Japanese steelmakers continue to cut CO2 emissions

Japan's steelmakers want to help the country achieve its goal of reducing CO2 emissions while reducing its contribution to global warming. And they took measures to dispose of waste gases and heat. The metal industry in Japan has set a goal to reduce CO2 emissions by 30 percent by 2050. Japanese manufacturers contributed about 200 million tonnes of CO2 in 2013, which accounted for 43 percent of the total emissions of the Japanese industry.

There are two ways to reduce CO2 emissions. One is to reduce the amount of coke used. Waste gas from coke production is made up of 40 percent hydrogen and other combustible gases such as methane. Currently, these gases are used as fuel in shaft furnaces. But if metallurgists can develop the technology to separate hydrogen from tar and hydrocarbons, which are also contained in gases, then hydrogen of increased concentration can be sent back to the furnace, using instead of coke. This will help reduce CO2 emissions. Another method is to trap the CO2 inside the oven. The emitted gas contains not only CO2, but also combustible carbon monoxide, which is used as a fuel. Emissions can be reduced by separating CO2.

Compared to their overseas competitors, Japanese metallurgists have already achieved the highest energy efficiency and there is not much room for improvement. Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal, JFE Steel and Kobe Steel are working together to solve the problem. Since 2008, they have been developing a new generation of steel production technology. A project led by the Japan Federation of Iron and Steel went into operation next to Furnace # 4 at Nippon Steel & Sumitomo in Kimitsu in Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo. They have already developed a solution that allows you to capture more CO2 at a lower cost. The small oven will be operating at full capacity next year.

Using this furnace, they plan to test their coke oven gas improvement system and develop technology to make the reduction reaction more efficient. The metallurgists plan to develop a technology for practical use until 2030 and to gradually replace all the remaining furnaces with equipment of the next generation. The process will be completed by about 2050.