Integrated Steelworks that Reduce CO₂ Emissions by More Than 80% ─ Challenge for Carbon-Neutral Integrated Steelworks ─

Abstract

The authors have studied integrated steelworks that are able to achieve carbon neutrality. The process used in the study was a combination of a blast furnace and a pre-reducing furnace. The cases where hydrogen and ethylene were used as fuel were compared based on numerical simulations. As a result, it was found that when hydrogen was used, the reduction in CO₂ emissions from the entire steelworks was only 45%, whereas when ethylene was used, CO₂ emissions from the entire steelworks could be reduced by 86%. Ethylene can be obtained by the dehydration reaction of bioethanol, and can also be synthesized using surplus renewable electricity, which is expected to increase in the future, and CO₂ emitted from steelworks.