P. Schmöle’s research while affiliated with VDEh-Betriebsforschungsinstitut and other places

The article contains sections titled: 1 Introduction 2 Crude‐Steel Production in Europe 3 CO 2 Emissions of the Steelmaking Production Routes in Europe 3.1 BF‐BOF Route 3.2 EAF Route 3.3 Direct Reduction Route 4 CO 2 Emissions of the EU28 Steel Industry in 2015 Compared with 1990 5 Options to Reach the CO 2 ‐Mitigation Targets by 2050 5.1 Smart Carbon Usage 5.2 Carbon Direct Avoidance 6 Current European Projects for CO 2 Mitigation in Iron and Steelmaking 7 Conclusion References

Steel is the material No 1 in the world with wide ranging properties and recycling possibilities as well as manifold applications for our society. Blast furnaces are the world’s No 1 pre-product supplier for crude steel production. About 1.87 billion t of ferrous input materials were required to produce 1.69 billion t of crude steel in 2017. 1. 1.17 billion t of this input material, or 62.6 %, was hot metal produced in blast furnaces. Blast furnaces have proven a wide range of constructional and operational flexibility. Production capacities of 0.3 to 5/5 million t hot metal per year per single module are in industrial application. The operations are varying in a wide flexible range depending on regional and other circumstances in manifold possibilities regarding ferrous burden structure, reductant rates like use and amount of coke replacing auxiliary reducing agents and coke rates, productivity levels and oxygen injection rates and the durability in the blast furnace campaigns. One aspect are the requirements on the quality of ferrous burden materials and blast furnace coke. © 2019, "Ore and Metals" Publishing house. All rights reserved.

The blast furnace is worldwide the dominant metallic product supplier for crude steel production. This process has reached an extreme high technological standard with large efficiency and low reductant rates. Independently from the fact that the blast furnace process has nearly achieved the theoretical minimum in energy consumption it enables the operators a wide range of operation modes with a high flexibility. This varies depending on regional and other circumstances in manifold possibilities regarding ferrous burden structure, reductant rates like use and amount of auxiliary reductants and coke rates, productivity levels, oxygen addition volumes and the durability of blast furnace campaigns. A further important aspect is the requirement on the quality of ferrous burden materials and blast furnace coke. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting global warming to well below 2 °C are the major goals of the Paris Agreement. The technical realization of these goals continues to pose major challenges for many high‐emission industrial sectors. One promising approach is the synergetic combination of large‐scale industries in cross‐industrial networks. With Carbon2Chem®, the merger of the steel, chemical, and energy sectors has succeeded for the first time. The aim of the initiative is to use top gases from steel production as a raw material for chemical products. Carbon2Chem® is a cross‐industrial project with partners from basic research and industry. The aim of the project is the material use of greenhouse gases from the steel production including the CO2 contained therein as a raw material for the production of chemical products and fuels. The integration of renewable energies also contributes to the success of the energy transition.

de Reduzierung der Treibhausgasemissionen und Begrenzung der Erderwärmung auf deutlich unter 2 °C sind die großen Ziele des Pariser Klimaschutzabkommens. Die technische Realisierung dieser Ziele stellt viele emissionsreiche Industriesparten weiterhin vor große Herausforderungen. Ein vielversprechender Ansatz ist der synergetische Verbund von Großindustrien in cross‐industriellen Netzwerken. Mit Carbon2Chem® ist erstmals der Zusammenschluss der Sparten Stahl, Chemie und Energie gelungen. Ziel der Initiative ist es, Hüttengase aus der Stahlproduktion als Ausgangsstoff für chemische Produkte zu nutzen. Abstract en Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting global warming to well below 2 °C are the major goals of the Paris Agreement. The technical realization of these goals continues to pose major challenges for many high‐emission industrial sectors. One promising approach is the synergetic combination of large‐scale industries in cross‐industrial networks. With Carbon2Chem®, the merger of the steel, chemical, and energy sectors has succeeded for the first time. The aim of the initiative is to use metallurgical gases from steel production as a raw material for chemical products.

This paper shows the evolution of raw materials and implications in Europe, discussing how the players are reacting and the most acceptable trends. Hot metal production increased at a rate of 6 %/a over the last ten years, leading to a degradation of the chemical and physical quality of iron ore and coals that can be observed in the following processes: low physical iron ore quality leading to more fines and high handling costs; lump ore with low strength, high fines; coke: volatile quality caused by changing coal blends; fine ore: increasing SiO2 and Al2O3 contents, critical RDI values with higher Al2O3 contents in sinter; lower Fe contents, especially in the sinter. The effects on blast furnace performance were clear: higher total consumption of reducing agents; higher CO2 emissions; higher slag rate; lower productivity; changing hot metal quality. Cost effects were as follows: higher costs caused by lower blast furnace performance; additional increasing costs to compensate the lower productivity; shrinking profit for high technological steel producers, exploding profits for raw material miners. Therefore, a strong response was given by ironmakers to improve process control, control costs, optimize PCI and coke rates, and search to increase efficiency in all and every ar-eas. Profitability remains a challenge though. Looking ahead, increasing demand for raw materials on a sufficient quality level with persist. Nevertheless, there could be also a trend to increase the use of pellets in blast furnaces at the same time that sinter plants are likely to increase the use of ultra-fines which shall enable a vast adoption of new practices (increase use of burnt lime) and adoption of new equipment (Intensive Mixer, HPS). Despite the challenges, blast furnace ironmaking shall continue as the main source of high-quality hot metal in the foreseeable future.

The invention relates to a plant complex for steelmaking with a blast furnace (1) for pig iron production, a converter steelworks (2) for crude steel production, a gas line system for gases resulting from pig iron production and / or crude steel production, and a power plant (3) for power generation. The power plant (3) is designed as a gas turbine power plant or gas turbine and steam turbine power plant and is operated with a gas which at least a subset of the blast furnace in the blast furnace (1) resulting blast furnace gas (7) and / or a subset of in the converter steelworks (2 ) comprising converter gas (9). According to the invention, the plant network additionally has a chemical plant (12) and a biotechnological plant (13), wherein the power plant (3), the chemical plant (12) and the biotechnological plant (13) are arranged in parallel connection with respect to the gas supply. The gas line system comprises an operationally controllable gas distribution device (14) for dividing the power plant (3), the chemical plant (12) and the biotechnology plant (13) supplied gas flow rates. The invention also provides a method for operating the plant network.

The blast furnace is a counter-current reactor. The reduction gases must flow from the raceway to the blast furnace top against the descending burden column and the liquid products hot metal and slag have to vertically drain off against the up-streaming gases to the hearth and on a horizontal way to the taphole. Solid and big-sized coke with sufficient free voidage guarantees the gas permeability in the total burden column and the drainage for the liquid products in the lower furnace.

Numerous plant and process developments have led to the reduced consumption of raw materials and energy, increased yields and improved environmental protection in iron- and steel-producing plants. However, the extreme rise in demand for raw materials and changes in the deposits have created new challenges for plant operators regarding the flexibility and quality of raw materials. Both processes are followed by further process steps in order to manufacture the desired steel grades. Two- thirds of the steel produced in Germany is made via the blast furnace/converter route, and the remaining one-third is made via EAFs. Both routes for steel production are energy-intensive. Steel scrap is used in 42% of Germany's steel production. This demonstrates the sustainability of steel production shown, in particular, by the closed circulatory system of scrap steel recycling.