MaxH2DR

Steelmaking is responsible for 7% of the anthropogenic CO2 emissions. H2-based direct reduction (DR) is the key decarbonisation technology for integrated steelworks mentioned in pathways of all major steel producers. Natural gas driven DR is established in industry mostly outside Europe but there are no experiences with high H2 enrichment > 80%.

Reducing the ore with H2 is no principal issue, but some effects of endothermic reduction on morphology, diffusion and effective kinetics remain to be studied. At the reactor level, the properties and movement of the particles in the shaft furnace are also not known. Probably, temperature distribution and flow of solids and gases will be markedly different under a H2-richer atmosphere. Local permeability variations are expected, which influence the flow and the quality of the products, and sticking cannot be excluded either. Many activities are initiated for first industrial demonstration of H2-enriched DR but they will not close many of these knowledge gaps.
MaxH2DR provides missing knowledge and data of reduction processes. A world-first test rig determines pellet properties at conditions of industrial H2 enriched DR furnaces and a physical demonstrator shows the linked solid and gas flow in shaft furnaces. This will be combined with digitals models (DEM, FE, FV) including the key technology DEM-CFD to provide a hybrid demonstrator able to investigate scale-up and to optimise DR furnace design and operating point.

This sound basis will be used to optimise the process integration into existing process chains. Simulation tools will be combined to a toolkits that covers impacts of product properties on downstream processes as well as impacts on gas and energy cycles. Thus, promising process chains, sustainable and flexible, will be achieved for different steps along the road to decarbonisation. The digital toolkits will support industrial demonstration and implementation and strengthen digitisation and competitiveness of the European steel industry.
At IJL, research deals with the detailed study of the reduction kinetics of iron oxides, in particular to clear up the kinetic slowdowns observed at the end of the reaction at certain temperatures, the modelling of these kinetics on the scale of ore pellets, and the modelling and simulation of future industrial shaft furnaces operating under hydrogen (REDUCTOR code).