Roadmap 2015 to 2025 Biofuels for low-carbon steel industry

Transcription

1 Roadmap 2015 to 2025 Biofuels for low-carbon steel industry The use of bio-based fuels and reductants in the metallurgical industry is of high importance for the future competiveness. More stringent environmental legislation and demand for CO 2 emission reduction will put high strain on the economic competiveness for the industry. The use of bio-based products to mitigate part of the CO 2 reduction demand for the industry, will increase the competiveness of Swedish industry and also result in a strengthened forestry value chain. With this roadmap we show how this can be possible within 10 years. By 2025 we will have: developed new bio-based energy carries and reductants for iron and steel industry from the forest. developed Swedish R&D, research infrastructure and production expertise throughout the valuechain from renewable forest based feedstock to reductants and energy applications in the iron and steel industry. enabled 25% reduction of the fossil CO2 emissions from integrated steelmaking, corresponding to 1.5 Mton for the Swedish steel industry. created a new industry worth M in new annual sales. 1

2 Background Many industrial processes emit CO 2, but few solutions exist to mitigate it. For example, on average, 1.8 tonnes of CO 2 is released into the atmosphere for every tonne of steel produced, so global steel production is responsible for about 2.34bn tonnes of CO 2 per year. The reduction of iron ore by carbon, resulting in CO 2 as a product gas is an inevitable element of nearly all of the steelmaking processes. Some incentives have been applied to reduce CO 2 emissions, but the uptake of technology to achieve this currently lags behind the introduction of punitive financial instruments. The Swedish iron and steel industry is today emitting about 4.5 Mtonne CO 2 /year, which is equivalent to 10 % of Sweden s total fossil CO 2 emissions. Significant reduction of these emissions is one of the greatest challenges for the industry today. Worldwide, there are several projects with the aim of minimising carbon dioxide emissions. Failure to manage the CO 2 emissions by those states in which punitive financial instruments are being applied will result in their product becoming non-competitive. In the example of globally produced materials such as steel, its cost will be high compared to that produced in countries like India and China, where these instruments are not applied. This will result in the closure of a number of manufacturing capacity, and the loss of thousands of jobs. Because of the competitive global market for products like steel, investment capital to manage emissions is extremely limited, and new technologies, with significant attendant risks, are not being introduced. Whilst theoretically possible, in the current economic climate, steel companies and other industrial emitters of CO 2 are finding it impossible to make investments to reduce CO 2 -emissions and will face closure if a cost effective solution does not arise. Thus introduction of an alternative reductant or energy carrier into the iron and steel industry without significant investments in new technology is of high importance. Development of new bio-based reductants and energy carriers that can be introduced in today s production system are of high importance. The possibilities to transfer these developments into other industrial sectors are significant. Thus proving this methodology in a steelworks will also open up possibilities for reducing CO 2 emissions in other industries and technology transfer out from the steel industry (eg to the cement industry). A prerequisite for the reorientation towards a bio-based industry is that new types of renewable resources are being derived and that forest based fuels and energy carriers are introduced, tested and verified in the iron and steel industry. This will influence different part of the value chain (both forestry and iron and steel). This results in consequences that must be taken into consideration, which might result in contagion within value chains and impact on other parts. In order to mitigate this and create the right conditions, there must be a clear synergy along and between value chains. The research institutes play an important role in bridging the gap between branches and value chains. Today s steel industry Steel is one of the most common materials in our planet. There is hardly any fabricated object used today that does not contain steel or is not produced with equipment made of steel. It holds its position because of the versatility, its strength, and because it is easy to sort and recycle as a used material. About 1/3 of the global steel production is scrap based, while 2/3 of the total production is ore based. Global crude steel production in 2014 is estimated to have reached 1640 Mt / year. Since 2009, the 2

3 European industry has been influenced by an unstable financial situation. China and India remain strong growth regions, but imports to China have fallen. This, together with the increased raw material costs has reduced the profitability of companies. In the Nordic countries, it is Sweden and Finland that are the dominant steel manufacturing nations. In Sweden, steel is produced at twelve sites. In ten of these the production are based on scrap while the other two produce steel from iron ore. In Finland steel is produced at two plants. Swedish and Finnish steel company is constantly developing new steel grades and products. The companies are in many cases global leader in advanced steels. The export share of manufacturing steel is about 90 % over time. The total value of the Swedish exports amounted in 2014 to 40 billion. LKAB's iron ore production amounted in 2014 to a record level of 26 million tonnes. The increased demand for steel has led to growing iron ore supplies globally, however, price pressure on iron ore increased and ore prices have dropped significantly and is approaching a half since the peak. LKAB still has an ambition to grow with its customers to reach a shipping capacity of 37 million tonnes of iron ore products. The main energy source and reductants used in steelmaking for ore based steelmaking is carbon (in the form of fossil coal transformed into coke or pulverized as injection coal) and auxiliary fuels such as oil or LPG for heating purposes. In scrap based steelmaking the dominating energy carrier is electricity for the melting of scrap and auxiliary fuels as oil or LPG. The difference in production routes is the main explanation to the significant differences in e.g. energy use and CO 2 emissions. In iron ore based steelmaking the iron source (oxides) needs to be reduced and melted while in scrap based steelmaking the iron source is melted. years Figure 1. Development of world steel production (WSA 2015). 3

