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Europe's first bioethanol plant to run off the waste gases produced during steelmaking, is to be built by Arcelormittal.
Construction of the €87 million plant, which will be located at the firm's steel plant in Ghent, Belgium, is planned to start later this year and be complete in 2018.
Around half of all the carbon used in steelmaking leaves the process as carbon monoxide and is either flared or used to power and heat the steel mill. In either case, the carbon monoxide is combusted and CO2 is emitted.
The commercial-scale plant will use technology developed by US firm Lanzatech. The company's process recycles the waste gases and ferments them with a microbe to produce bioethanol. Every ton of bioethanol produced is said to “displace” 5.2 barrels of petrol and cut greenhouse gas emissions by over 80% compared with conventional fossil fuels.
The plant will produce 47,000 ton of ethanol per year, sufficient to fuel half a million cars with ethanol blended petrol. The bioethanol can also be further processed into other products such as drop in jet fuel.
Carl De Maré, vice president of innovation, Arcelormittal, said: “Steel is produced through a chemical process that results in high levels of waste gases being emitted. This new technology will enable us to convert some of these waste gases into fuels that deliver significant environmental benefits when compared to conventional fossil fuels.
“It is an example of why our carbon footprint should be viewed on a life cycle analysis basis, given steel is 100% recyclable and the material impact we make on reducing the carbon footprint of our customers through product innovation.”
The project will be funded by a mixture of private investment and a €10.2 million grant from the EU’s 2020 Horizon R&D programme.
After the Ghent pilot project, Arcelormittal plans to construct bioethanol plants at its other steel mills around the world. The company said if scaled up to its full potential in Europe, it could produce around 500,000 tons of bioethanol a year.
The project also involves metals technology provider Primetals Technologies, which was formed when Mitsubishi-Hitachi Metals Machinery and Siemens VAI Metals Technologies merged at the beginning of this year.
Primetals will be responsible for part of the engineering, automation, key equipment and commissioning. Karl Purkarthofer, senior vice president of Primetals Technologies, said: “Once in operation, it will become a game changer within the industry and a benchmark for low-carbon footprint steelmaking.”
Lanzatech is also partnering with US aircraft manufacturer Boeing and Japanese industrial conglomerate Mitsui on biofuel production projects.