Decreasing the environmental impact of the electric steel making process through implementation of furnace retrofitting solutions

Abstract

Steel production in the electric arc furnace is an energy-intensive process and generates a high amount of climate-relevant CO2 emissions. During the last decades, various improvements of the furnace and its operation have been developed and implemented, so that the efficiency of modern steel plants has reached a high level. Due to the standardized process flows and high production volumes, even small improvements in resource efficiency can lead to significant savings and improve the environmental impact of the steel production. This paper presents several optimization activities and retrofitting solutions for the metallurgical sector and in particular for the electric steel route. On the example of a Spanish electric steel plant, a life cycle analysis is carried out to calculate the potential improvements in environmental impacts and compare them with the current state of the art. For this purpose, real process data were collected and transferred to a life cycle assessment model with the use of a material flow analysis. A comparison of the ecological impact categories provides information on which retrofitting solutions can improve the process in the electric arc furnace and ensure a lower environmental impact.