Energy Efficiency and CO Reduction in the Iron and Steel ...

1 Energy Efficiency and CO2. Reduction in the Iron and Steel Industry In brief The technology Ongoing research The iron and Steel industry is one of the big- There are two main routes to produce Alternatives to the two main production gest industrial emitters of CO2, accounting Steel . The integrated route is based on the routes include direct-reduced iron tech- for between 4 % and 7 % of anthropogenic production of iron from iron ore, while the nology and smelting Reduction (which, like CO2 emissions globally. In the past 40 years recycling route uses scrap iron as the main the blast furnace, produces hot metal). The there has been a 50 % Reduction in Energy iron-bearing raw material in electric arc fur- advantage of these technologies compared consumption in the industry in Europe. This naces. In both cases, the Energy consumed with the integrated route is that the raw has mainly been due to the increased use comes from fuel (mainly coal and coke) and materials do not need to be treated ( bene- of recycled scrap iron, from a 20 % share electricity.)

2 The recycling route consumes ficiated'), by sintering and making coke, in the 1970's to around 40 % today, while much less Energy (about 80 %) than the and that they can adjust well to low-grade the manufacture of iron from iron ore has integrated route. raw materials. On the other hand, more declined. However, a complete shift to recy- primary fuels are needed, especially natural cling is limited by the availability and quality The integrated route used for about 70 % gas for direct reduced iron technology and of scrap. of production globally relies on the use coal for smelting Reduction . of coke ovens, sinter plants, blast furnaces (BF) and Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) con- 20-25 % savings in CO2 emissions in the verters. The fuels used are fully exploited, smelting Reduction process can be achieved EU Steel producers are among first for their chemical reaction potential if the additional coal is transformed into the global leaders not only in (during which they are converted into process gases, which are then captured technology, but also in climate process gases) and then for their Energy and used to produce heat and electricity.

3 Protection. Currently, they are potential, by capturing, cleaning and com- At present in the EU-27, only one plant uses busting these process gases in produc- direct-reduced iron technology (in Germany), conducting intensive research for tion processes and to generate heat and while none of the eight operational facilities breakthrough technologies which electricity. However, the increased Energy for smelting Reduction in the world are in would be able to reduce CO2 Efficiency that comes with the re-use of Europe. emissions from Steel making by process gases so-called cascadic fuel use does not reduce overall Energy con- There is potential for reducing direct CO2. more than 50 per cent. sumption, in terms of the primary fuels emissions by about 27Mt per year by apply- European Steel Association (EUROFER) used for the chemical reactions. ing best practice, including the retrofitting of SETIS. Energy Efficiency and CO2 Reduction in the Iron and Steel Industry existing equipment. This potential however relies strongly on a substitution of local raw materials with increased imports of best performance raw materials from outside the EU (especially ores and coal).

4 The industry's flagship ULCOS programme (Ultra Low Carbon dioxide (CO2) Steel -mak- ing),1 supported by the European Commission and involving a consortium of 48 leading players in industry and research, aims to reduce the CO2 emissions of today's best routes by at least 50 %. The first phase of ULCOS had a budget of EUR 75 million. As a result of the first phase of ULCOS, four main processes have been earmarked for further development. The top gas recycling blast furnace is based on the separation of the off-gases so that the useful compo- nents can be recycled back into the furnace and used as a reducing agent. Meanwhile, oxygen is injected into the furnace instead of preheated air to facilitate CO2 capture and storage (CCS). The timeline to complete the demonstration programme is about 10. years, allowing further market rollout after 2020. Source: EUROFER. 1. Fact file Currently, 45 % of Steel is produced products and tCO2/t of rolled prod- and used in mainland China. ucts for the recycling route.

5 Key performance indicators By 2020 the annual consumption of Combined with CCS, the potential Current Energy consumption for the Steel in the wind Energy industry could Reduction of CO2 emissions of the integrated route is estimated to lie amount to Mt, in order to achieve HIsarna process is 70-80 %. between 17 and 23 GJ/t of hot-rolled the projected 220 GW of wind Energy product and for the recycling route, and Mt by 2030 to achieve the pro- The potential Reduction of CO2 emis- between GJ/t of hot-rolled jected 350 GW of wind power. sions from the ULCORED process is product. 70-80 %. Greenhouse gas emissions Production and consumption and savings If the body structures of all cars of iron and Steel produced worldwide were made of GHG emissions from the iron and Steel Advanced High-Strength Steel instead The production of crude Steel in the industry between 2005 and 2008 on of conventional Steel , 156 Mt CO2eq EU in 2011 was Mt, representing average amounted to Mt of CO2 would be avoided.

