Abstract
Recycled steel is a key material for sustainable development. However, not all steel demand can be met by recycling, and therefore, new metallic iron must be introduced in the global cycle. The transformation of iron oxides into steel requires carbon which is oxidized into CO2. This paper focuses on the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) where molten iron is converted into liquid steel. In order to assess the effect of molten iron temperature on CO2 emissions, the process has been modelled using mass and energy balances. Model results show that, for a typical converter charge, a slight increase of 10 °C can lead to a direct reduction of 0.006 t of CO2 per ton of liquid steel. A total variation of 0.17 t of CO2 per ton of liquid steel is found depending on plant strategy and process constraints. Finally, different actuation levers for carbon mitigation are assessed. It can be concluded that operation and modelling improvements should be jointly addressed to exploit their full potential for carbon footprint reduction.
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Authors would like to thank ArcelorMittal colleagues for the support and the valuable suggestions they provided. Their environmental commitment has been the best stimulus for this contribution.
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Díaz, J., Fernández, F.J. The impact of hot metal temperature on CO2 emissions from basic oxygen converter. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 33–42 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-06474-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-06474-3