4 Figure 2. Energy use in main steelmaking routes (HRC is short for Hot Rolled Coil). There are several alternative technologies in iron and steelmaking, which would cut CO 2 emission, but they are not commercially available for years to come. One of the most feasible options from the technological point of view to mitigate fossil CO 2 emissions in steel production would be the use of renewable, biomass-based reducing agents in the blast furnace to partly replace the fossil-based injection coal. Today s forest industry and biorefinery development The forest is one of Sweden's most important natural resource, which creates employment across the country. Since growing forests absorb CO 2, replacement of fossil raw materials and fossil energy with renewable forest based resources will contribute to reduced climate change through reduced CO 2 - emissions.the renewable forest material, produced through photosynthesis, makes the forest industry a key player in the development towards reduced climate impact and a sustainable society. Of Swedish industry employment, exports, turnover and added value, the forest industry accounts for 9-12 percent. It is highly export-oriented and gives a significant contribution to Sweden's balance of trade 1. 1 Skogsindustrierna. 4

5 To counter a trend of the traditional forest industry moving to other parts of the world where the climate and costs are favorable, and to become more efficient and profitable, the forest industry today increasingly works with biorefinery development. Biorefinery development aims to increase the value from the forest raw materials, by developing new forest-based chemicals, products, fuels and also by finding new ways to utilize, refine and do business of low value forest assortments and forest industrial residual streams. Enhanced cooperation between the forest industry and the iron and steel industry is needed as positive driving force for development of the forest-based products needed by the iron and steel industry to reduce its CO 2 -emissions. Potential future use of biomass in steel industry Renewable energy plays an important role in the European Union (EU) energy policy towards carbon lean economy. Objectives set by the EU is to increase the amount of renewable energy to 20 % on average of final energy use and to decrease the amount of greenhouse gases by 20 % compared to base year 1990 in 2020 (Directive 2009/28/EC). The share of renewable energy is set for 49 % of final energy use in 2020 in Sweden. In Sweden, steel production is for the most part based on the use of fossil-based energy sources, thus leading to significant CO 2 emissions. Production technologies in integrated steelmaking have matured to the level where a further decrease in CO 2 emissions is rather difficult without drastic changes in technology. Biomass in various forms charcoal, biogas, torrified wood, are under investigation for their use in large commercial furnaces. There are several alternative technologies in iron and steelmaking, which would cut CO 2 emission, but they are estimated to become commercially available in years. One of the most feasible options from the technological point of view to mitigate fossil CO 2 emissions in steel production would be the use of renewable, biomass-based reducing agents in the blast furnace to partly replace the fossil-based injection coal. Examples of forest based products with potential for reducing the CO 2 -emissions from Iron and steel industry are: Different assortments of torrefied wood, biogas (biomethane), synthesis gas pyrolysis oil, coke and chars from different thermochemical processes (torrefaction, pyrolysis, gasification, etc). Although charcoal is used in small furnaces in Brazil, for example, large furnaces have different quality and process requirements including strong lump coke as well as large supply of biomass. Further work is needed in order to customize the forest based products and verify different applications. Estimates for the impact of charcoal use in various steelplant applications was made by Mathiesen et al. shown in Figure 3 (2. Charcoal could be used in a variety of places to replace coal and coke, including in coking, as a partial replacement for coke in the BF and sinter plant and as a tuyere injectant. 2 Mathieson J.G., Rogers H., Somerville M., Ridgeway P., Jahanshahi S., Use of Biomass in the Iron and Steel Industry An Australian Perspective, METEC - EECR, Düsseldorf, Session 9. 5

6 Figure 3. Potential use of biomass to reduce fossil fuel CO 2 emissions. Injection of bio-based reductants is promising. Figure 4 shows the location of the blast furnaces and the used amount of coal; other primary biomass users are also shown as to give the regional circumstances. In north of Sweden (where SSABs BF M3 is located), a larger unused potential is expected, and it is hence the logical place to start-out with biomass injection. As indicated in Figure 4, an unused potential of forest biomass exist today, about 0.7 TWh/y for both Västerbotten (359 GWh/y) and Norrbotten (426 GWh/y). The long-term predictions of potential secondary forest residue, total forest biomass and total biomass shows that in the midterm, until 2030, potentially available biomass is expected to grow; error bars indicate the maximum and minimum prediction if several studies are considered. The potential of urban forests (i.e. demolition and packaging wood in urban areas) has not been considered. There are additional minor applications within the iron and steel industry where other properties than just the heating value and reducing properties of the biomass are utilized. One such application is to use kraft lignin as binder in different briquetting and pelletizing applications. 6

