Relating Reported Carbon Dioxide Emissions to Iron and Steelmaking Process Details

Abstract

Over the past few decades the carbon intensityCarbon intensityof ironmaking and steelmakingSteelmakinghas been reduced considerably through improved efficiencyEfficiencyin blast Blast furnacefurnaceFurnaceironmaking, partial replacement of coke with less carbon-intensive fuels, and increased use of scrap and direct-reduced ironIronin steelmakingSteelmaking. To evaluate possible further reductions in carbon intensityCarbon intensityaccurate process information is needed. A preliminary test of the fidelity of publicly reported data as a source of process information is reported here. The sources are industry roundups of electric furnaceElectricfurnaceFurnacesteelmakingSteelmakingand blastBlast furnacefurnaceFurnaceironmaking (published by the Association for IronIronand SteelmakingSteelmakingTechnology), and data recorded by the Environmental Protection Agency under the US Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. From a comparison for an integrated steelmakingSteelmakingplant and an electric furnaceElectricfurnaceFurnaceplant, it appears that the values from the two data sources are consistent. The comparison does rely on process details such as the quantitative relationship between injected oxygen and carbon emissions in electricElectric furnacefurnaceFurnacesteelmakingSteelmaking.