First long-term trial of blast furnace alternative gets underway
Tata Steel in IJmuiden has recently launched the first six-month endurance test using the new HIsarna technology. According to the company, this is the sustainable alternative to the blast furnace process. This breakthrough technology can reduce a steelworks’ energy consumption and CO₂ emissions by at least 20 per cent. And when combined with CO₂ capture and storage, emissions can be reduced by as much as 80 per cent!
After this endurance test, the next phase of designing, building and testing an industrial-scale installation will begin. This installation will be developed and tested on site.
High-tech by the sea
Executive chairman Theo Henrar of the IJmuiden steel company is wildly enthusiastic about the new technological development. He says: "The new Dutch government has great ambitions when it comes to realising an innovative circular economy that does not emit CO2. To further reduce those emissions in the steel industry, a real breakthrough technology is needed. In our view, this new technology is the beginning of a new industrial revolution in which CO2 reduction and circularity are central. One of our company's showpieces, I might add!"
Henrar's enthusiasm almost spills out: "It really is high-tech by the sea here. Once the technology is commercially available, it can be applied worldwide. So far, no project has been realised in that field, but this new technological development could change that. Because of our coastal location, the obvious option is to store the CO2 in gas fields at sea."
Sustainability central
Sustainability is central to the steel company's strategy. Partly with this alternative, Tata Steel wants to contribute to realising the required sustainability of society and creating a truly circular economy. The company does this not only through process innovations, but also through product innovations, such as lighter and stronger steel for cars, making them not only safer but also more economical.
HIsarna versus blast furnace
In the traditional blast furnace process, iron ore and coal are first pre-processed into large lumps to be stacked in the blast furnace. With the new technology, this pre-processing step is no longer necessary: iron ore and coal are injected in powder form into a reactor to make liquid hot metal. Because an entire process step can be dropped, 20% less energy is used and 20% less CO2 is emitted. Only one plant is still needed to make liquid hot metal, with only one stack.
Because the new plant produces virtually pure CO2, it can be captured and stored relatively easily, for example in empty gas fields in the North Sea. And this solution even means a CO2 reduction of at least 80% and a plant entirely without chimneys! Henrar: "Tata Steel's R&D department has shown that the new technology works. In fact, steel has already been produced from hot metal from the new plant."
Capabilities and performance
The potential of the new technology is not only limited to significantly reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions. According to the steel company, HIsarna also leads to lower emissions of particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. Furthermore, scrap can be recycled in the new plant and more by-products of the steelmaking process can be reused. In addition, you can also recover substances such as zinc from the process. For the steel industry, besides making one of the current production steps redundant, there is also the advantage that you can use a wider range of raw materials than in a blast furnace. Then, as a steel producer, you can make the same high quality steel with cheaper and more readily available raw materials.
By: Janet Kooren
