Optimization of technology options for the production of green steels in Uganda.

Abstract

Steel is an essential raw material for several sectors in the world today. It is an alloy consisting of mainly iron and carbon, to which various other elements like chromium, nickel, and aluminum are added to achieve certain properties like better ductility, mechanical strength, and corrosion resistance in the final product. Because of the possibility of various properties, steel can be modeled into many different forms like rods, wires, flat products, slabs, and billets among others. However, steel production is one of the most energy-intensive and polluting processes globally today. Traditional steel production happens via the Blast Furnace-Basic Oxygen Furnace route, accounting for 70% of all steel produced worldwide while steel recycling through the Electric Arc furnace only accounts for the remaining 30% of global steel. This research focuses on optimizing the technology options for producing green steel in Uganda, a country that currently relies heavily on imported steel and iron products. The goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050-2070. For the steel industry to be able to play its part in achieving this goal, there needs to be a global shift away from traditional steel production towards the production of green steel. Green steel production aims to minimize carbon emissions through energy-efficient processes and using renewable energy sources to power the processes involved. With steel demand projected to increase over the coming years, there is a need to adopt breakthrough technologies that will reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the steel production process. This research delves into the steel production industry in Uganda and how the sector can be made more “green” and environmentally friendly. The method proposed for the production of green steel in Uganda is direct reduction of iron ore in a shaft furnace using hydrogen as the reducing gas, coupled with electric arc furnace reforming to produce green steel. The study shows that this route could potentially reduce carbon emissions by over 80% compared to conventional steelmaking, provided the process is powered by renewable energy.