ULCOS - Pilot testing of the Low-CO₂Blast Furnace process at the experimental BF in Luleå

Abstract

ULCOS-Pilot testing of the low-CO 2 Blast Furnace process at the experimental BF in Luleå The ULCOS blast furnace process aims at reducing the CO 2 emission of the blast furnace by 50% in two steps: l Decrease of carbon consumption by recycling most of the top gas after CO 2 removal, which requires operating the blast furnace with pure oxygen; l Underground storage of CO2.

Power-to-Steel: Reducing CO2 through the Integration of Renewable Energy and Hydrogen into the German Steel Industry

“…These technologies were selected by the authors because all of them have the potential to reduce a huge amount of CO 2 through the implementation of one measure or technology, and all have already attained commercialization potential, or are on the verge thereof [20,40]. In addition, these technologies would enable greater independence from coal, such that energy demand can be met by other, less CO 2 -intensive fossil sources like natural gas or directly with emission-free renewable sources such as renewable electrical power or renewable gases like synthetic methane or hydrogen.…”

“…In this section, the following selected CO 2 -reduction technologies or routes are evaluated for use in the steel industry: (Section 5.1) Blast furnaces with gas recirculation (BF-GR) [20,21]; (Section 5.2) blast furnaces with carbon capture capability (BF-CC) [20,21]; (Section 5.3) a higher share of steelmaking using EAFs at constant steel production volume [22]; and (Section 5.4) the direct reduction of iron ore using hydrogen as the reduction agent (Circored Process) [23]. These technologies were selected by the authors because all of them have the potential to reduce a huge amount of CO 2 through the implementation of one measure or technology, and all have already attained commercialization potential, or are on the verge thereof [20,40].…”

“…Figure 4 outlines a blast furnace with BF-GR. Ultra-Low Carbon Dioxide Steelmaking (ULCOS), a consortium of 48 European companies and organizations [41], has developed and evaluated this technology [20,21,42,43]. BF-GR is intended as a replacement of air (hot blast) by nearly pure oxygen and pretreated BF gas.…”

“…Furthermore, the CO 2 reduction potential of a higher share of steelmaking in EAFs at constant steel production is also considered in Section 5.3, because this could lead to a relatively simple reduction in CO 2 emissions without the implementation of new technologies. The analysis of other technologies like the electrochemical cleavage of iron [41] ore are not considered, because these technologies are still at the basic research stage and unlikely to be marketable before 2040 [20]. Furthermore, many possible efficiency measures relating to the whole integrated steelworks, which are described in Santos 2013 [21], for example, are not considered, because one of the targets of this study is to illuminate technologies and measures that lead to large reductions in CO 2 emissions and to determinate the possibility of integrating renewable energies.…”

“…In a bid to contribute to filling this gap, this study evaluates blast furnace gas recirculation (BF-GR) [20,21], blast furnace carbon capture (BF-CC) [20,21], the possibility of a higher share of steelmaking being conducted with electrical arc furnaces (EAFs) [22] and the direct reduction of iron ore with renewable hydrogen (H-DR) [23] technologies and methods that not only have the potential to reduce sector CO 2 emissions, but also to shift the steel industry's energy demand away from coal to other energy carriers that can be provided by renewable energies. Therefore, the objective of the present study is to determine whether it is possible to integrate renewably-generated power into the conventional coal-based steel industry via alternative manufacturing technologies or measures and to analyze the effect on CO 2 emissions.…”