RE:RE:Interesting readQtrlbder wrote:
i hope that's us!
2.6 PLASMA DIRECT STEEL PRODUCTION
How it works: Iron ore, raw or in the form of fines or pellets, is reduced using hydrogen plasma in a plasma steelmaking reactor. At the same time, carbon is added to the reactor to produce steel. Hydrogen plasma is H2 gas that has been heated or electrically charged to separate, or ionize, it into its constituent particles.
The process may use either thermal plasma (produced by directly heating H2) or non-thermal plasma (produced by passing a direct current or microwaves through H2).
F Pros: The process removes the need for preprocessing of iron ore and allows for lower reactor temperatures. It is also highly integrated, with some methods (for example, hydrogen plasma smelting reduction) requiring only a single step. This makes it commercially attractive: if the technology was ready to use today, it would have the potential to reduce costs significantly, as well as offering higher product quality and better production flexibility.
Cons: The technology is at a very early stage of development, with an optimal process and full reactor design yet to be developed. Its commercial feasibility is also still to be proven.
Pilot projects: As part of its Sustainable Steel (SuSteel) project, the Austrian steelmaker voestalpine has built a small pilot hydrogen plasma reduction reactor at its Donawitz site.