demolition of obsolete facilities

Tata Steel on Sunday executed the implosion of two obsolete coke plant ffacilities at Jamshedpur Works, paving the way for new coke oven batteries with the latest technology and higher efficiency.

In a statement, the company said that in a first-of-its-kind engineering process in the world, Tata Steel carried out the implosions in an operating steel plant with India's tallest factory mega structures. The implosions today marked the completion of the dismantling process of obsolete high-rise facilities at the coke plant at Jamshedpur Works.

Tata Steel is replacing the existing coke oven batteries 5, 6 and 7 (combined capacity of one million tonnes a year) with new batteries 6A and 6B (combined capacity of one mtpa), with the latest technology and higher energy efficiency, it said.

The first implosion of a model repair shop 12 meters high was executed on September 4, to establish the safe operating procedure inside an operational plant, and on November 27, the company executed the implosion of an obsolete 110-metre-tall chimney.

Today, another concrete chimney 110 meters high, along with a 48-meter-tall coal tower were dismantled as planned in a safe and environment-friendly way, the company said. The implosions were carried out with the help of contract partner Edifice Engineering India, and supported by Jet Demolition South Africa.

Elaborating on the process, Tata Steel said, the controlled implosion of the 110-metre-tall chimneys were executed using a mechanical hinge, enabling the structure to fall in one direction with zero degrees of deviation. ‘Water curtains’ were used to control dust and ‘trenches with berms’ were deployed to absorb vibration. Also, the use of ‘Steel wires mesh’ prevented the debris from getting scattered.

The concrete debris generated out of these implosions will be recycled and used in plain cement concrete (PCC), wall and road construction, Tata Steel said. Drones were deployed to improve visibility and help identify the hazards by reaching inaccessible areas and to survey the surrounding areas during implosion.

Sanjiv Paul, vice president (safety, health & sustainability), Tata Steel, said, “We have completed an important step of safe and controlled implosions of obsolete Coke Plant facilities. This is a testimony to our commitment to operational efficiency, safety, resource optimisation and sustainable growth strategy.”

Avneesh Gupta, vice president (TQM and engineering & projects), Tata Steel, said, “Tata Steel strives to be a technology and innovation leader in the steel industry, leveraging in-house capabilities and building external ecosystems. And, the successful execution of these complex implosions showcases our superior engineering capabilities.”

Tata Steel's flagship Jamshedpur plant, it may be mentioned, is among the first steel plants in Asia. The company mentioned that it was the only facility in India to produce steel at the same site continuously for over 100 years.