Full Title: Forging a Greener Future: The Imperative of Decarbonizing Steel Production
Author(s): Anna Littlefield and Edikan Udofia
Publisher(s): The Payne Institute for Public Policy at Colorado School of Mines
Publication Date: August 30, 2024
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Description (excerpt):
Steel is foundational in contemporary infrastructure and is responsible for about 7-9% of global CO2 emissions, per reports from the International Energy Agency (IEA). Within the United States, annual steel production has reached 88 million tons. The ubiquitous nature of steel in our society creates a multifaceted issue, explored in depth in “Decarbonizing the iron and steel industry: A systematic review of sociotechnical systems, technological innovations, and policy options,” published in 2022. This publication emphasizes that plans to decarbonize steel must account for environmental, economic, and social dimensions, recognizing that the steel sector supports millions of jobs globally.
The journey towards green steel involves a variety of technologies, each bringing its own potential and obstacles. The predominant steel production method, known as the Blast Furnace-Basic Oxygen Furnace (BF-BOF), is responsible for roughly 70% of the world’s steel output and is notably carbon intensive. This technique emits about 1.8 to 2 metric tonnes of CO2 per metric tonne of steel produced, mainly due to coal being used as both an energy source and a reducing agent. Conversely, the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) process, which mainly relies on recycled steel, results in approximately 0.3-0.4 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of steel. Nonetheless, the CO2 emissions from EAF can fluctuate considerably based on the electricity source employed during production.