China's Handan aims to shut down step-type sintering machines by 2025

North China's Handan city, Hebei province's second largest steel producing hub after Tangshan, has pledged to shut down all step-type sintering machines and pelletizing furnaces still in operation by 2025, according to an action plan to improve air quality released by Handan Ecological Environment Bureau on Monday.

To answer the call of the State Council to mitigate air pollution, Handan city, known as one of the cities with worst air pollution in China, has vowed to cut its level of PM 2.5 by over 20% in 2025 from that in 2020, while emissions of nitrogen dioxide