Beneficiation and Agglomeration vital steps for sustainable steel production
As the consequences of greenhouse gas emissions are becoming more and more evident, the urgency for our global industry to reduce these emissions cannot be underestimated. With steel production being accountable for 7–9% of global CO2 emissions, we have the responsibility to act now.
Iron ore beneficiation and agglomeration are essential for our industry’s green transformation. The required global increase in Direct Reduction Ironmaking capacity can only be achieved if simultaneously, global iron ore pelletizing capacity increases. At the same time, pellets are an inherently greener agglomerate than sinter, offering greenhouse gas emissions reduction potential for traditional BF–BOF steel production. Similarly, cold agglomeration into briquettes allows for further, carbon–lean processing of fines and reverts.
Our beneficiation and agglomeration technologies enable green steel production by nature. At the same time, we spare no effort to make the very beneficiation and agglomeration processes greener.
How is pelletizing contributing to the green steel transformation?
Pelletizing – the process of agglomerating fine iron ore particles and to process them into stable, uniform iron oxide pellets as a basis for the downstream iron-making process – is much more than just a technical step in one of the technological production route for iron and steelmaking.
It forms an important pillar for resource-saving, energy-efficient, and low-emission steel production.
At a time when industry needs to significantly improve its CO₂ balance, the pelletizing process makes a substantial contribution to the sustainability of the entire steel making process, which is still one of the biggest single contributors to global CO₂ emissions. The use or iron oxide pellets in iron-making contributes to a reduction of CO₂ emissions in the following ways.
01 – Direct reduction & pelletizing – the sustainable combination for green steel
Iron oxide pellets is the only iron-bearing raw material which can be used for the Direct Reduction / Electrical Arc Furnace technology route for iron and steel making. Opposite to the more traditional Blast Furnace / Basic Oxygen route, the direct reduction of iron ore can be run on natural gas or, completely carbon-free, on hydrogen.
02 – The increased use of iron oxide pellets in the blast furnace burden
Steel produces around the world are increasingly using a higher percentage of iron oxide pellets in the blast furnace burden for iron making, which boosts the efficiency of the process and reduces the CO₂ footprint of the blast furnace.
Compared to sintering plants, which are conventionally used for agglomeration of iron ores for blast furnaces, pelletizing requires less fuel and produces less CO₂, NOₓ, SOₓ, and particulate matter.
This makes it one of the cleanest agglomeration processes in the steel industry—an important step toward more climate-friendly production.
What are we doing at Danieli NewFer to make pelletizing as such more sustainable?
01 – Energy-efficient processes though modern heat recovery systems
Danieli NewFer’s pelletizing plants operate with precise temperature profiles, optimized combustion curves, and effective heat recovery systems. We have developed a specific Heat Recovery System which reduces the thermal energy consumption, when compared to the traditional process by between 10 and 25% depending on the concentrate and plant configuration. The result is not only a significantly lower fuel consumption but also an improved CO₂ balance.
02 – The increase of the efficiency by digitalization
To increase the efficiency of the pelletizing process and to hence reduce the environmental impact, we have developed our DigiFer product family, which offers smart digital tools for process optimization. Industrial references have shown significant efficiency increases and the reduction of carbon-bearing fuels.
Digitalization, modern sensor technology, real-time data analysis, and AI-supported process control can significantly reduce energy consumption, raw material use, and emissions in the pelltizing process.
At the same time, predictive maintenance enables trouble-free operation and prevents energy-intensive downtime.
03 – A look ahead: the use of hydrogen in the pelletizing process
The use of hydrogen as fuel instead of carbon-bearing gases or oils, we are able to design our pelletizing plants for a future use of hydrogen if and when feasibly available . The development of burner systems using hydrogen is developing and we believe that an almost carbon free production process for pelletizing will be possible in the near future.
04 – Another look ahead: cold agglomeration of iron ores as new tendency in the industry
At Danieli NewFer we are involved in the development of alternatives to the traditional pelletizing technologies, such as cold agglomeration of iron ores into briquettes, extrudates or pellets. We have developed a curing furnace for the drying of cold agglomerates and are supporting the respective initiatives of the global iron ore producers.
