Electricity and Heat Demand in Steel Industry Technological Processes in Industry 4.0 Conditions

Abstract

The publication presents heat and electricity management in the Polish steel industry. The paper is based on actual data on heat and electricity consumption and intensity by processes in the steel industry in Poland in Industry 4.0 conditions. Two steel production processes are used in Poland: EAF Electric Arc Furnace and BOF Basic Oxygen Furnace. The analysis is an analysis of actual data is used to characterise the electricity and heat consumption by processes in the Polish steel industry. The analysis shows that the EAF technology is always more electricity intensive and the BOF technology more heat intensive. On the basis of conducted analysis, it can be concluded that pro-environmental innovations in the steel industry should first aim to reduce the electricity consumption of EAF technology and the heat consumption of BOF. An analysis of data for Poland for the period 2004–2020 shows that both cases occurred. The study shows that the heat consumption of BOF technologies has been steadily decreasing since 2010, and the electricity consumption of EAF technologies has been decreasing throughout the period under review. It can be concluded from this that the Polish steel industry is adapting to pro-environmental requirements and, through the introduction of technological innovations, is moving towards the concept of sustainable steel production according to green steel principles. The decrease in energy intensity (means electricity) of steel produced according to EAF technology is an important issue, as the high energy intensity of EAF processes affects the overall energy intensity of the steel production in Poland. In the future, the use of new innovative technological solutions, including solutions based on Industry 4.0 principles, should help the Polish steel industry to further reduce the level of electricity and heat consumption. The driving force behind the investment is the boom in the steel market. The authors made a short-term forecasts of steel production (2022–2025). The annual forecasts determined and analyses made were used to determine the heat and energy consumption of the Polish steel industry up to 2025.