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IronArc Revolutionizing Iron Production, Halving Carbon Dioxide Emissions
05/15/2013 - A new method for producing hot metal has been developed by ScanArc Plasma Technologies of Sweden, in collaboration with the steel group Ovako at its Hofors, Sweden, plant.
A new method for producing hot metal has been developed by ScanArc Plasma Technologies of Sweden, in collaboration with the steel group Ovako at its Hofors, Sweden, plant. The method, called IronArc, lowers CO2 emissions by 50 % compared with blast furnace production. This is a two-stage reduction process where the high energy efficiency is achieved through a combination of heat energy supply via plasma generators and internal combustion of the process gases by way of a newly developed reactor concept.
IronArc has every prospect of becoming a competitive alternative to the blast furnace, which is the clearly dominant iron production process at present, says Gert Nilson, technical director at Jernkontoret. Apart from the cut in CO2 emissions, the process has the environmental benefit of removing the need for coking and sintering plants, with the coking plants having the major environmental impact.
When the iron oxide material undergoes direct smelting, during the first stage of the process, its physical properties during heating and reduction have no significance. This makes it possible to also recover other metals from the secondary products of the steel plants, resulting in significant environmental benefits, since better recovery of by-products implies a reduced need for virgin raw materials.
The IronArc method has been verified on a pilot scale at the ScanArc Plasma Technologies plant in Hofors. The next planned stage in the development work is a demonstration plant for production on a scale of 40,000 tonnes peryear. The demonstration plant is intended primarily for the reprocessing of by-products such as oxide scales and grinding dust into new metallurgical raw material, but it will also be used for testing iron extraction from different ores.
This is an eagerly awaited technological breakthrough — the production of hot metal with reduced emissions of greenhouse gases, underlines Bo -Erik Pers, the chief executive of Jernkontoret. It is welcome proof that the Swedish steel industry retains its position on the front line, with constantly optimized process technology, highly advanced products and the provision of specialist services.
