The important role of the Gulf region in abating global GHG-emissions and securing sourcing of metallics

The pressure on the international steel industry to lower its emissions, especially of CO2 is profound. Major steel companies perform long term research on new processes but it will take many years before they are ready to be put in operation. Today some companies plan to close integrated mills and become scrap based possibly resulting in a shortage of scrap. A today well-established way to produce iron from iron ore with lower CO2 emissions is the DRI-route. Direct reduced iron, DRI, is a commercial product made from iron ore that has been reduced in solid state, predominantly by natural gas. Natural gas consists mainly of CH4 in its natural form, and CO and 2H2 when reformed, resulting in a lower CO2 emission when used as a reduction or energy gas compared to solid carbon. DRI can be used in steelmaking in the same way as steel scrap in the electric arc furnace, or as part of the burden in a blast furnace to reduce coke consumption. The driving forces for an increased DRI production are abating CO2 emission for reduction and avoidance of reinvestment in coke plants. This paper investigates the consequences of a drastically increased DRI demand and the opportunities this would offer the Gulf region, taking into account limitations in the supply of iron ore and natural gas.

کلیدواژه ها:

GHG ، Coke plant ، DRI ، Blast furnace ، Electric furnace ، Slag