6 % of the total world production equivalent. (1 514 Mt of crude Steel ), compared Employment to % ten years earlier (in 2001), In Europe, about 80 % of CO2 emissions even though production was higher. from the integrated route' originate In the EU-27, about 360 000 people from waste gases. These waste gases were directly employed in the sector In 2009, with the financial crisis, Steel are used within the same industry to in 2013. production in Europe dropped by 30 % produce about 80 % of its electricity compared to the previous three years. needs. From 2001-2011, Chinese Steel pro- During the period 2005 to 2008, direct duction grew more than fourfold (from emissions from the integrated route Mt to 648 Mt of crude Steel ). were on average tCO2/t of rolled 2. Energy Efficiency and CO2 Reduction in the Iron and Steel Industry Source: JRC. In the last 50 years, the Steel The HIsarna technology combines preheat- The industry industry has reduced its Energy ing of coal and partial pyrolysis in a reactor, a melting cyclone for ore melting and a The production of crude Steel in the EU in consumption per tonne of Steel smelter vessel for final ore Reduction and 2011 was Mt, representing about produced by 60 %.

7 However, due iron production. Market rollout is scheduled % of total world production (1 514 Mt to this dramatic improvement in for 2030. The ULCORED (advanced Direct of crude Steel ), compared to a % share Energy Efficiency , it is estimated Reduction with CCS) involves the direct ten years earlier, in 2001, even though pro- Reduction of iron ore by a reducing gas pro- duction was slightly higher then ( Mt). that there is little room for duced from natural gas. The reduced iron is The main difference is that Chinese pro- further improvement on the basis in a solid state and will need an electric arc duction has grown more than fourfold over of existing technology. Keeping furnace to melt the iron. An experimental this period. total global CO2 emissions at the pilot plant is planned in Sweden, with market rollout foreseen for 2030. The other two The growth of iron and Steel production current level or better depends on experimental processes, known as ULCOWIN in the EU-27 is estimated at about %.

8 The development and introduction and ULCOSYS, are electrolysis processes to per year up to 2050. The increase in the of radical new steelmaking be tested on a laboratory scale. production would be covered mainly by an technologies with a lower carbon increase in the recycling route. Production In thermal power plants, the development from the integrated route is expected to footprint. Many of the of new Steel grades will increase temper- stay around its current values. Indeed, the technologies that are being ature and pressure and will contribute to world Steel industry has an overcapacity of researched are associated with the improvement of Energy Efficiency . In 542 Mt out of an expected global capacity carbon capture and storage advanced supercritical plants with steam of 2 172 Mt by 2014. conditions up to 600 C and 30 MPa, net (CCS), which will require efficiencies between 46 and 49 % could government and public support be reached whereas older pulverised coal Barriers for implementation.

9 Plants, with subcritical steam parameters, operate with efficiencies between 32-40 %. Further increases in the recycling rate World Steel Association2 Each percentage point Efficiency increase is beyond the 60 % in 2030 will be hampered equivalent to a % Reduction in tonnes of by the availability of scrap. Such high recy- CO2 emitted. cling rates will increase the impurities and reduce overall Steel quality. Recycling is The development of new grades (light- associated with high emissions of heavy weight alloys) for the automotive industry metals and organic pollutants due to the can decrease Steel consumption ( Energy impurities of scrap. consumption) and at the same time improve the Efficiency of the final products lighter Meanwhile, the thermochemical Efficiency cars will be more efficient. of current blast furnaces is almost opti- 2. 3. Energy Efficiency and CO2 Reduction in the Iron and Steel Industry mal. As CO2 emissions are linked to the ture and Storage (CCS) initiatives ( The EU-27 iron and Steel production sector chemical reaction for the Reduction of iron the cement industry).

10 No CCS projects employed about 360 000 people in 2013. ore, there can be no significant decrease were awarded in the first call for propos- About 2 million people are directly employed in CO2 emissions without the development als under the EC's New Entrants' Reserve in the Steel industry worldwide (World Steel of breakthrough technologies, as proposed (NER 300) funding programme. But the Association, 2013). by ULCOS. EUR 275 million set aside for CCS projects is still available for the second phase of The industry is also facing a social challenge the programme. due to the increasing average age of its workforce: more that 20 % will retire from Not all the European operators are perform- 2005 to 2015 and close to 30 % during the ing as well as they could, so there is still following 10 years. The industry will there- potential to save Energy by bringing them fore need to attract, educate and secure up to the level of the best performers. For further information: more qualified people.