Azimi Arezoo, van der Spek Mijndert
Research Centre for Carbon Solutions, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, United Kingdom.
Ind Eng Chem Res. 2025 Feb 8;64(7):3871-3885. doi: 10.1021/acs.iecr.4c03321. eCollection 2025 Feb 19.
Decarbonizing the steel industry is essential due to its substantial contribution to climate change. This study explores pathways to achieve net-zero CO emissions in the iron and steelmaking industry while minimizing environmental burdens beyond climate change. We conducted a comprehensive attributional life cycle assessment using the net-zero-CO-emissions framework, incorporating both conventional and prospective life cycle assessment methods, to evaluate various decarbonization strategies within the United Kingdom. All value chains were constrained to achieve net-zero CO emissions. Our findings indicate that, under a "current time" scenario, the natural gas-fired direct reduced iron with electric arc furnace is the most favorable option. This is mainly because hydrogen-based direct reduced iron production relies on the UK's current electricity grid, which has a carbon intensity of 293.28 g CO per kWh. As greenhouse gas emissions decrease toward 2050 (approximately 70% for hydrogen-based direct reduced iron), the choice between natural gas and hydrogen will become increasingly region-specific. All net-zero-CO steelmaking case studies perform similarly on human health indicators, while the direct reduced iron with electric arc furnace options have 60-82% lower impacts on the ecosystem end point indicator than the blast furnace basic oxygen furnace routes.
由于钢铁行业对气候变化有重大影响，因此实现钢铁行业脱碳至关重要。本研究探索了在钢铁制造行业实现二氧化碳净零排放的途径，同时尽量减少气候变化之外的环境负担。我们使用净零碳排放框架进行了全面的归因生命周期评估，结合了传统和前瞻性生命周期评估方法，以评估英国境内的各种脱碳策略。所有价值链都被限制为实现二氧化碳净零排放。我们的研究结果表明，在“当前时间”情景下，天然气直接还原铁与电弧炉相结合是最有利的选择。这主要是因为基于氢气的直接还原铁生产依赖于英国当前的电网，其碳强度为每千瓦时293.28克二氧化碳。随着到2050年温室气体排放量下降（基于氢气的直接还原铁约下降70%），天然气和氢气之间的选择将越来越具有地区特异性。所有净零二氧化碳炼钢案例研究在人类健康指标方面表现相似，而与电弧炉相结合的直接还原铁选项对生态系统终点指标的影响比高炉碱性氧气转炉路线低60-82%。
