Challenges and Prospects of Steelmaking Towards the Year 2050

• Other Authors: Holappa, Lauri (Editor)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2021
• Subjects: Technology: general issues; ironmaking; carbon emissions; energy consumption; flash ironmaking process; alternate ironmaking processes; direct reduction; smelting reduction; iron ore concentrate; natural gas; digitalization; digital technologies; digital transformation; steel industry; digital skills; industrial restructuring; carbon emission; technology upgrade; steel; environment; mining; production; circular economy; lean and frugal design; ecology transition; climate change; pollution; toxicology; metals; metallic products; environmental impact; carbon capture and storage; CO2 mineralization; steelmaking slags; nanoparticles; life cycle assessment (LCA); by-products; industrial symbiosis; reuse; recycling; CO2 mitigation; hydrogen; kinetics; fossil-free steel; hydrogen direct-reduced iron (H2DRI); melting of H2DRI in EAF (Electric Arc Furnace); hydrogen production by water electrolysis; hydrogen storage; grid balancing; renewable electricity; climate warming; carbon footprint; energy saving; emissions mitigation; electricity generation; hydrogen in steelmaking; steel vision; mini blast furnace; charcoal; mathematical model; gas injection; kinetic models; self-reducing burden; iron ore; coking coal; DRI; scrap; blue dust; decarbonization; n/a
• Online Access: DOAB: download the publication; DOAB: description of the publication

The world steel industry is strongly based on coal/coke in ironmaking, resulting in huge carbon dioxide emissions corresponding to approximately 7% of the total anthropogenic CO2 emissions. As the world is experiencing a period of imminent threat owing to climate change, the steel industry is also facing a tremendous challenge in next decades. This themed issue makes a survey on the current situation of steel production, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions, as well as cross-sections of the potential methods to decrease CO2 emissions in current processes via improved energy and materials efficiency, increasing recycling, utilizing alternative energy sources, and adopting CO2 capture and storage. The current state, problems and plans in the two biggest steel producing countries, China and India are introduced. Generally contemplating, incremental improvements in current processes play a key role in rapid mitigation of specific emissions, but finally they are insufficient when striving for carbon neutral production in the long run. Then hydrogen and electrification are the apparent solutions also to iron and steel production. The book gives a holistic overview of the current situation and challenges, and an inclusive compilation of the potential technologies and solutions for the global CO2 emissions problem.