Tests being carried out at ArcelorMittal’s blast furnace gas plant in Asturias, Spain, have achieved a carbon dioxide (CO2) conversion rate of 90% and a hydrogen conversion rate of 75% – higher than the original project target.
The tests are the result of a partnership between the steel production company and chemicals firm Sekisui Chemical that was first announced in 2021.
Together, the duo said they would trial a new technology that would capture and re-use carbon waste gases from the plant’s steelmaking process.
The project takes carbon dioxide (CO2), which would have otherwise been emitted at the site, separates it, and recovers it from carbon-rich waste gas from the steelmaking process.
A chemical process, developed by Sekisui Chemical, is then utilised to convert the waste CO2 into carbon monoxide rich synthesis gas, comprised of carbon monoxide and hydrogen.
The produced synthesis gas is then returned into the steelmaking process as an alternative reduction agent for iron ore to lower the volume of fossil resources required in the process.
© ArcelorMittal
Read more: ArcelorMittal to decarbonise its steelmaking process with carbon recycling technology
To achieve the results which have recently been recorded, the partnership said it was important to carry out a CO2 capture process reaching 90% of CO2 purity.
As a next step, the companies plan to further optimise the conditions, replace the catalyst with a high-performance one, and conduct a long-term test with a higher reaction yield by December (2023).
They will also consider new projects to demonstrate the ability to scale-up the technology.
ArcelorMittal and Sekisui Chemical have been supported by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO) and have launched an international collaboration of carbon capture and utilisation for circular carbon in steelmaking.
Just last week, ArcelorMittal and Lanza Tech Global said they are one step closer to full operation of the €200m ‘Steelanol’ plant.
A first of its kind steel plant in Europe, the plant will feature carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) technology and be capable