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Unlocking the value of steelmaking by-products through green hydrogen

About the project

Recycling steelmaking by-products is a complex challenge, still relying on fossil fuels. Each year over 50 million tons of these by-products are recycled. However, current recycling routes emit around 49 million tons of CO2 and can lead to problems in wastewater management. Moreover, 250.000 tons of by-products cannot be recycled due to their high content of zinc, ending up in landfills.

The EU has set the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, so the steel industry needs to reduce CO2 emission by 35%. This is why the steelmaking industry urgently needs new circular economy solutions, such those explored in the ZHyRON project.

Solutions

To address the challenges in the steel industry, the project works to develop a new route for the recycling of steelmaking by-products.

This innovation involves a combined pyrometallurgical-hydrometallurgical route and the application of green hydrogen.

These by-products include materials such as EAF dust, BOF dust and sludges, as well as sludge and pellet fines from direct reduction shafts, and mill scales.

In the ZHyRON project, the iron contained into these by-products will be separated and turned into the so-called Direct Reduced Iron (DRI), which can then be used in electric arc furnaces. Meanwhile, the zinc will be extracted and recovered as zinc oxide concentrate, which can either be valorized in the zinc smelting sector or re-processed for other industries. This approach clearly contributes to the circular economy.

The proposed route will undergo development and validated in both laboratory and pilot-scale trials. Furthermore, the project will evaluate the integration of these solutions into industrial steelmaking, taking into consideration technical, economic, and environmental factors.

The pilots sites

  • Belgium (Engis): JGI-Hydrometal will test various methods to produce high-quality zinc, aiming to identify the most efficient approach. A smart monitoring system will be developed to optimize overall efficiency and detect potential issues. The techniques will then be integrated into a technology train for testing with real process water.

  • Sweden (Kumla): GreenIron will validate its technology at a small pilot scale (20 kg) to work with targeted EAF dust, BOF fine sludge, DR sludge, pellet fines, and mill scales.

  • Germany (Dusseldorf): BFI will conduct pilot tests using wastewater from the H2-based thermal reduction process. A smart monitoring concept will be integrated and validated during these tests.

Objectives

The project’s goal is to create a hydrogen-based method for recycling iron-rich and zinc-containing steelmaking by-products, in order to:

  • Produce Direct Reduced Iron for reuse in Electric Arc Furnaces.
  • Produce zinc-rich materials for valorization, such as in the zinc smelting industry.
  • Efficiently treat effluent for proper disposal or reuse.
  • Address all stages of the process, from waste conditioning to zinc recovery.
  • Optimize the hydrogen-based reduction process using multi-physics models.
  • Assess environmental performance through a sustainable monitoring framework.
  • Facilitate upscaling to commercial levels through conceptual integration.

ZHyRON wants to:

Prepare steelmaking by-products through cold-agglomeration to make them suitable for reintroduction into the process.

Use green hydrogen to recycle iron-rich and zinc-containing steelmaking. It also plans to improve the process using multi-physics models.

Separate and condition process wastewater and sludges to obtain high-quality zinc-material and safe water for disposal or reuse.

Impacts

During its lifespan, the project aims to achieve impactful outcomes across three key areas.

Scientific

Use of new scientific discoveries to find better ways to handle steelmaking wastes. This will help make circular processes more sustainable. The project will focus on improving hydrogen thermal reduction, wastewater treatment, and recovering metallic phases beyond what is currently available.

Technological

Cut production costs for Fe- and Zn-derived products by at least 10% and save 15-25% of the energy used in traditional recycling methods. ZHyRON will create industry standards, study how to integrate new solutions, and help set up large recycling plants in the steel industry.

Societal

The project will help fight climate change and improve social aspects by making industries more circular and cost-effective. It will also inform policymakers to adjust regulations wisely and foster new partnerships for circular value chains.