Egypt’s Ezz Steel has taken significant steps to reduce water consumption in water-scarce Egypt. In a strategic move, Ezz Steel partnered with Veolia Water Technologies Egypt to transition from using freshwater from the Nile River to desalinated seawater for their cooling water supply. This shift not only conserves precious freshwater resources but also ensures uninterrupted operations for Ezz Steel.
Situated in Al-Sokhna, an industrial area near the city of Suez, Ezz Steel’s rolling mills and flat steel plants previously relied on the Nile River for their freshwater needs.
However, to overcome the challenge posed by the relatively high chloride levels in desalinated seawater, Veolia deployed seven brackish water reverse osmosis mobile water treatment units to further treat the desalinated water, doing so in two phases to ensure a quick response: within only two months, Veolia provided an initial 8,000 m3/d capacity which was doubled during the second phase in April 2023 to reach 16,000 m3/d, the company said in a press release.
By leveraging Veolia’s mobile water treatment units, Ezz Steel successfully ensured a continuous supply of water for their cooling system, with reduced chloride and total dissolved solids levels. Consequently, Ezz Steel has achieved an impressive 75pct reduction in water and chemical consumption.
“Cooling is the primary water-consuming process in steel manufacturing plants. Veolia was able to provide an emergency response with the first phase being up and running in two months. It allowed us to reduce the use of freshwater while maintaining the steel production of our plants and reaching the required water quality”, Mohamed Bakry, Utilities Senior Manager at Ezz Steel, said.
Egypt’s Ezz Steel is a major steel producer with the capacity to produce 7 mln tons of long and flat products per year.
