A Sustainable project places Vallourec among the finalists of the Best of Year Award

12/11/2020

Vallourec is one of the three finalists for the PMI-MG Award for Best Project in 2020. The PMI (Project Management Institute) is an international non-profit association permanently dedicated to promoting the effective application of Project Management science and practices. The organization is present in several regions of Brazil and the world.

The Vallourec project that is among the finalists is the PCI PELLET - Charcoal in Pelletizing Plant Burner, led by mechanical engineer Alexandre Souza. Its main objective was to achieve at least 66% renewable energy from charcoal in pelletizing processes, a process that agglutinates ore particles to facilitate later metallurgical operations. For this, a new installation was made adapted for the use of this fuel, which demonstrated excellent attractiveness in the feasibility studies. Another objective was the environmental benefit of reducing atmospheric emissions that attracted institutional support and financial support from the UN through the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), with a commitment to reduce the emission of seven thousand tons of CO2 in two years.

The work was challenging and had the cooperation of Vallourec's Project Engineering team and the professionals responsible for the operation and maintenance of future assets. More than twenty people worked together, as One Team, leading to the success of the project, which broke several paradigms in all its phases. One of the biggest challenges, for example, was adapting equipment and the original project, created to consume mineral coal, to use charcoal as an alternative fuel, used in a pelletizing plant for the first time.

A structured team, good management practices, and constant monitoring by stakeholders were essential for the project to reach its initial objectives, exceeding the defined target of 66% and reaching 99% of energy from charcoal. Besides, a reduction of 21 thousand tons of CO2 was achieved, exceeding 14 thousand tons of the initial objective. For the first three years of operation, a direct cost reduction of more than BRL 52 million was expected, achieving a return on invested capital in 19 months. In ten years, the net present value generated by the project is expected to exceed the investment value by more than 13 times, an excellent return. The project was a major step in terms of sustainability for Vallourec.