Is it possible to produce steel without carbon emissions?

The manufacture of steel involves a large consumption of energy, which means that it also results in a significant amount of carbon emissions.

Can metal be created without these carbon emissions? Siemens (a German company) and other European companies seem to think so. Because they are looking for a method to produce steel without the carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.

Germany produced 42.7 million tons of steel in 2015, making it the largest producer of crude steel in the EU. It is the seventh largest steel producer in the world. The German steel industry was responsible for 6.4 percent of Germany’s carbon emissions in 2014.

Carbon emissions – Carbon2Chem

The Siemens company and other partners from the energy sector, the chemical and steel industries. This started a joint project known as Carbon2Chem. Officially launched in June, the project is supported by a $55.9 million grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Other greenhouse gases (GHGs) are produced in steel mills, including methane and nitrogen. The partners of the Carbon2Chem project are interested in the conversion of GHG into reusable materials for the chemical industry, instead of burning them. Chemical industry companies such as Covestro, Evonik and Linde are co-partners in the project. And they are looking for innovative ways to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. A process called electrolysis, using solar and wind energy to produce chemicals. Such as methanol, one of the most widely used organic chemicals. Most of the carbon needed to produce methanol today comes from fossil fuels.

Siemens is a leader in hydrogen electrolysis, operating an electrolysis plant in Mainz, Germany starting in the summer of 2015. Carbon2Chem estimates that it will take about 15 years before this concept can be applied on an industrial scale.  If the carbon emissions of the plants that produce steel could be reduced to almost zero. The total of these emissions would be reduced by up to 50 million tons per year.

The importance of steel

Steel is an important part of modern society. It provides the means for infrastructure, which is necessary to minimize the effects of natural disasters. As cities expand to keep up with population growth, they will need large amounts of steel. The steel industry has already significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions in the last two decades by improving energy efficiency and new technologies and practices.

Carbon2Chem is not the first project that tries to reduce carbon emissions in the steel industry. A Japanese project called COURSE50 tries to use innovative technologies. Started in 2007, by the Japanese Prime Minister at the time – Shinzo Abe, the goal of the project is to develop technologies to reduce carbon emissions resulting from steel manufacturing by 30 percent.

Article source: http://www.justmeans.com/blogs/how-the-steel-industry-is-trying-to-say-bye-byeto-carbon-emissions