MidtownGuy wrote: More on this vein, on a slow Monday...
As part of LKAB's recent announcements, they've state that "trials with fossil-free fuel in one of LKAB's processing plants have now reached a level at which pellets can be produced with 100 percent bio-oil instead of coal and petroleum-based oil".
It took some digging, but it appears the specific bio-oil LKAB will use to fuel their burners is "
tall oil", also known as "tallol". This is from an article I found that states that "Trials involving replacing fuel oil with pulp-based tall oil for a pelletizing plant in the Malmberget complex have had good results...". Link here:
https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/coal/102820-swedens-lkab-q3-pellet-sales-rise-to-record-volume-premiums-fall What is Tall Oil? Tall oil is a byproduct of pulp and paper mills. It's not surprising that LKAB would try this, as "tall" is the Swedish word for pine tree, and
tall oil is an anglicization of Swedish for pine oil ("tallolja"). Pine is the preferred tree, but spruce can also be used.
Tall oil when refined can be turned into many uses, including as a replacement for diesel fuel.
Can PYR Torches and Bio-Fuels Such as Tall Oil Co-exist? So, if tall oil is to be used as one of the methods long-term for LKAB's iron ore pelletization, where can PYR's torches fit in?
Two parts to that answer:
1/ plasma torches are attractive not just because they can use non-fossil fuels, but also for their efficiency in how they create energy. Bio-fuels don't eliminate PYR plasma torches by nature, because as burners they have other benefits beyond traditional furnace burners.
2/ Could PYR torches utilize bio-fuels?
In this research paper provided by forum regular Cassavant'sghost, about the Pyrogenesis gassification system used in sewage sludge treatment, it states "... results show that
a good quality synthesis gas is produced that can be used effectively in an energy recovery system to produce electrical energy not only to satisfy the requirements of the plasma furnace, but also to be available for sale...".
https://www.pyrogenesis.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/26.-2003-10-20th-European-Symposium-on-Applied-Thermodynamics-Lahnstein-Germany-Paper.pdf It's not a 100% connection, but it's a start to show that bio-fuels and PYR plasma torches can co-exist for a number of reasons.