U.S. Department of Energy invests $19 million to support low-carbon emissions research from steel

In the last few days, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it will provide its affiliated Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne National Laboratory) with US$19 million in funding over four years to fund the construction of the Electrosynthetic Steel Electrification Center (C-Steel).

The Electrosynthetic Steel Electrification Center is one of the key projects of the Energy Earthshots program of the U.S. Department of Energy. The goal is to develop a low-cost electrodeposition process to replace traditional blast furnaces in the steel production process and reduce carbon dioxide by 2035. Emissions reduced by 85%.

Brian Ingram, project director of the Electrosynthetic Steel Electrification Center, said that compared with the traditional blast furnace ironmaking process, the electrodeposition process studied by the Electrosynthetic Steel Electrification Center does not require high temperature conditions or even heat input at all. The cost is relatively low and suitable for industrial scale production.

Electrodeposition refers to the process of electrochemical deposition of metals or alloys from aqueous solutions, non-aqueous solutions or molten salts of their compounds. The above solution is similar to the liquid electrolyte found in batteries.

The project is dedicated to investigating different electrodeposition processes: one operates at room temperature using a water-based electrolyte; the other uses a salt-based electrolyte operating at temperatures below current blast furnace standards. The process requires The heat can be provided by renewable energy sources or by waste heat from nuclear reactors.

In addition, the project plans to precisely control the structure and composition of the metal product so that it can be incorporated into existing downstream steelmaking processes.

Partners in the center include Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Case Western Reserve University, Northern Illinois University, Purdue University Northwest and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

From “China Metallurgical News”-U.S. Department of Energy invests $19 million to support low-carbon emissions research from steel.November 03, 2023 Version 02 Second Edition.