In his presentation titled Energy Technology Perspectives for the Iron and Steel Industry made at the 50th annual meeting of worldsteel (World Steel Association) held in Dubai on October 10-11, Eric Masanet, head of the Energy Demand Technology Unit at the International Energy Agency (IEA), gave an overview of developments in relation to CO2 emissions reductions and use of clean energy, while taking a look at the possibilities and options for the iron and steel in this context. Major developments have included a historic global flattening of CO2 emissions for the first time ever in 2015, while the Paris agreement in December of the same year was a milestone, providing a historic push for clean energy, with its main aim of limiting the average global rise in temperatures to well below two degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels. On another positive note, Mr. Masanet pointed out that, according to the IEA’s Energy Technology Perspectives 2016, the carbon intensity of the global economy can be cut by two-thirds through a diversified energy technology mix by 2050, while recent progress on electric vehicles, solar photovoltaic technology and wind power has been promising. In this regard, based on the IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2015, renewables will account for half of additional global power generation in the period up to 2040, overtaking coal around 2030 as the leading global source of power.
Mr. Masanet then listed the main innovative options for low-carbon steel. These include upgraded smelting reduction (SR), maximizing the CO2 content of the off-gases through pure oxygen operation, making CO2 capture more straightforward; oxy blast furnace and top gas recycle, i.e., raising the CO2 content of the top gas by replacing the air in the blast furnace with oxygen and recycling the top gas, which lowers coke requirements; coke oven gas (COG) reforming, i.e., increasing the hydrogen concentration of COG through reforming tar to reduce net energy consumption; an upgraded DRI process that reuses off-gases from the shaft as a reducing agent after CO2 capture, which avoids the needs for coke or sinter; and CO2 capture applied to on-site utilities and general combustion equipment.
He said that the IEA’s Energy Technology Perspectives 2016 indicate that, globally speaking, six percent of final energy use in iron and steel production could be technically recovered, while BOF off-gas provides the greatest overall energy savings opportunity.
Outlining his conclusions, Eric Masanet said that the steel industry has substantially cut its energy consumption and continues to do so, though the marginal gains being made are diminishing; he stressed that the close bond between steel and coal makes integrated steel mills vulnerable to climate policy (in terms of shareholders, investors, etc.): he stated that the steel industry is not under immediate pressure to cut emissions and added that innovative processes are under development; and, finally, on the downside, said that innovative processes are probably over a decade from widespread adoption and require integration of CO2 capture (which probably requires a CO2 storage business).
Mr. Masanet’s way forward or roadmap for steel in a low-carbon future includes identification of the benefits of innovative processes for environment and export reasons, promotion of technology development projects to improve novel processes, and collaboration on other relevant R&D/projects, such as oxygen production, hydrogen production, CO2 storage and enhanced oil recovery.