About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Circular Metallurgy: Design, Technology, Application
|
| Presentation Title |
Advances in Hydrogen-Based Plasma Reduction for Sustainable Metal Production |
| Author(s) |
Dierk R. Raabe, Isnaldi Souza Filho, Hauke Springer, Matic Jovičević Klug, Ubaid Manzoor |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Dierk R. Raabe |
| Abstract Scope |
The metallurgical sector faces challenges to decarbonize, as conventional metal production methods account for nearly 10% of global CO2 emissions. Hydrogen-based plasma reduction is a transformative technology, offering a pathway to green steel and sustainable metal extraction from hematite, low-quality mixed metal oxides and industrial waste streams such as red mud.
Recent advances demonstrate that hydrogen plasma can reduce iron and nickel oxides from both ores and industry waste, yielding high-purity metallic metal suitable for downstream metallurgical production.
In this process, a 10% hydrogen-containing plasma is generated in an electric arc furnace, simultaneously melting and reducing iron- or nickel-bearing feedstocks. The reactive plasma species accelerate redox kinetics and enable effective separation of the metal from gangue and tramp elements, producing metal with minimal impurities and water as the only by-product.
The presentation introduces the basic plasma smelting reduction approach, newly developed in-operando probing methods and the metallurgical mechanisms. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Extraction and Processing, Copper / Nickel / Cobalt, Pyrometallurgy |