CIVS Associate Director Attends ARPA-e ROSIE Kick-off Meeting

On June 13, CIVS Associate Director for Research Tyamo Okosun attended the ARPA-e Revolutionizing Ore to Steel to Impact Emissions (ROSIE) Kick-off meeting in Chicago, IL. CIVS will be collaborating with Argonne National Laboratory, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne, Starfire Industries, and ArcelorMittal on a newly awarded project to explore methods of using microwave-generated hydrogen plasma for ironmaking without generating CO2 emissions.

The project, led by Argonne National Laboratory, will further develop a microwave-powered hydrogen plasma rotary kiln process for reducing iron ore that would eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from the ironmaking process. Argonne’s method has the potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions arising from ironmaking by 35% compared to the blast furnace process when using today’s grid and by 88% when using a future low-carbon grid, while also reducing the cost of making hot rolled steel. CIVS’s role is to use CFD simulation and visualization for the research and development of the technology.

The iron and steel industry accounts for around 7% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 11% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. By 2050, global iron and steel demand is projected to rise as much as 40%. Already, between 2000 and 2022, global steel production more than doubled to 1,840 million tonnes (Mt). ROSIE aims to develop new technology pathways to enable zero direct process emissions in ironmaking (i.e., zero-process-emission ironmaking) and ultra-low life cycle emissions for steelmaking at scale. All ROSIE projects must account for the impact a given technology will have on supply chain, production of a final steel product, and overall emissions.