[Article] - Biored, a novel biomass-based ironmaking process
Abstract
The iron- and steelmaking industry contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions because steel is pro- duced in large quantities, and fossil coal is used as the energy source and reducing agent for this production. Substituting biogenic carbon from biomass for fossil coal could drastically reduce the contribution of the iron- and steelmaking industry to global warming. Based on biomass, we propose a novel, breakthrough ironmaking process (BIORED), in which charcoal lumps and iron ore pellets are loaded at the top of a shaft reactor. CO, the reducing agent that converts iron oxide ore to metallic iron, is produced in situ by charcoal gasification. The exhaust gas mixture (CO–CO2) is recycled for CO reuse and energy savings. The feasibility of such a process was investigated following a modeling approach that involves laboratory experiments. The results show that charcoal is devolatilized at the top and gasified at the bottom, whereas iron ore is reduced along the shaft, reaching a satisfactory metallization degree at the bottom. A specific experimental protocol was designed for the validation of the model, and the experimental results agreed with the computed results. The environmental performance of the BIORED-based steelmaking route was compared with that of the conventional route via life cycle assessment. The new route emits up to 8 times less CO2 and has lower impacts on most of the other environmental categories.
Autors
Tao Wang, Olivier Mirgaux, Fabrice Patisson
References
Chemical Engineering Science, 2026, 319, pp.122319
DOI
