About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Fundamentals of Sustainable Metallurgy and Processing of Materials
|
| Presentation Title |
Producing Clean Steel Directly from Iron Ore via Hydrogen Reduction Meltless Steelmaking (HRMLES) |
| Author(s) |
Pei Sun, Z. Zak Fang, Zhaozhen Huang, Amir Meysami, Alex Hyatt, Xuming Wang |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Pei Sun |
| Abstract Scope |
The iron and steel industry accounts for ~ 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions, highlighting the urgent need for sustainable production methods. The Hydrogen Reduction and Meltless Steelmaking (HRMLES) process, developed at the University of Utah with support from ARPA-E, offers an innovative meltless pathway to ultra-low-emission steel production. HRMLES involves the direct hydrogen reduction of iron ore concentrate and alloying during solid-state sintering, eliminating the energy-intensive and carbon-intensive melting steps in conventional steelmaking. This research addresses critical challenges associated with HRMLES, specifically focusing on impurity management and alloy design tailored to its unique solid-state processing environment. Strategies are developed to effectively control ore-derived impurities traditionally removed during melting and to incorporate alloying elements under meltless conditions. Additionally, mechanical properties of steels produced through HRMLES are assessed, demonstrating comparable performance to conventional wrought and powder metallurgy steels, validating the potential of HRMLES as a sustainable steel production method. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Iron and Steel, Sustainability, Powder Materials |