Biomass: A Clean Fuel for the Steel Industry?

In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of steelmaking, researchers involved with the European Ultra Low CO2 Steelmaking (ULCOS) project have been replacing fossil fuels with biomass, notably from forest plantations in the tropics. The project also aims to develop more efficient, less polluting processes for converting that biomass into charcoal.

The French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) is lending its research expertise in the production, supply and sustainable use of woody biomass from eucalyptus as a cleaner fuel source. Brazil and several central countries have been chosen as “candidate” countries to host plantations of the fast-growing eucalyptus. Preliminary tests on carbon flux in Brazilian and Congolese plantations showed that Brazilian plantations have higher carbon sequestration potential than those in Congo. In the conversion of biomass to charcoal, researchers have been concentrating on innovative thermochemical processes such as high-pressure pyrolysis. The results show that high pressure and slow heating help reduce gas emissions in relation to conventional processes under atmospheric pressure.

The news article is available at http://www.cirad.fr/en/actualite/communique.php?id=626.