Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Energy Consumption Activities by the Iron and Steel Industry in East China

Abstract

The increasing concentration of CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere can warm up the earth's surface and cause drastic changes to the climate. This paper has prepared an inventory of GHG emissions from energy consumption activities in the iron and steel industry in East China. (The region comprises two provinces, Jiangsu and Zhejiang , and one municipality, Shanghai.) The emission were measured in 1990 following the conventions set in IPCC Guidelines (1995). Energy consumption by the iron and steel industry and GHG emissions (including CO2, CH4, and N2O) inventory data are further analyzed and evaluated. As can be seen from the statistics in this paper, solid fuel is the main type of fuel consumed by the iron and steel industry in East China; this type of fuel accounts for 86.8%, while liquid fuels and gas fuels account for only 12.6% and 0.6% of the total energy consumption, respectively. Accordingly, GHG emissions from the combustion of solid fuels are highest, while those from gas fuels are minimal. The energy consumption and GHG emissions by the iron and steel industry accounts for a large percentage, about 7.86%, of the total GHG emissions in this district. This paper also discusses available mitigation appropriate to the energy consumption and GHG emissions by the iron and steel industry in East China.