7 Figure 4. The location of the blast furnaces, the competing user and the available as well as development in potentially available biomass. Error bars are for given the maximum and minimum prediction, in the case where several studies overlay Adapted from [ 3 ]. 3 Wang C, Mellin P, Lövgren J, Nilsson L, Yang W, Salman H, Hultgren A, Larsson M. Biomass as Blast furnace injectant - considering availability, pretreatment and deployment in the Swedish steel industry. Energy Conversion Management, [ 7

8 The road to achieving the targets The introduction of more bio-based energy carriers and reductants in iron and steel industry requires the development of products and process technologies as well as demonstration and commercialization. The target will be achieved through close cooperation between Institutes (Swerea, Innventia, SP), Industry (for example SSAB, LKAB, BioEndev, SCA, Sveaskog) and academia (for example Ltu, Kth, Umu, SLU) collaborates within the value chain. The driving force for the for the forestry industry is to develop a new product and business, while the driving force for the metallurgical industry is the need for a renewable, cost effective energy carrier and reductant. Development of concepts Concept implementation (Industry, Institutes) Feasibility study, buisiness plan (Industry, Institutes) (Institute, Academia) Increased use of bioresources in metallurgical industry Market analysis (Academia, Institutes, Industry) Experimental studies (Academia, Institutes) Pilot scale tests/ demonstration (Institutes, Industry) Figure 5. The road to achieving the target. Main roles of the players along the value chain Swerea: conveys applied research and technical development in process metallurgy, heating, metalworking, environmental engineering and energy efficiency mainly for the ferrous and nonferrous industry. Research is carried out in collaborative research projects or in projects on contract basis, financed by individual companies. Swerea have together with the industry been involved in several projects with the aim to develop and study ways to substitute biobased energy carriers and reductants in the metallurgical industry. In a project coordinated by Swerea together with partners from KTH, SCA and SveaSkog Förvaltnings AB, a preliminarily evaluation of CO 2 emission reduction and energy saving potential for injecting different types of biomass products into the blast furnaces was studied and results indicate a potential CO 2 emission reduction about 1.1 Mton (28 % of total emission) at the SSAB Luleå site. 8

9 Innventia: carries out applied research and technical development in pulp and paper production, pulping chemical recovery, bioenergy and biorefinery projects for the pulp and paper industry. Research is carried out in collaborative research projects or in projects on contract basis, financed by an individual company or companies. Innventia has been involved in several projects with the pulp and paper industry to develop new forest-based products through conversion of by-products from the forest and the pulp industry. Innventia is presently involved in a feasibility project with Swerea on substituting cement binders in blast furnace briquettes with a biobased material. SP: works with forest based fuels and products in close cooperation with forest industry and academia. At the flexible Biorefinery Demo Plant in Örnsköldsvik there is an opportunity to develop and validate biorefinery processes for green chemicals, fuels and materials. Pilot facilities for pretreatment of biomass and scaling up laboratory processes are available, for example: torrefaction pilot, drying pilot, different types of dewatering equipment and chemical reactors. SP has also experts on thermochemical conversion of biomass, provides unique pilot equipment regarding gasification and pyrolysis of biomass. Academia: Important research is carried out by both Umeå University and Luleå technical university regarding thermo-chemical processes and pretreatment of forest biomass. Industry: The involvement of industrial stakeholders is crucial in order to demonstrate the value chain. In industrial partners have different roles along the value chain. This include both producers and users of the product, defining product properties depending on application, testing of concepts in experimental and pilot scale, development of production technologies, develop of business models and commercialization. Future R&D and resources needed It is our aim to work together to develop future industrial applications of bio-based fuels and reductants for the metallurgical industry. This is being achieved through unique strong research and development environment that the institutes can provide, with the close cooperation with both academia and industry to support and derive the development as well as the understanding of future industrial need. To achieve this, the following steps are needed: Idea germination, out-of-the-box thinking, finding new potential solutions which have not yet been analysed ( ). Work on laboratory and pilot scale ( ) with the goal of deriving suitable pretreated biobased products. Work on laboratory and pilot scale ( ), with the goal of producing data and verify the concept for introduction of bio-based products in metallurgical industry. Analysis of value chain, market analysis, Business models ( ). Feasibility study ( ), concept study ( ), engineering, procurement and construction ( ). Implementation, Industrial production in Sweden by

10 Contacts Main contact Mikael Larsson Swerea +46 (0) Authors and contributors Marie Anheden Innventia +46 (0) Liselotte Uhlir SP +46 (0) The RISE Research Institutes of Sweden - Innventia, SP, Swerea and Swedish ICT - are a major R&D player in the bioeconomy sector, with a combined annual turnover in the field of 800 million SEK (85 million ). During the activities were reviewed in the RISE-project RISE Bioeconomy. Areas with the greatest growth potential were identified and strategies for how to move forward were published in the following eight roadmaps for the period : The pulp mill biorefinery Textile materials from cellulose Materials from nanocellulose Bio-based composites Lignin-based carbon fibres Biofuels for low-carbon steel industry Food industry and pulp mill symbiosis Sensors for increased resource efficiency