Yungpo Seokpo Smelter, 5 Years Since World's First Zero Liquid Discharge Implementation... A Representative Case of Green Transition

*This content was translated by AI.

Yungpo Seokpo Smelter, located in Bonghwa County, Gyeongbuk Province, is approaching the fifth anniversary of its implementation of the 'Zero Liquid Discharge (Z.L.D.)' system, the first of its kind in a smelter worldwide, on May 30.

Yungpo has been fully operating the Zero Liquid Discharge system at Seokpo Smelter since May 30, 2021. ZLD is a cyclic water treatment system that does not discharge wastewater generated during the smelting process but instead reprocesses and recycles it entirely back into the production process. It is recognized as a representative case of green transition for shifting the concept of wastewater from 'discharge' to 'reuse' in industrial settings.

The ZLD system introduced at Seokpo Smelter is a large-scale environmental investment project with a total investment of 46 billion won. The main facilities consist of an evaporator, which evaporates process water that has undergone purification, and a crystallizer, which solidifies and treats impurities. In 2021, Yungpo invested 30.9 billion won in the first phase to install three evaporators and one crystallizer. In 2023, an additional investment of 15.4 billion won was made to add one evaporator and one crystallizer.

Currently, the maximum daily processing capacity of the ZLD facility is 4,000 cubic meters. In practice, an average of 2,000 to 2,500 cubic meters of process water is treated daily and fully reused. By achieving 100% reuse of process water through this system, the amount of river water intake reduced, thereby conserving water resources, amounts to approximately 880,000 cubic meters annually.

A Yungpo official explained, "Based on its technological excellence, Yungpo's ZLD is gaining attention as a representative green water treatment model for the domestic industrial sector, and recently, benchmarking visits from local government and industrial complex officials have continued."

In fact, in November last year, officials from the Strategic Industry Team of Yeongwol County Office in Gangwon Province visited Seokpo Smelter to tour the ZLD system. It is understood that Yeongwol County is considering the introduction of a public wastewater treatment facility with zero liquid discharge as it promotes the establishment of a supply chain for tungsten, a key national mineral, and the creation of a core facility for advanced industries.

Earlier, in October last year, textile industry officials from a metropolitan local government visited Seokpo Smelter to examine the possibility of introducing a zero liquid discharge system linked to the relocation project of a dyeing industrial complex.

Yungpo continues to make large-scale environmental improvement investments across Seokpo Smelter. Since establishing its 'Environmental Improvement Innovation Plan' in 2019, the company has been promoting improvement projects across all environmental areas, including water quality, air, and soil, with a cumulative investment of approximately 540 billion won through 2025.

As a representative example, the company has established ozone injection facilities to reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx), expanded its oxygen plant, installed anti-dust facilities, and built a real-time emission monitoring system (TMS). Additionally, air quality information near the smelter is transparently and in real-time disclosed through the electronic signboard in front of Seokpo-myeon Office, the electronic signboard in front of the Andong Dam World Water Forum Memorial Center, and the Yungpo website.

The results of large-scale environmental investments are also reflected in actual measurement data. As of February 2026, major heavy metal items such as cadmium, cyanide, lead, arsenic, and copper at key national monitoring stations downstream of Seokpo Smelter have all been confirmed to be below detection limits.

Air quality is also evaluated as maintaining a state of cleanliness at the highest level in the country. According to Air Korea data, major air quality indices at the Seokpo-myeon Office monitoring station, located within a 1-kilometer radius of Seokpo Smelter, are maintaining a clean level.

According to daily average measurement data from February 24 this year, nitrogen oxides (NOx) were recorded at 0.0060 ppm, sulfur oxides (SOx) at 0.0049 ppm, and fine dust (PM-10) at 21 µg/m³, showing significantly low levels. Analysis indicates these levels are comparable to or better than those in the country's top-tier clean areas.

A Yungpo official explained, "The effects of environmental improvement are also being detected in ecosystem changes. Recently, the habitat of the otter, an endangered species, has been consistently observed in the Nakdong River near the smelter, confirming that the ecological environment around the smelter is being stably maintained."

Yungpo Seokpo Smelter is recognized as the first modern zinc smelter established in Korea after the liberation and as the starting point of Korea's non-ferrous metal industry.

A Yungpo official stated, "The fifth anniversary of ZLD implementation is not just a milestone for the operation of environmental facilities but a symbolic turning point that has changed the environmental paradigm of the domestic industrial sector. Going forward, we will continue to create a sustainable smelter model by expanding green smelting technologies and environmental safety investments."

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*This content was translated by AI.