Sustainable Biomass

Reducing CO₂ emissions in the steel industry in the long term will require gradual substitution of fossil fuel-based reducing agents with suitable materials derived from renewable sources such as biomass.

The type of biomass compatible with current methods of iron making has been a topic of research within the ULCOS programme. A potential has been found in the use of charcoal as it is highly reactive and unlike coal, is low in impurities such as sulphur, Nitrogen(N₂) and ash. The switch to charcoal as a reducing agent is not without its difficulties. The production, supply and sustainable use of biomass as well as the process of converting biomass into charcoal are all areas that have been investigated within ULCOS. Significant progress has been made in these areas and a second phase of work has now commenced to optimise the charcoal production in line with the steel industries requirements. An additional challenge is to investigate whether charcoal can be used in conjunction with other breakthrough technologies that have been developed within the ULCOS programme.