Novel adaptation for existing blast furnaces could reduce steelmaking emissions by 88%; closed

Researchers from the University of Birmingham have designed a novel adaptation for existing blast furnaces that could reduce CO2 emissions from the steelmaking industry by nearly 90%. This reduction is achieved through a closed-loop carbon recycling system, which could replace 90% of the coke typically used in current blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace systems and produces oxygen as a byproduct.

Devised by Professor Yulong Ding and Dr Harriet Kildahl from the University of Birmingham’s School of Chemical Engineering, the system is detailed in an open-access paper published in the Journal of Cleaner Production. If implemented in the UK alone, the system could deliver cost savings of £1.28 billion in 5 years while reducing overall UK emissions by 2.9%.

We present here a first-principles study of the sector coupling between a thermochemical carbon dioxide (CO2) splitting cycle and existing blast furnace – basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) steel making for cost-effective decarbonisation. A double perovskite, Ba2Ca0.66Nb0.34FeO6, is proposed for the thermochemical splitting of CO2, a viable candidate due to its low reaction temperatures, high carbon monoxide (CO) yields, and 100% selectivity towards CO.

The CO produced by the TC cycle replaces expensive metallurgical coke for the reduction of iron ore to metallic iron in the blast furnace (BF). The CO2 produced from the BF is used in the TC cycle to produce more CO, therefore creating a closed carbon loop, allowing for the decoupling of steel production from greenhouse gas emissions.

Techno-economic analysis of the implementation of this system in UK BF-BOFs could reduce steel sector emissions by 88% while increasing the cost-competitiveness of UK steel on the global market through cost reduction.

The TC-BF-BOF System with mass flows needed to produce 1 Tonne of liquid steel. Kildahl et al.

Current proposals for decarbonizing the steel sector rely on phasing out existing plants and introducing electric arc furnaces powered by renewable electricity. However, an electric arc furnace plant can cost over £1 billion to build, which makes this switch economically unfeasible in the time remaining to meet the Paris Climate Agreement. The system we are proposing can be retrofitted to existing plants, which reduces the risk of stranded assets, and both the reduction in CO2, and the cost savings, are seen immediately.

Most of the world’s steel is produced via blast furnaces which produce iron from iron ore and basic oxygen furnaces which turn that iron into steel.

The process is inherently carbon intensive, using metallurgical coke produced by destructive distillation of coal in a coke oven, which reacts with the oxygen in the hot air blast to produce carbon monoxide. This reacts with the iron ore in the furnace to produce CO2. The top gas from the furnace contains mainly nitrogen, CO and CO2, which is burned to raise the air blast temperature up to 1200 to 1350 °C in a hot stove before blown to the furnace, with the CO2 and N2 (also containing NOx) emitted to the environment.

The novel recycling system captures the CO2 from the top gas and reduces it to CO using a perovskite crystalline mineral lattice. The material was chosen as the reactions take place within a range of temperatures (700-800 °C) that can be powered by renewable energy sources and/or generated using heat exchangers connected to the blast furnaces.

Under a high concentration of CO2, the perovskite splits CO2 into oxygen, which is absorbed into the lattice, and CO, which is fed back into the blast furnace. The perovskite can be regenerated to its original form in a chemical reaction that takes place in a low oxygen environment. The oxygen produced can be used in the basic oxygen furnace to produce steel.

Iron and steelmaking is the biggest emitter of CO2 of all foundation industrial sectors, accounting for 9% of global emissions. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), it must achieve a 90% reduction in emissions by 2050 to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

University of Birmingham Enterprise has filed a patent application covering the system and its use in metal production and is looking for long-term partners to participate in pilot studies, deliver this technology to existing infrastructure, or collaborate on further research to develop the system.

Resources

Harriet Kildahl, Li Wang, Lige Tong, Yulong Ding (2023)“Cost effective decarbonisation of blast furnace – basic oxygen furnace steel production through thermochemical sector coupling,”Journal of Cleaner Production, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.135963.

Posted on 26 January 2023 in Emissions, Manufacturing, Market Background, Materials | Permalink | Comments (1)