Paulo Assis

Abstract:

Some studies have shown that the use of biogas in steel companies can be very useful. Since the biogas could be the substitute of coke (this requires coking coal) and non-coking coal that is injected into the tuyeres which are essential materials in the production of hot metal and consequently in the production of steel, the biogas can also come to allow the reduction of the production cost of iron and steel consequently. The objective of this paper is to do an economic survey of the biogas which can be used at steel companies. The research consists of raising costs of production of biogas from where it is manufactured (farms and small producers) through the cost of logistics transportation and storage until to the end consumer (steel plants). The idea is to study the possible substitution of natural gas, to guarantee the high temperature compared with the normal process, by using the biogas. In this subject, it can be developed a thermal balance where the biogas volume will be calculated to have the final profile, same as using natural gas. Additionally, it will be shown that the next step is to provide the Direct Reduction Process to use Biogas in substitution of Natural Gas. Based on the amount of the residues given by Cattle Breeding, it can be concluded that the Iron and Steel production in the World can achieve an amount of two thousand million tons of Steel yearly, only using the biogas with no coke, no charcoal, no Natural Gas. This is our big challenge for this century.
Key-Words: Environment, Sustainability, Blast Furnace, Biogas, Natural Gas, Coke rate