ArcelorMittal will implement the injection of coke-oven gas at blast furnace 2 at its Gijón plant in northern Spain in the next three months, Kallanish learns from the company.
“ArcelorMittal Asturias has the most advanced coke oven gas project, with an injection of grey hydrogen, recovered from gases including natural and coke oven gas,” ArcelorMittal says. “This is an efficient, cost-effective method that allows steelmakers to reduce CO2 emissions and would result in reduced coke consumption.”
The first use of hydrogen-rich coke oven gas at Gijón’s blast furnace 2 is scheduled for late December or the begging of January 2021, a company spokesperson explains.
The new method will allow for coke replacement rates of up to 78% in the pig iron manufacturing process. The co-injection project at BF2 has an annual saving potential of 40,000 tonnes of coke and CO2 emissions reduction close to 140,000t.
ArcelorMittal Europe is implementing decarbonisation projects in almost all of its flat steel production units. The steelmaker expects to supply its first 30,000t of carbon-neutral steel products to customers this year and to reach 600,000t in 2022 (see Kallanish passim).