15-paper-CO2, a technological challenge for the lo

SECRETARIATUSE;Headershouldbeblank.SECRETARIATUSE;Footershouldbeblank联系方式[e-mail](+33/3)87704045CO2,atechnologicalchallengeforthelongtermstrategyoftheSteelIndustryBIRATJean-Pierre(IISI,Belgium&Arcelor,France)Abstract:inordertoreduceitsgreenhousegasemissionandthusconformtoprobablefuturepost-Kyotorequirements,theSteelIndustryoughttodevelopbreakthroughtechnologieswhichwouldmakeitpossibletounlinkenergyconsumptionandCO2generation.AnumberofinitiativesintheworldarelookingattheseissueswithinIISI,inthe“CO2breakthroughprogram”andespeciallyinalargeEuropeanprogramcalledULCOS.Keywords:ClimateChange,CO2,Steel,steelmaking,breakthroughtechnologies0IntroductionTheClimateChangechallengeistodayoneofthemajorthreatstothefutureofmankindanditsactivities.Variousinternationalagreementsaredealingwiththeissue,morenotablytheClimateConventionoftheUnitedNations,theKyotoprotocoland,morerecently,theAsianPacificPartnershipforCleanDevelopment.Theconsensusisonpracticalwaystoreducegreenhousegas(GHG)emissions,withastrongemphasisontechnology,evenifthepathtosolutionsmaydifferinvariouspartsoftheworld.TheSteelIndustryproducesoneofthetwoorthreematerialsonwhichcivilizationhasbeenbasedforthelastfewthousandsofyears.Thiswillnotchangeinanyforeseeablefuture,notwithstandingthetalkaboutdematerialization,whichindeedfocusesonresourcesavingsanddoesnotmeanthewaningoftheuseofstructural/functionalmaterials:thesematerialswillcontinuetobethekeystonesofmankind’saffluenceandwell-being.InmakingSteel,theSteelIndustrygeneratesroughly6%oftheanthropogenicGHGemissions,thusbeingarathersmallcontributortotheoverallworldwideproblemand,atthesametime,itactsasafacilitatorforreducingemissionsineconomicsectorswhichcontributemuchmoreCO2.However,asaneconomiccitizenoftheworld,theSteelIndustryhasbeendecreasingitsemissionsforthelast40yearsandislookingaggressivelyattechnologicalsolutionstocontinuereducingthembydevelopingbreakthroughtechnologies[1].Inthemiddleofthecentury,whentherulesofworldgovernancemayhaveturnedevenmoreproactivelytowardsfightingClimateChange,theIndustrywantstobeaplayerthatcontinuestodelivertheworldtheSteelitneedsforitscontinuousdevelopment.1CO2andtheSteelIndustryToillustratetheroleofSteelasafacilitatorforcontrollingGHGemissionsinemission-intensivesectors,letustaketheexampleofthetransportationindustryandspecificallyofacarthatemits200gofCO2/kmoveralifetimeof150,000km.Thatcarwillthusproduce30tofCO2duringits“usephase”.Thismiddle-size,contemporarytypicalEuropeancar,incorporatesroughly1tonofsteel,whichgeneratedabout2tonsofCO2,whenSECRETARIATUSE;Headershouldbeblank.SECRETARIATUSE;FootershouldbeblankitwasproducedinanintegratedSteelMill.Thisis7%oftheusephaseemissions,aratiothatconveysatruepictureoftherelativeimportanceoftheSteelsectorvsthetransportationsectorinGHGemissions.Now,iftheweightofthecarisreducedby20%,byusinghigh-strengthsteelsforexample,emissionswillbereducedby10%,i.e.by3t.Thisismorethanthecontributionofsteelproduction.AnotherimportantpropertyofSteelisitsrecyclabilityandthefactthatitisactuallyrecycledatahighrateandthatthiscanbecarriedoutindefinitely.Steelisalsothemostrecycledmaterialintheworld,forexampleintermsofvolume.Practicallyspeaking,between80and98%ofallsteelisrecycled.ThismeansthanoneinitialtonofSteelwillthusbeusedbetween5and20timesoveritsmanylifetimes!BecauseenergyneedsandGHGemissionsthatstemfromusingrecycledsteelasanironsourcearemuchlessthanthefirsttimearound,whenironcomesfromironore,thescraprouteleadstoaverylargereductionoftheemissionfootprintoftheSteelIndustry.ThishasimportantconsequencesinanLCA(LifeCycleAnalysis).Indeed,inthismethodologicalframework,1tofsteel,whichgenerates2.1tofCO2whenproducedfromironore,actuallyemitsonlybetween0.85and0.65tofCO2whenrecyclingistakenintoaccount.TheSteelIndustry,underIISI’sleadership,ispresentlyputtingforwardbettermethodologiestotakethisinstride[2].TheGHGfootprintofSteelisthus3timeslessthangenerallyacknowledgedandtakenforgranted.ThebestwaytosaveenergyandtoreduceCO2emissionsiscertainlytousescraptomakesteel-alltheavailablescrap.However,thisisalreadythecaseandfutureprogressinthisareawillbeverylimited.Therefore,tofacethegrandchallengeofCO2mitigation,theSteelIndustryhastoaddresstheissueofreducingemissionsintheironoreroute.Thishastobedoneinthecontextofthetrulyremarkableachievementsofthepast,whichhavebroughttheSteelIndustryclosetothelimitssetbyphysics,thermodynamicsandchemicalkineticsintermoftheconsumptionofenergy.Figure1-CO2emissionpertonoffinishedproduct-Index100for1975LookingbackattheperformanceoftheSteelIndustryduringthesecondhalfofthe20thcenturyisusefulinunderstandingthemagnitudeofthechallenge.SECRETARIATUSE;Headershouldbeblank.SECRETARIATUSE;FootershouldbeblankIndeed,asshowninFigure1,theSteelIndustryhascarriedoutsignificanteffortstofightCO2emissions:by2000,theEuropeanSteelIndustryhadalreadydecreaseditsspecificemissionsby18%ascomparedto1990,whichismorethantwicethe8%EuropeanaverageKyototargetfortheperiod1990-2008,and,overthelast30years,thisdropinemissionlevelshasreached50%,i.e.afactor2result.Thishasbeenachie