Linde Gas AB and Ovako have partnered to conduct a full-scale trial using hydrogen to heat steel before rolling. The trial was performed in one of the company’s pit furnaces at the Hofors rolling mill in Sweden and showed "good results". The companies have said that the development proves that carbon dioxide emissions from rolling can be eliminated provided the right financial support and infrastructure are in place.
Credit: Linde
As part of its sustainability drive, Ovako has worked to modernise and improve the efficiency of its furnaces and investmented heavily in recent years in new technologies, including upgraded control and automation systems. The use of hydrogen in combustion would have a great positive effect on the environment since the only emission generated is water vapour.
In collaboration with Linde Gas, Ovako, which is a subsidiary of Japan's Nippon Steel Corporation, conducted a trial in which steel was heated using hydrogen instead of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) before rolling at the mill in Hofors. The trial was successful and testing of the steel produced showed that heating with hydrogen does not affect the quality. Given the right conditions, the company says it could therefore introduce hydrogen heating for furnaces at all its rolling mills and thereby drastically reduce its carbon footprint from cradle to gate.
“This is a major development for the steel industry. It is the first time that hydrogen has been used to heat steel in an existing production environment. Thanks to the trial, we know that hydrogen can be used simply and flexibly, with no impact on steel quality, which would mean a very large reduction in the carbon footprint. We have worked closely with Linde for many years and are proud to be doing this together,” said Göran Nyström, EVP Group Marketing & Technology.
“We have been working on furnace modernisation for a long time, to make our furnaces as productive and energy efficient as possible. It is very exciting that we now have proof that it is possible to use hydrogen in heating without affecting the quality of the steel. If we can make this investment, it would have a great positive impact on the environment. Our estimate is that an initial investment would save 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, and that is just the beginning. We performed this trial in such a way that it can be reproduced at full scale in Hofors and at our other rolling mills,” said Anders Lugnet, Group Technical Specialist, Energy & Furnace Technology at Ovako.
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