Production of iron and steel releases seven percent of the global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Incremental changes in present primary steel production technologies would not be sufficient to meet the emission reduction targets. Replacing coke, used in the blast furnaces as a reducing agent, with hydrogen produced from water electrolysis has the potential to reduce emissions from iron and steel production substantially. Mass and energy flow model based on an open-source software (Python) has been developed in this work to explore the feasibility of using hydrogen direct reduction of iron ore (HDRI) coupled with electric arc furnace (EAF) for carbon-free steel production. Modeling results show that HDRI-EAF technology could reduce specific emissions from steel production in the EU by more than 35%, at present grid emission levels (295 kgCO 2 /MWh). The energy consumption for 1 ton of liquid steel (tls) production through the HDRI-EAF route was found to be 3.72 MWh, which is slightly more than the 3.48 MWh required for steel production through the blast furnace (BF) basic oxygen furnace route (BOF). Pellet making and steel finishing processes have not been considered. Sensitivity analysis revealed that electrolyzer efficiency is the most important factor affecting the system energy consumption, while the grid emission factor is strongly correlated with the overall system emissions.Energies 2020, 13, 758 2 of 23 country, on the other hand, has a per capita steel consumption of 66.3 kg. As the standard of living in developing countries increases, demand for steel will grow further. The demand for steel will increase until 2050 [4]. Steel could be produced by reducing iron ore or by recycling steel scrap in an electric arc furnace (EAF). Iron and steel sector releases seven percent of the total CO 2 emission and 16% of the total industrial emission of CO 2 globally [5,6]. Limited availability of scrap and demand for special grades of steel, which can not be produced from steel recycling, would lead to an increased demand for ore based steel production in the future. More than 80% [3] of the ore based steel is produced through the BF-BOF route. The BF-BOF route uses approximately 18 GJ/t of energy supplied from coal [7], and has an emission intensity of approximately 1870 kgCO 2 /tls [4,8] (considering pellet making, steel rolling and finishing steps). Majority of the emissions is released from the blast furnace (61%) and coke making plant (27%) [9].Some of the alternative processes with significantly reduced carbon footprint are BF-BOF with carbon capture and storage (CCS), direct reduction of iron ore (DRI) with CCS, electrowining (electrolysis of iron ore) [10] and green hydrogen-based DRI production. Integration of CCS in steelmaking processes is being explored under the ultra-Low carbon dioxide(CO 2 ) steelmaking (ULCOS) [11,12] project. However, concerns over the safe transport and storage of captured makes CCS options less attractive. Electrowining or molten electrolysis of iron ore is a relatively new technol...
Current discourse on the transition to a decarbonized energy system future is dominated by renewable energy solutions. Initial conditions for this transition may vary across different regions and countries. There are, however, also opportunities for innovative solutions that utilize other low‐carbon energy sources and technology mix. Sustainable development is a contested concept and varies with priorities attached to social, economic, and environmental goals. Therefore, the one‐size‐fits‐all type of solution paradigm needs to be broadened, to accelerate action in the short to medium term. Our argument is that natural gas can be an important complementary transition fuel to support renewable energy in the short‐ and medium‐term transition phases. This means that the goal of zero fossil fuel as a short‐ and medium‐term solution needs to be reconsidered. This takes us to the next argument that innovation and upgraded technology in the low‐carbon fossil fuel sector will provide an important impetus for low‐carbon transition, which we see as a phase lasting until the middle of the century. However, the transition toward a sustainable energy future of gas‐fueled solutions has challenges from the social, technical, economic, geographical, and political points of view. Suitable local solutions should, however, also be assessed. These should take into consideration infrastructure, local demands, resources, and economic aspects as well as national energy policies. An analysis based on the experiences of four countries, both developed and developing, is presented in this study. The countries selected for this study can be placed in two categories: those with an abundance of natural gas reserves (Iran and Norway) and those that are import‐dependent (India and UK). The cross‐country analysis will help us to understand the realistic challenges and opportunities of natural gas as a transition fuel.
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