- India’s emissions through BF-BOF higher than global average
- Emission norms to be tightened for Coal-based DRI plants
- JSW seeking to reduce emissions by over 40% from 2005 base level
The iron and steel industry is one of the hard-to-abate sectors when it comes to direct reduction of carbon emissions. Experts are of the view that the means of reducing CO2 emissions from industrial processes have to be adopted at the earliest.
Global average emissions last year was around 1.9 tonnes (t) of carbon dioxide (CO2) per tonne of crude steel (tcs). But emissions from the primary steelmaking route (BF-BOF) were around 2.3 tCO2/tcs.
Global steel production is currently at around 1.9 billion tonnes (bnt), which is unlikely to grow further. But India’s capacity is set to increase from 140 mnt currently to 300 mnt by 2030 and to 500 mnt by 2050.
The growth in steel capacity in India will mainly happen through the primary route. The Indian steel industry contributes almost 12% of the total energy-related emissions in the country.
Emission though the BF-BOF route in India is around 2.5 tCO2/tcs compared with 2.33 tCO2/tcs globally.
As per data provided by the Ministry of Steel, on average the steel industry emits 2.62 tco2/tcs against the global average of 1.89 tco2/tcs.
The global DRI-EAF route of steelmaking records emissions at 1.58 tCO2/tcs. 100% scarp-based EAF process accounts for 0.67/tCO2/tcs. But emissions by the coal-based DRI route in India are much higher.
Emissions pathways
A key reason for higher emissions is poor quality of iron ore and higher usage of coal in the iron and steelmaking. The electric route (EAF/IF) that accounts for 45% of India’s steel production is not primarily a recycled route, as coal-based DRI is predominantly used by producers.
“We are not in a position to increase use of recycled steel scrap as domestic generation is low and imports from the key origins are unlikely to increase much as the EU and the USA are seeking to conserve scrap to spearhead their own decarbonisation efforts,” says Prabodha Acharya, Chief Sustainability Officer, JSW Group.
“As per IEA, if we continue the way we are going right now (known as STEP Pathway), global temperatures are set to rise by 3-3.5 degrees celsius by 2050. If we stick to the 1.5 degrees pathway, we would need to be near-zero by 2050. Near-zero means total scrap usage in electric furnaces powered by renewable energy, with residual emissions of around 50 kgCO2/tcs (due to use of flux and graphite electrode consumption). This scenario is improbable for the Indian iron and steel industry.
“Under the SDS, the sectoral direct emission intensity of crude steel production in India needs to fall over 60% by 2050 on the path to net zero in 2070. Our 2030 target is based on following the trajectory needed to reach a derived emissions intensity of 1.17 tCO2/tcs3 by 2050 taking into account both the direct (Scope1) and indirect energy (Scope 2) emissions, representing a 2.52% reverse CAGR from our FY’20 benchmark.,” says Mr. Acharya.
The decarbonisation of the Indian steel industry is a real challenge and this should not be equated with the decarbonisation pathway of Europe or the USA, the sustainability expert says.
Interim targets
JSW Steel relies on a scientific methodology to achieve near-zero or net-zero emissions from its operations. By 2050, net-zero or near-zero may not be propbale for the Indian steel industry considering the quality of iron ore and reliance on building primary steelmaking facilities (BF+BOF) in this decade that would continue to operate up to 2050 and beyond. Growth will happen mainly in the primary route with big and efficient blast furnaces.
“JSW follows a sustainable development scenario. We have set interim targets for 2030, which is based on what JSW can achieve with existing assets as far emissions mitigation is concerned. As per IEA’s pathway, we should target 60% reduction by 2050 and near-zero by 2070,” Acharya states.
By 2030, JSW is committed to reducing emissions by 42% from a baseline of 2005, which is aligned with NDC committed to by India as per the Paris Climate Accord. So, emissions reduction from 2020-2030 comes at around 22%, he avers.
Increasing efficiency of iron zone
JSW banks on certain levers to achieve this reduction by 2030. First, the company is betting on renewable energy which makes economic sense for decarbonisation. By 2030, the company’s electrical power source will either come from renewable energy or the gases it generates internally.
The company will strive to stop burning thermal coal after 2030. One GW of renewable energy capacity addition has already been approved by the company’s board. JSW has already implemented 225 MW of solar energy.
As much as 70-80% of CO2 emissions happen in the ironmaking zone. The steel zone is mainly about refining in which emissions happen due to electrical energy and fluxes used.
“JSW is investing heavily in beneficiating iron in order to reduce the coke rate in the blast furnace. In Europe, while steelmakers are operating with a burden of Fe65%, we are operating at a far lower rate in India. JSW is working to increase the quality of raw material,” informs Acharya.
The third lever for JSW is the experimentation with natural gas, or gasses that are generated within the steel plant. It is also important to increase PCI coal injection to reduce the coke rate in blast furnace.
JSW is using all ferrous scrap generated internally. “India is still not in a position to generate post-consumer scrap. It is a challenge and we are investing in the value chain. JSW has a modest target of increasing scrap use by another 10% by 2030. In the BOF, increasing scrap use as a coolant is widely acknowledged,” contends Acharya.
“Sweating” existing assets is also important, a key lever which involves process and equipment efficiency. JSW has benchmarked its operations with worldsteel parameters and is engaging with BCG that through CO2AI seeks to analyse the carbon performance of processes.
The last lever is the dedication to perform as per standards set out by the best technology whether it is CDQ, TRT, or bringing in low-heat recovery projects, energy efficiency projects, or ie4 motors, etc. for carbon efficiency by 2030.
The company has earmarked nearly INR 10,000 crores towards decarbinsation initiatives to be achieved by 2030.
Although JSW Steel doesn’t totally disregard nature-based solutions as a means towards carbon reduction in industrial processes, the company believes that nature-based solutions or offsets are not in position to reduce emissions in a major way.
CCUS & hydrogen
JSW Steel is operating a 100 tonnes per day (tpd) project in one of its DRI facilities at Salav and its Vijaynagar Works this year plans to put another 10 tpd carbon capture and utilization (CCU) project in blast furnace.
“We are eager to see the feasibility of CCSU for decarbonisation, but we understand that this requires government support, which is present in the EU through ETS but currently absent in India,” Acharya states.
It is important to point out, that India would be producing 250-300 mnt of steel though the BF-BOF route by 2050 for which CCUS is absolutely vital.
The technical challenges related to injecting hydrogen directly into the blast furnace are due to the endothermic reaction involving hydrogen, which takes away heat. So, the challenge would be to change the configuration of blast furnaces to inject hydrogen.
Another issue that confronts experts is whether hydrogen should be directly injected into the blast furnace or would it have to be converted into methane first before being injected into the BF.
“This is a promising technology. However, in India, the fuel rate in BF is around 500 kg/thm, while globally it would be 200-250 kg/thm. So, we have enough opportunity to reduce emissions through BF,” the expert contends.
In view of the challenges involved, leading Indian steelmakers – and not just JSW – will have to depend on a combination of optimizing BF-BOF processes, EAF (backed by green DRI), CCUS and green hydrogen. In fact, all the leading steel companies will follow this route, he says.
Likewise, all steelmakers will be greatly interested in CO2 reduction, on a mill and site basis, as that is cost reduction in the longer term.
Climate change mitigation is an opportunity and should not be looked as a risk only, states Acharya.
By Nirmalya Deb
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