EAF long term industrial trials of utilization of char from biomass and waste residues as fossil coal substitute

9^th World Congress on Materials Science and Engineering

June 12-14, 2017 Rome, Italy

Teresa Beone, Filippo Cirilli and Antonello Di Donato

Centro Sviluppo Materiali, Italy

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Material Sci Eng

Abstract :

Biomass is a renewable resource having a steady and abundant supply, especially those biomass resources that are by-products of agricultural and industrial activity. Its use is by supplying neutral carbon, can displace fossil fuels, and help reduce GHG emissions while closing the carbon cycle loop. Every year End of life vehicles (ELVs) generate about 8 M tons of waste of which the ferrous fraction represents about 70-75%, nonferrous metals about 5%. The remaining 20-25%, the ASR, contains rubber, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, textile, fiber material, wood, glass and a relevant fraction (~40% wt) of polymers with high calorific value (~25 MJ/kg). With a start date of January 1st 2015, the EU directive 2000/53/EC establishes the reuse and recovery of a minimum of 95% ELV total weight. Therefore different ASR management options, such as further material and energy recovery, must replace the landfilling. Steel produced starting from scrap, already needs less energy with beneficial effects on environment and economy that are greater as increases the share of fossil fuels in total energy feeding. The replacement, in EAF practice, of fossil fuels with char and syngas obtained from biomass, waste residues (i.e. plastics, automotive shredder residue (ASR), petrochemical sludge, etc.) can further improve the environmental performance and the attractiveness of the EAF based route, eventually increasing the amount of chemical energy respect electrical one, with beneficial effects on environment, economy and flexibility of the EAF process. The feasibility of biochar as fossil coal substitute as charge material in EAF has already been proved in two previous European projects (GREENEAF and GREENEAF2) were an intensive industrial utilization of biochar was foreseen. A test sequence of six consecutive heats was carried out replacing standard anthracite with biochar. The results of the industrial tests indicate that utilization of char as charge material can be done, but operating practice, environmental evaluation of off-gas emissions, for these new applications needs to be optimized with long term experimentation. The results of industrial long term trials confirmed the feasibility of the use of biochar as charge material, without significant modification in steel and slag analysis. This paper describer the industrial long term trials with biochar in EAF, with the final target to replace fossil coal and new laboratory trials with plastic, ASR and petrochemical sludge.

Biography :

Email: t.beone@c-s-m.it