Energy usage in the steel industry – new report available

There are five sections to the new report covering process routes and energy boundaries, energy assessment model methodology and its benchmarking benefits, economic aspects of energy investments, general processes and techniques and energy source utilisation in metallurgical plant.

In addition, there are 20 case studies of good practice.

According to worldsteel, “The report highlights that there is no single solution for steel plants to decrease their energy intensity and identifies the main factors that affect the energy intensity.”

The report also points out that the optimal selection of production processes and raw materials, increased use of economically available scrap, transfer of best practices, waste heat recovery and reduction of yield losses will provide the main opportunities for energy saving in the future.

Comparisons between BOF and EAF steelmaking are also made and the report argues that the type of energy source, the quality of the raw material and ferrous scrap content directly affects the intensity of GHG emissions.

Worldsteel’s director-general Dr. Edwin Basson said that energy represents one of the key challenges for today’s steel industry and that efficient energy use has always been one of the industry’s key priorities. “Over the last 40 years, the steel industry has reduced its energy consumption per tonne of steel by 50%,” he said, adding that the cost of energy accounts for 15 to 20% of the total cost of steel production. “Energy consumption is directly related to the environmental impact of the industry,” said Dr. Basson.

For further information, log on to www.worldsteel.org