RecHycle is an EU-funded project that investigates the use of green hydrogen and recycled metallurgical gases in steelmaking. These gases are hydrogen-rich and produced onsite. They will be injected into the blast furnace to replace coke and pulverised coal. This will help minimise carbon dioxide emissions and sustainably produce green steel.
The steel sector is one of the most challenging sectors to decarbonise and has recently received special attention to reducing its fuel combustion and process-related carbon emission. About 60% of steel production in the world is currently produced based on the Blast Furnace-Basic Oxygen Furnace (BF-BOF) route. One of the current leading technologies being developed is replacing coking coal with hydrogen-rich gases. When hydrogen is used instead of carbon to remove the oxygen from iron ore, the by-product is water rather than carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. When hydrogen is produced using renewable sources or recycled on site using hydrogen-rich gases, it can be a steady source of
(renewable) energy.
RecHycle’s goal is to mix and recycle metallurgical gases produced on site with or without external (green) hydrogen sources. This is to be fed ultimately into the blast furnace and a future DRI furnace to sustainably produce green steel. The project will demonstrate a cost-efficient solution to decrease carbon emissions by initiating a new industrial symbiosis between and within the steel industry, chemical industry and renewable energy sources (e.g. wind or solar to obtain green electricity or hydrogen).
The project will contribute to the shift towards a circular economy where waste products are valorised to the maximum of their potential. Challenges to be addressed are the dynamic optimisation of gas mixtures and flows, minimising risks of hydrogen on material embrittlement, ceramic feed-inlet (Tuyeres) within the furnaces, the quality of the produced steel and the (future) material scrap streams of the DRI. RecHycle is to be executed through a consortium of 6 partners from 4 different countries including 1 industrial partner that is world-leading in the steel manufacturing industry and 5 research partners specialised in hydrogen-based studies.
(1) Further improving material and energy efficiency; (2) Electrification and embracing hydrogen as a reducing agent; (3) Developing Smart Carbon concepts at the heart of the circular economy. RecHycle allows us to take important steps in the three axes.”
About ArcelorMittal Belgium
ArcelorMittal Belgium, with production sites in Ghent, Liège, Genk and Geel, employs 5,000 people. The total direct and indirect employment is estimated at 30,000 jobs. The company produces high-quality steel for the most diverse applications in the automotive sector and other industrial sectors such as the green energy sector, construction, white goods, packaging, etc.
Contact details ArcelorMittal Belgium:
Jan Cornelis, Country Manager
jan.cornelis@arcelormittal.com | +32 9 347 35 72 | +32 499 599 394
