Primary steelmaking in blast and basic oxygen furnaces is inherently carbon-intensive. Partial capture, i.e., capturing only a share of the CO2, is discussed as an option to reduce the cost of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and to realize a near-term reduction in emissions from the steel industry. This work presents a techno-economic assessment of partial capture based on amine absorption of CO2. The cost of steam from excess heat is assessed in detail. Using this steam to drive the capture process yields costs of 28–50 €/t CO2-captured. Capture of CO2 from the blast furnace gas outperforms end-of-pipe capture from the combined-heat-and-power plant or hot stove flue gases onsite by 3–5 €/t CO2-captured. The study shows that partial capture driven exclusively by excess heat represents a lower cost for a steel mill owner, estimated in the range of 15–30 €/t CO2-captured, as compared to full capture driven by the combustion of extra fuel. In addition, the full-chain CCS cost (capture, transport and storage) for partial capture is discussed in light of future carbon prices. We conclude that implementation of partial capture in the steel industry in the 2020s is possible and economically viable if policymakers ensure long-term regulation of carbon prices in line with agreed emission reduction targets beyond Year 2030.

Process Integration is a common name for system oriented methods and integrated approaches to complex industrial process plant design. In Process Integration, interactions in the industrial system are taken into account during process design and optimization via their material and energy flows. The use of systematic methodologies is a very effective approach to improve the energy and material efficiency of large and complex industrial facilities. In this paper an analysis of an integrated steel plant together with a new methodology to represent the resource efficiency is presented. The paper shows the importance of process integration as a methodology for the industry in their continued strive to strengthen its long-term sustainability

We have investigated and modeled the injection of biomass into blast furnaces (BF), in place of pulverized coal (PC) from fossil sources. This is the easiest way to reduce CO2 emissions, beyond efficiency-improvements. The considered biomass is either pelletized, torrefied or pyrolyzed. It gives us three cases where we have calculated the maximum replacement ratio for each. It was found that charcoal from pyrolysis can fully replace PC, while torrefied material and pelletized wood can replace 22.8% and 20.0% respectively, by weight.Our energy and mass balance model (MASMOD), with metallurgical sub-models for each zone, further indicates that (1) more Blast Furnace Gas (BFG) will be generated resulting in reduced fuel consumption in an integrated plant, (2) lower need of limestone can be expected, (3) lower amount of generated slag as well, and (4) reduced fuel consumption for heating the hot blast is anticipated. Overall, substantial energy savings are possible, which is one of the main findings in this paper.Due to the high usage of PC in Sweden, large amounts of biomass is required if full substitution by charcoal is pursued (6.19 TWh/y). But according to our study, it is likely available in the long term for the blast furnace designated M3 (located in Luleå).Finally, over a year with almost fully used production capacity (2008 used as reference), a 28.1% reduction in on-site emissions is possible by using charcoal. Torrefied material and wood pellets can reduce the emissions by 6.4% and 5.7% respectively. The complete replacement of PC in BF M3 can reduce 17.3% of the total emissions from the Swedish steel industry.

This study is to investigate different types of biomass products’ injection into the blast furnace (BF) to replace pulverized coal injection (PCI). The biomass products covered in the study are charcoal, torrefied material and wood pellets on the basis of Swedish forests. The modelling work has been performed in a specialized BF model. The modelling results show that charcoal has the significant effects on the BF operation. PCI can be replaced fully by charcoal, and only limited amount of torrefied material and wood pellets can be injected into BF. For the studied BF, the annual CO2 emission reduction potential from the replaced amount of PCI when injecting charcoal, torrefied material and wood pellets are about 1140 kton, 260 kton and 230 kton, respectively. In addition, a possible energy saving can be achieved for charcoal injection. A slightly higher P content in the hot metal may occur when injecting torrefied material

With oxygen enrichment in hot stoves (HS) the high calorific coke oven gas can be saved due to the possibility of using lower calorific gases which enables replacement of other imported fuels such as oil or LPG. The application of oxygen enrichment in hot stoves or increased O2 content in the blast to the blast furnace (BF), will also potentially lead to lower coke rate. The demand for coke oven gas depends on internal operation logistics and it also has outdoor temperature dependence through a heat and power plant producing district heat to the community. An analysis of the influence of increased oxygen enrichment in HS-BF on the entire energy system has been carried out by using an optimization model. A method of achieving a high time resolution in MILP optimisation is applied in the analysis. Different strategies have been suggested for minimum energy consumption at the studied steel plant and the nearby combined heat and power (CHP) plant. Central to the performance in system optimisation is the ability to analyse and properly describe the system variations.

Off-gases generated during steelmaking are to a large extent used as fuels in process units within the plant. The surplus gases are commonly supplied to a plant for combined heat and power production. The main objective of this study has been to techno-economically investigate the feasibility of an innovative way of producing methanol from these off-gases, thereby upgrading the economic value of the gases. Cases analyzed have included both off-gases only and mixes with synthesis gas, based on 300 MWth of biomass. The SSAB steel plant in the town of Luleå, Sweden has been used as a basis. The studied biomass gasification technology is based on a fluidized-bed gasification technology, where the production capacity is determined from case to case coupled to the heat production required to satisfy the local district heating demand. Critical factors are the integration of the gases with availability to the synthesis unit, to balance the steam system of the biorefinery and to meet the district heat demand of Luleå. The annual production potential of methanol, the overall energy efficiency, the methanol production cost and the environmental effect have been assessed for each case. Depending on case, in the range of 102,000–287,000 ton of methanol can be produced per year at production costs in the range of 0.80–1.1 EUR per liter petrol equivalent at assumed conditions. The overall energy efficiency of the plant increases in all the cases, up to nearly 14%-units on an annual average, due to a more effective utilization of the off-gases. The main conclusion is that integrating methanol production in a steel plant can be made economically feasible and may result in environmental benefits as well as energy efficiency improvements.

This paper focuses on the optimisation of a recovery strategy for waste materials and thereby improved material efficiency in the iron and steel industry. A joint venture between four Nordic steel plants is considered in order to recycle materials otherwise mainly put to landfill, i.e. dusts and sludges from the steel production processes. Process integration (PI) was used to investigate the possibilities for recovering the materials by developing a system optimisation model of the steel plants and integrating a dedicated material upgrading process in the system. This work aims to develop a model suitable for analysing and finding a logistic solution needed to achieve a common recycling system by studying material supply, required material storage, shipping system and shipping frequency. The developed optimisation model is presented, using a case study of the steel production plants with the dedicated upgrading process and the logistics system. The prospect for shipping materials from the steel production sites to the material upgrading process site as well as the material supply to the upgrading unit is essential in the system analysis. A mathematical optimisation model based on mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) for the common system is presented. The integration of the dedicated material upgrading process show a system in balance regarding the materials generated and processed in the upgrading unit. Generated material amounts suitable for the upgrading process can be fully recovered thereby decreasing the landfilled amounts from the four steel production sites.

The energy network in Luleå consists of the steel plant, heat and power production and district heating. Global system studies are necessary to avoid sub-optimization and to deliver energy and/or material efficiency. SSAB began work with global simulation models in 1978. After that several more specialized process integration tools have been tested and used: Mathematical programming using a MILP method, exergy analysis and Pinch analysis. Experiences and examples of results with the different methods are given and discussed. Mathematical programming has been useful to study problems involving the total system with streams of different types of energy and material and reaction between them. Exergy is useful to describe energy problems involving different types of energy, e.g. systematic analysis of rest energies. Pinch analysis has been used especially on local systems with streams of heat energy and heat exchange between them.