Greenhouse gas emissions of the steel industry - Avenues open for a responsible and sustainable management of emissions

Abstract

The greenhouse gas emissions of a steel mill have already been described rather extensively from a process metallurgy point-of-view and the potential impact of alternative technologies has been estimated, especially by taking into account innovative concepts that still need long term development. To progress further, it is necessary to carry out the analysis at a broader scale than the steel mill itself. Downstream, it is possible to utilize slag in the cement industry to replace natural resources, blast furnace gases in an energy optimized power plant and coke oven gas to produce hydrogen to be used as a fuel to power fuel cell driven electrical automobiles. Upstream, it also makes sense to use secondary raw materials and secondary energy sources instead of coal or natural gas. Moreover, sustainable recycling, i.e. carried out an indefinite number of times, reduces emissions drastically.