Fuel from steel Turning carbon emissions from blast furnace gas into bioethanol at ArcelorMittal Gent.
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Carl De Maré, ArcelorMittal Group CTO – Head of Technology Strategy
4 Industry Europe
onstruction has begun on the first commercial-scale bioethanol plant in Europe to use waste gases from steelmaking as a feedstock. The plant at ArcelorMittal Gent will provide up to 80 million litres of bioethanol annually and demonstrate that flue gases from the blast furnace can be turned into a valuable resource. As well as bioethanol, the plant will also generate heat and energy which will be reused within the plant. The plant uses a naturally occurring bacteria which feeds on carbon monoxide (CO). “It’s a very energy efficient process as microbes do all the work,” says Wim Van der Stricht, coordinator of the project. “The challenge is to incorporate that natural process into a large-scale, well-established industry. And we’ve done that by innovating and working with partners such as LanzaTech and Primetals Technologies. We’ve also received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.”
Circular economy in action “This plant is a perfect example of the circular economy in action,” says Carl De Maré, vice president of Technology Strategy at ArcelorMittal. “A waste material from steelmaking is being converted into real-world products which are useful, valuable, and sustainable. This plant can produce enough fuel to power 100,000 vehicles using pure bioethanol for a year.” In the ethanol conversion process, bacteria feed on carbon monoxide and produce ethanol as a by-product. Biomass waste, produced in the process, is digested to produce methane. This is burnt in a co-generation unit to create heat and energy which is reused within the bioethanol plant in processes such as distillation of the ethanol.
Arable land protected Many existing bioethanol plants use agricultural products as a feedstock. Typically, this comes from crops such as sugar cane, wheat, and
