Ternium Brasil has a series of initiatives for conscious and efficient water management at its Industrial Center. This is a relevant resource for the steel production process, as fundamental for life on the planet.
On World Water Day, celebrated on March 22, we recalled the importance of this resource, starting with the work of the Water Resources Committee. Created in 2021, it brings together representatives from all of Ternium's production areas and it has the fundamental role of developing water awareness, optimizing consumption in processes and identifying new opportunities to improve our water performance. The Committee, together with the Instrumentation team, works hard to calibrate the water flow measuring instruments, guaranteeing the reliability of the data measured.
All of it is available internally and is fundamental for monitoring performance against planned targets. The idea is to work together with the operational areas to reduce waste and find new opportunities to use reused water. This is a Ternium commitment, even outside the Santa Cruz Industrial Centre, where the company supports the Rivers on the Move project, which raises awareness among students and volunteers about the importance of environmental education, monitoring the environmental health of rivers, social mobilization and engaging local communities in water management.
"Water is strategic and vital both for our production process as well as for the community. We continue to manage it with commitment and dedication, seeking to optimize our consumption daily. Everyone's participation in water awareness is fundamental to achieving current objectives and preparing for future challenges," says Juan Manuel Yannaduoni, Senior Water and Wastewater Manager at Ternium Brasil.
In addition, the Water and Wastewater Treatment Department plays a central role in analysis and management, always seeking continuous improvement of the eight types of water available at the Industrial Center.
Performance indicators
The reuse index measures water that has been industrial effluent, satisfactorily treated, and used again in some production process. Over the last three years, it has increased from 43.5% to 83.5%. This is due to improvements in the reuse water management process, new projects implemented, and online monitoring.
As for Specific Consumption, Ternium is in the optimal range of 3.0 m³/ton. (In other words, 3 m³ of captured water is needed for every ton of steel produced). To give you an idea, Worldsteel's global benchmark is 3.3 to 1.6 m³/ton.
In addition, our Recirculation Index is 98.3% at the Industrial Center. This is responsible for quantifying the efficiency of all closed refrigeration circuits
Ternium Brasil continues to develop projects focused on the conscious use of water. One example is the Aerial Water/Potable Water Network Engineering project, which consists of identifying leaks in the underground potable water network and replacing it with a new pipe way network.
Additional activities: Leak hunting
The General Management of Energy and Utilities also promotes the "Leak Hunting" activity, with a focus on preventing waste from small leaks such as in taps to leaking underground pipes. The initiative reinforces the commitment of everyone at the plant to check for leaks and call for repairs when necessary.
To this end, in recent days, Ternium Brasil has carried out a real search in the areas to eliminate water leaks. On March 20, the Directed Environmental Hour (a weekly program to monitor the environmental management of the areas) carried out a leak hunt at points in the Industrial Center, seeking to identify places where water might be wasted so that corrective actions could be taken. The idea is to reinforce the efficient use and reduction of consumption of this vital resource.
Recently, the blast furnace implemented improvements to ensure efficiency in the gas washing process with focus on preserving the environment. Among the best operational practices were restoring water flow rates to the design conditions, improving the dosage of chemicals in the effluent treatment to reuse the water in the gas washing process, investing in pumps and valves to eliminate leaks, and implementing operational controls.
Raiza Morete, Environment Analyst at Ternium Brasil, highlights the importance of the action: "It's always a very important initiative, especially at the stops where water consumption should be lower. Water is an essential natural resource for life on Earth, and its consumption is a significant environmental aspect of Ternium's production process."