Kobe Steel has successfully demonstrated technology that can reduce carbon emissions resulting from blast furnace operations, combining the technologies from ironmaker Mildrex with techniques from the iron and steel industries.
Photo: J o / Wikimedia Licence: CC BY-SA
The demonstration test was conducted for a month at a large blast furnace in the Kakogawa Works in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan in October 2020.
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Overall emissions from the process are determined by the reducing agent rate (RAR) or the quantity of fuel used in the ironmaking process.
Tests confirmed the RAR could be reduced from 518 kg per tonne of hot metal (tHM) to 415 kg/tHM by charging a large amount of hot briquetted iron produced by the Mildrex process.
Preliminary results show that overall carbon emissions in the process can be reduced by at least 20%, although future trials may be able to increase this threshold.
The global steel industry produces roughly 5% of global CO2 emissions and, on average, 1.9 tonnes of CO2 are emitted per tonne of steel produced.
2.8 megatonnes of CO2 are pumped into the atmosphere every year owing to energy use in the sector, accounting for 8% of energy emissions.
Current estimates claim around 1.3 billion tonnes of steel are produced per year.
There have been gains to decarbonise the industry in recent years, but progress remains slow.
Kobe Steel plans to continue to refine the process in order to further aid in an overall reduction in emissions.
Introduction of the new process to blast furnaces around the world will be key in aiding in overall decarbonisation of the steel industry, the company claim.
The metals firm also suggests this may incentivise many steelmakers to make efforts to make their entire supply chains more environmentally-friendly as to provide low-carbon steel products to consumers, adding value to the products.
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The ultimate aim of the project is to develop and establish technologies that can provide large amounts of low-carbon steel as quickly as possible in order to meet climate goals as laid out by the Japanese government.
The company said: "The KOBELCO Group has always strived to and will continue to provide solutions to the needs of society by making the best use of the talents of our employees and our technologies with a view to realizing a world in which people, now and in the future, can fulfil their hopes and dreams while enjoying safe, secure, and prosperous lives."
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