Japan Steel achieves world's highest CO2 emissions reduction in hydrogen-based BF

The test blast furnace, located in the Kimitsu district of the To Japan Works in Chiba Prefecture, has an internal volume of 12 cubic metres. In conventional tests using hydrogen at room temperature, CO2 emissions were reduced by about 10%. However, by using heated hydrogen, Japan Steel was able to increase the reduction rate to 22%. This is the world's highest rate of reduction in CO2 emissions from hydrogen-based blast furnaces.

Development tests using heated hydrogen began in May last year. JFE Steel and Kobe Steel are also participating in the project, which is part of the "Super Course 50" project to develop hydrogen reduction steelmaking technology using the Green Innovation (GI) Fund. The tests in Kimitsu are mainly handled by Nippon Steel.

Hydrogen is an endothermic gas, which means that it absorbs heat during the reduction of iron ore. This can lead to a decrease in furnace temperature, which limits the amount of hydrogen that can be blown into the furnace. By heating the hydrogen before blowing it into the furnace, Japan Steel was able to supplement the thermal energy and increase the amount of hydrogen that could be used.

In the future, Japan Steel plans to move to the next stage of the project, which aims for a further reduction of CO2 emissions by 30% or more. These tests will begin in 2023. The ultimate goal of Super Course 50 is to reduce CO2 emissions from large blast furnaces by 50%.

After 26 January, the company plans to start demonstrations at Nippon Steel's Kimitsu No. 2 blast furnace (internal volume 4,500 cubic metres). These demonstrations will help to further validate the technology and prepare for commercialisation.