This new plant's full name is Shougang Jingtang United Iron and Steel Co, Ltd. It is located in Caofeidian in the Hebei Province of China. The Shougang Group, today the 5th largest steel maker in China, includes the main plants in Beijing, Shouqin, Shouqian and now Jingtang.

Since Shougang ordered its first UCAR Hot Pressed ™ refractory hearth wall back in 1992, the excellent UCAR performance has resulted in a total of 10 hearth wall orders with the Shougang group. UCAR presently enjoys 100% of the group’s hearth wall business. The company is planning for at least one more giant blast furnace at the same location.

UCAR provides these large, high productivity furnaces a proven technology, offering long and successful campaigns. No experiments! Many operators in Europe have turned to UCAR for their hearth refractory needs, especially after experiencing break-outs through their large carbon block hearth linings during the past two years.

The experience from using the UCAR concept and materials has now resulted in Shougang awarding UCAR the hearth wall order for its new Jingtang #1 blast furnace. The true freeze lining will consist of small Hot Pressed carbon and semi- graphite bricks, grade NMA and NMD. The thermal composite design of the brick wall, will together with the unique C-34 cement, allow for expansion and movement during furnace heat up. After having reached thermal equilibrium it will, together with the unique materials supplied by Magneco/Metrel, form a monolith with superior mechanical and thermal characteristics. An unbeatable combination of technical expertise that makes this a sophisticated design that offers a potential campaign life exceeding well over 20 years under very demanding operating conditions.

This is likely to be the largest and highest capacity blast furnace in the world and the hearth wall performance will be one of the most critical parts in this complex production system. The above photograph shows UCAR Refractory System's General Manager Peter L. Duncanson at the contract signing ceremony with Mr. Wang Tao, Director of Iron Making Dept. Jingtang Co. (middle) and Mr. Cao Yuejin, V.P. China Shougang International Trade & Engineering Co. (seated right).

Jingtang #1 will truly be an enormous blast furnace. Here is some data regarding the furnace:

• Hearth diameter: 15,5 m
• Working volume: 5,500 cu m
• Number of tapholes: 4
• Hearth cooling: staves
• Design productivity: 2.3T/m3.d (I.V.)
• Annual capacity: 4,500,000 tons
• Design coke rate: 270 kg
• Coal rate: 220 kg
• Blow in: 2008

Other unique materials that will be supplied to this giant blast furnace hearth lining are the sol-gel bonded monolithics from Magneco/Metrel, headquartered in Addison, Illinois. These will be used for the Jingtang pumped hearth leveling/cooling layer and the pumped hearth pad protection layer as well as for the shotcrete blow-in protection wall in front of the UCAR hearth wall. These unique materials will work as a unit enabling a very long and trouble free campaign. Jingtang #1 is the 43rd UCAR hearth lining to be installed in China.

The three Shougang blast furnaces with the longest UCAR hearth lining campaigns at this point are:

Shougang #1 I.V.: 2 500 cu m Blow-in: August 9, 1994 Shougang #3 I.V.: 2 500 cu m Blow-in: June 2, 1993 Shougang #4 I.V.: 2 100 cu m Blow-in: May 16, 1992

All with excellent performing UCAR hearth walls with no plans to reline.

Other UCAR hearth walls supplied to large blast furnaces in China include:

The photograph shows blast furnace #2 at SSAB in Sweden, a UCAR customer. The furnace underwent a complete relining at a cost of SEK 140 million (15 million Euros) during the Summer of 2006. SSAB decided to replace a large micropore carbon block lining with a complete UCAR hearth lining.

"With these investments, we are taking a major step towards strengthening metallurgy in Oxelösund", say Bengt Nilsson, President of SSAB Oxelösund. Approximately 1.6 million tons of slab are produced annually at Oxelösund, Sweden.