By Harish Jammula, vice president and general manager, Mining & Metals
When people think of going green, steelmaking probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But the steel industry of magnate Andrew Carnegie – the same industry that conjures up images of billowing smokestacks – is changing the paradigm and taking major steps to be environmentally friendly.
And although steel is just as important today as it was in Carnegie’s day, today’s steel is lighter and stronger for use in electric vehicles, appliances and building materials. There is also an ongoing effort to make its manufacturing less energy and carbon intensive.
According to The World Steel Association, energy consumption per ton of steel has been reduced approximately 60 percent since the 1960s. Steel production still accounts for 7 to 9 percent of global emissions, but thanks to new technologies and sustainable production methods, steel manufacturers are ramping up their emissions-reduction efforts to deliver carbon-neutral, so-called green steel.
Decarbonizing steel
Fluor Corporation is working with several forward-thinking global steel producers to decarbonize their offerings. These efforts range from early-phase studies to multi-billion-dollar projects currently in the execution phase.
Because asset decarbonization is often unique to each facility, Fluor considers new technologies and designs facilities that incorporate plant energy balance, capital efficiency and asset-specific technical limitations to meet carbon reduction goals by leveraging three key approaches: emission reductions in operations, alternative energy sources and carbon mitigation opportunities.
Emissions reductions in operations
Fluor is designing and building new steelmaking facilities using energy-efficient electric arc furnaces (EAFs) on several projects, each with a capacity of more than 1.2 million tons per year. At that size, each facility can produce enough steel to build more than 4,000 onshore wind turbines annually. For example, in the U.S., Fluor is serving as the project, engineering and construction manager on a new EAF to produce automotive steel while providing engineering services on another EAF mini-mill that offers significant energy savings when compared to traditional mills.
Because of its deep knowledge and experience with the global variations of scrap supply chains, Fluor is designing and optimizing scrap handling operations for producers to maximize efficiency and to improve logistics. In addition, the company is also helping its clients reclaim waste materials such as slag and dust for beneficial reuse.
Alternative energy sources
Combining energy-efficient EAFs with low-carbon energy sources like wind, solar and/or nuclear power, further reduces steelmaking’s carbon footprint. There is considerable industry interest in NuScale Power, a Fluor-backed proprietary small modular nuclear reactor technology.
What I am most excited about, however, is the use of hydrogen to produce direct reduced iron (DRI). A key raw material, DRI is typically reduced with natural gas because of the required energy intensity. Hydrogen, which emits no carbon when used, can be combined with renewable power sources to produce carbon-free DRI, thereby eliminating the carbon emissions from typical natural-gas reformers. Several leading steelmakers are already launching innovative facilities that use this approach, and Fluor is engaged with them in applying these emerging technologies.
Carbon mitigation technologies
As hydrogen infrastructure develops and older blast furnace/basic oxygen furnace sites remain active, natural gas will continue to play an important role in steelmaking. That’s why carbon mitigation and emission control programs are so important.
For example, carbon capture, storage and reuse technologies—in which emissions are captured and reused or stored instead of being released into the atmosphere— have the potential to lower steelmaking emissions. With two proprietary carbon capture technologies, Fluor is playing a leading role in this promising technology.
Fluor’s technology group is working on breakthrough, disruptive technologies in this space to help them reach the commercialization phase – ultimately supporting the reduction of emissions in steel production.