Advances and Challenges in Decarbonization of the Steel Industry: Session I
Sponsored by: AIST Metallurgy — Processing, Products & Applications Technology Committee
Program Organizers: Sridhar Seetharaman, Colorado School of Mines; Jeremy Jones, Continuous Improvement Experts Inc. (CIX Inc.); Zane Voss, Continuous Improvement Experts Inc. (CIX Inc.); Sunday Abraham, SSAB Americas; Ronald O'Malley, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Wednesday 8:00 AM
October 12, 2022
Room: 405
Location: David L. Lawrence Convention Center

Session Chair: Zane Voss, CIX, Inc.


8:00 AM  
Comparative Analysis of Decarbonized Steel with Alternative Materials: Vaishnavi Vijay Rajulwar1; Robert Stirling1; Tova Jarnerud1; Sridhar Seetharaman1; 1Arizona State University
    As various regions around the world implement carbon taxes, we assert that the competitiveness of steel in the marketplace will shift according to individual manufacturers’ ability to reduce CO2 emissions as measured by Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). This study was performed by using LCA and techno-economic analysis to compare the CO2 emissions and the additional cost applied to the production of various decarbonized materials for the automotive industry. The pathways to decarbonize steel and alternative materials such as aluminum and reinforced polymer composites was evaluated. The method of production of steel, market analysis, and the impact on the environment were studied for various regions, namely India, the US, and Germany. For example, it was shown that the production of 1 kg of steel sheet emits almost 2.5 times the amount of CO2 when produced in the BF-BOF route compared to the EAF route in Germany.

8:20 AM  
Grid Interactive Hydrogen Steelmaking (GISH) – Towards Decarbonization of Steel Industry: Yuri Korobeinikov1; Sridhar Seetharaman1; Amogh Meshram1; 1Arizona State University
    Steelmaking industry is one of biggest sources of anthropogenic greenhouse gases emissions. The main source of energy for reduction of iron ores is carbon from coking coals. Growing capacities of renewable energy generation will gradually enable economical production of hydrogen with the help of water electrolysis. However, fluctuating nature of renewable energy generation poses a question of reduction agent for ironmaking in the periods of time when hydrogen production becomes non-economical. One of the solutions could be the use of natural gas. The scope of the GISH project is to evaluate and implement semi-industrial technology of the hydrogen and natural gas-based steelmaking. Arizona State University team is responsible for the experimental measurement and modeling of kinetics of the iron ore pellets reduction in various H2-CO gas mixtures. A new enhanced model of single pellet reduction is created in COMSOL Multiphysics. Progress of the project and experimental results is discussed.

8:40 AM  
Controlling Processing Conditions and Microstructures to Mitigate Hot-shortness in Steels with Elevated Cu: Lionel Promel1; Henry Geerlings1; Sridhar Seetharaman1; Amy Clarke1; Jonah Klemm-Toole1; Kester Clarke1; 1Colorado School of Mines
    Residual elements including Cu and Sn present during the recycling of scrap steel via electric-arc furnace (EAF) melting can embrittle the product through hot shortness, making it susceptible to cracking in downstream processing. This work aims to evaluate the influences of alloy chemistry, processing conditions, and microstructure on hot shortness susceptibility in selected steel product classes under industrially-relevant forging, forming, and joining conditions using Gleeble® thermomechanical simulations, quench dilatometry, and hot rolling techniques. Results will be supplied to a machine learning platform to optimize data collection regimes and identify critical correlations which control the hot shortness phenomenon. We intend to use an improved understanding of hot shortness behavior to develop secondary steel compositions and production pathways with increased tolerance to residual elements, enhancing recycling efficiency and flexibility in raw material utilization.

9:00 AM  
Research and Development for Decarbonisation of the UK Steel Industry: Zushu Li1; 1University of Warwick
    In 2019, the UK being the first major economy adopted a legally binding obligation to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Since then, the UK government launched a “Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution”, “Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy” and most recently “Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener”. The talk will highlight some strategies for decarbonising the steel sector in the UK. Then the potential pathways to decarbonising the UK steel industry will be analysed, including circular economy approach, optimising current processes, CCUS, and direct carbon avoidance and renewable energy. This will be followed by briefly introducing several national research programmes launched in recent years to support the decarbonisation of the steel sector. Finally, the speaker will introduce his relevant research activities including fundamental understanding for alternative ironmaking technology, systematic research for increasing scrap utilisation, and hydrogen applications in steel manufacturing.

9:20 AM  
Modeling Guided Fabrication of Adsorptive Heat Exchanger for Carbon Capture: Dongsheng Li1; Wei Liu2; 1Advanced Manufacturing LLC; 2Molecule Works Inc.
    Carbon capture in steel industry remains challenging due to the prohibitively cost and low efficiency introduced by large adsorption bed sizes used in current commercial carbon capture process. Funded by DOE, this effort led by Molecule Works Inc and Advanced Manufacturing LLC has demonstrated the feasibility to lower operation cost to $100/ton of carbon capture by quick removal of heat of adsorption and supply of heat for desorption. A novel adsorptive heat exchanger (AHX) unit has been designed and fabricated for low-cost, energy-efficient CO2 capture. The unit is composed by repetitive cassettes consisting of adsorbent powder held sandwiched within thin microporous metal membrane (30-60µm thick) and a thin dense metal foil. The innovative design allows for the use of any adsorbent powder without complex particle- specific material processing. The technology would help reduce CO2 emissions in the US steel industry with its low cost and high efficiency.