In March 2025, Chinese metallurgical enterprises that are members of the industry association CISA increased their emissions of harmful substances by 9.7% compared to the same period last year, according to data from the association. Although this figure rose, emissions of sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and nitrogen oxides decreased by 13.1%, 5.5%, and 16% respectively.
This is reported by Business • Media
The overall energy consumption of industry participants in March increased by 2.1% compared to last year. Energy consumption (electricity, gas, coal, etc.) per ton of steel rose by 0.06%, but overall it decreased by 0.97%. At the same time, electricity consumption per ton of steel increased by 1.3%, while total electricity consumption in the industry rose by 8.4%. Electricity production from self-generated sources increased by 11.7%, and its share in the overall balance rose by 1.79 percentage points. Meanwhile, the production of clean energy increased by 39.8%, including wind energy by 327% and solar energy by 37%.
Changes in Water Supply and Waste Disposal
Water consumption by member enterprises of the association remained almost unchanged, with a decrease of only 0.1%, while water intake increased by 2.05%, and the volume of reuse decreased by 1.01%. The water reuse ratio decreased by 0.05 points to 98.38%. Water consumption per ton of steel increased by 2.2% to 2.28 cubic meters. Pollutant emissions from wastewater decreased by 13.4%, with the chemical oxygen demand (COD) level dropping by 10.8%, ammonia by 12.6%, and suspended solids by 16.3%.
The recycling rates of steelmaking slag, blast furnace slag, and high-iron dust remain consistently high at over 98%. The use of combustible gases, including blast furnace, converter, and coke oven gases, exceeded 98%. The share of blast furnace gas usage increased by 0.09 points, while coke gas usage rose by 0.35 points.
It is worth noting that in 2024, emissions in China’s metallurgy increased by 4.1% compared to 2023. The growth in blast furnace capacities contributed to the rise in emissions in the industry, even despite a decrease in steel production over the year.