Revamped water treatment plant at Gerdau Sayreville starts operations
Russula has supplied a water treatment plant to Gerdau in Sayreville, NJ. In the redesign, the plant reuses sections of the existing equipment configuration to treat process water coming from the contact cooling circuit of the 800,000 tpy mill.
In December 2014, Gerdau awarded Russula the contract to supply a contact cooling water treatment plant for its 800,000 tpy capacity rebar mill, in Sayreville, NJ, USA. Twenty months later the new water plant has been designed, built and is ready for operation. With a capacity to treat 4000 GPM (908 m3/hr) of water coming from the reheat furnace and rolling mill, the new process water treatment plant underwent start-up testing in September, 2016.
The new plant was built on the site of the previous one, which is now obsolete. The design reutilized the existing scale pit. Revamping existing structures lowered the project investment costs. Proven technical solutions were used to ensure the water treatment plant was easy to operate and maintain.
After completing the civil works and assembly, Russula began testing the revamped water treatment plant last September. Russula completed the revamp of the contact circuits of the rolling mill, in which the investment cost was reduced by modernizing existing ones, such as the scale pit structures. Apart from improving the water quality, the modernization provided greater operating flexibility, reduced maintenance costs and fully-automated operations that significantly reduce energy costs and chemical additives.
This new water treatment plant has enabled the Gerdau Sayreville plant to comply with local environmental legislation and treat a water flow capacity of 4000 GPM. This is the 2nd water treatment plant awarded by Gerdau to Russula and the 15th plant to start operations worldwide.
About Gerdau Sayreville
The steel mill at Gerdau Sayreville has the capability of making 800,000 tons of rebar per year, from #3 rebar, which is 3/8 of an inch in diameter to #18, which is about 2¼ inches in diameter. The Sayreville plant has produced the bulk of steel used in the new bridge that will replace the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York. The bridge is 3 miles (4.8 km) long and spans the Hudson at its second-widest point. The facility supplied 32,000 tons of concrete reinforcing steel, in fact number 18 bar was added to the production line just for that project. Rebar provides additional stability to concrete structures by reducing the weight load the concrete must bear and enhancing its inherent tensile strength. #18 rebar is one of the largest and strongest of its kind.
