Abstract
The iron and steel industry is still dependent on fossil coking coal. About 70% of the total steel production relies directly on fossil coal and coke inputs. Therefore, steel production contributes by ~7% of the global CO2 emission. The reduction of CO2 emission has been given highest priority by the iron- and steel-making sector due to the commitment of governments to mitigate CO2 emission according to Kyoto protocol. Utilization of auxiliary carbonaceous materials in the blast furnace and other iron-making technologies is one of the most efficient options to reduce the coke consumption and, consequently, the CO2 emission. The present review gives an insight of the trends in the applications of auxiliary carbon-bearing material in iron-making processes. Partial substitution of top charged coke by nut coke, lump charcoal, or carbon composite agglomerates were found to not only decrease the dependency on virgin fossil carbon, but also improve the blast furnace performance and increase the productivity. Partial or complete substitution of pulverized coal by waste plastics or renewable carbon-bearing materials like waste plastics or biomass help in mitigating the CO2 emission due to its high H2 content compared to fossil carbon. Injecting such reactive materials results in improved combustion and reduced coke consumption. Moreover, utilization of integrated steel plant fines and gases becomes necessary to achieve profitability to steel mill operation from both economic and environmental aspects. Recycling of such results in recovering the valuable components and thereby decrease the energy consumption and the need of landfills at the steel plants as well as reduce the consumption of virgin materials and reduce CO2 emission. On the other hand, developed technologies for iron-making rather than blast furnace opens a window and provide a good opportunity to utilize auxiliary carbon-bearing materials that are difficult to utilize in conventional blast furnace iron-making.
Highlights
Iron and steel-making sector is one of the most important sectors due its great impact on the global growth and economy
Carbon rich in-plant fines, waste plastics and/or biomass can be injected to the blast furnace (BF) through the tuyeres
Steel is an essential product for everyday use in our life and one of the main drivers for the global growth and development, its production is considered as one of the most intensive CO2 emission sources with a share of ~7% of the global CO2 emission
Summary
Iron and steel-making sector is one of the most important sectors due its great impact on the global growth and economy. Attempts to decrease dependency of metallurgical coke and reduce the CO2 emission are for large extent based on the following approaches; (1) substituting coke with H2 -rich carbon-bearing materials; (2) producing agglomerates from secondary resources; and (3) shifting the iron oxide reduction process toward lower carbon utilization. Coke has been partially replaced by other alternative carbon sources (pulverized coal, natural gas, etc.) through the BF tuyeres over years and such replacement is practiced in all modern BFs. Injection of other carbon sources including top gas of different processes, such as coke-making and steel-making, as well as carbon-bearing wastes has been tried, and even practiced in some cases [8]. There exists a great deal of research papers reporting on reducing coke consumption and, reduce CO2 emission, there are a few that summarize the most recent research relevant to the applications of carbon-bearing materials, including renewable and waste carbon-bearing sources in the iron-making sector. Description of materials that have reduction potential (for example; carbon rich in-plant fines, waste plastic, and bio-based carbon materials)
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