Greenhouse gas balance for stainless steel production is further improved

Stainless steel recycling is considered a sustainable way to save CO₂ in steel production is increasing globally. As early as 2010, Fraunhofer UMSICHT researchers identified the possibility of saving more than 4.5 tons of CO2₂ per ton of the mix on behalf of Oryx Stainless Group. More recent calculations by the UMSICHT team save even more than 6.7 tons of CO₂ -eq. per ton of mixture for the reference year 2021. The results show that the recycling of stainless steel scrap has great potential to reduce greenhouse gases.

As the need for Stainless Steel As the number continues to increase, the responsible and efficient use of limited global resources becomes increasingly important. An option for steel manufacturers to save Greenhouse gas is to produce new stainless steel from a blend of high-quality secondary raw materials instead of primary raw materials. The secondary raw material is upgraded by combining different alloy stainless steel scrap to create a mixture. These blends conform to the required specifications to be used in steel mills as primary inputs in the electric arc furnace (EAF) process. To a small extent, iron alloys can be used to refine the analysis.

CO is bigger₂ savings after greenhouse gas balance update

In the project, UMSICHT researchers have now calculated the greenhouse gas balance of stainless steel recycling from Oryx Stainless Group at the Dordrecht and Mülheim an der Ruhr sites—similar to the study structure of 2010—for the reference year 2021. results show that compared to calculations at that time, the amount of greenhouse gas savings continued to increase. A corresponding study for the site in Thailand is underway at UMSICHT.

The total savings of Oryx Stainless Group at the two locations in 2021 amount to approximately 3,015,000 tons CO₂ -eq.—approximately one million tons of CO₂-eq. more than in 2009 (2,026,000 tons of CO₂-eq.). One reason is the relatively higher output volume. Average weight savings have also increased to 6.7 tons of CO₂-eq./t mix in 2021. Therefore, the retroactive results also show larger savings for 2009.

Dr-Ing explains: “In order to be able to compare values ​​meaningfully and reliably with our previous calculations, we also recalculated the data for 2009 again. with its new model. Daniel Maga, Director of the Sustainability Assessment Team at Fraunhofer UMSICHT. “Among other things, the most recent data sets for primary steelmaking raw materials show higher carbon emissions and the current electricity mix for 2020 shows lower CO₂ footprint.”

Continue to develop stainless steel production

To calculate the overall results, the researchers first calculated the total greenhouse gas savings from replacing the main material in the electric arc furnace (EAF) process. In the second step, they looked at the entire Oryx process chain for the Mülheim an der Ruhr and Dordrecht sites, from collection to production of the finished mix and shipping to the customer.

“The results help us quantify and communicate the benefits of stainless steel Steel Tobias Kämmer, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Oryx Stainless Group emphasized. “These findings also form the basis for political decisions and strategic planning.”