Released March 29, 2024 | SUGAR LAND
en
Written by Paul Wiseman for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In a sort of never-ending Whack-A-Mole situation in the energy transition, a new Wood Mackenzie study found that a green effort in steelmaking could brown-up zinc recycling. Zinc is used in steel processing to protect the metal from corrosion.
Headlined "Decarbonization efforts in the steel industry could hinder circularity of zinc, warns new study," WoodMac notes that direct reduced iron (DRI) plants using green hydrogen could make zinc recycling more costly and more carbon intensive than it is in gas or coal-fired plants. "The shift towards the use of more DRI in electric arc furnaces (EAF) versus scrap steel is expected to increase the cost and carbon intensity of zinc recovery due to the reduced zinc content in EAF (electric arc furnace) dust."
Earlier, Wood MacKenzie had issued a study on DRI and other top contenders in the race to decarbonize steel, and their direct benefits. This new study shows that the road to decarbonization may be bumpier than expected.
Think Zinc
Steel is one of the most widely-used metals in the world, and zinc is a key corrosion protector for the metal. Because of the great demand, both are heavily recycled as well.
The American Galvanizers Association reports that about 70% of zinc currently used comes from mines, the other 30% from recycling. Specifically, in 2019, 13.5 million tons came from mining, with 6 million tons from recycling. The American Zinc Association adds that it is the fourth most used metal on earth, with a worldwide market of $40 billion per year in 2019. Almost 50% of the world's production is used in the steel industry, making its recycling a key supply-chain component.
Recycling Zinc from Dust
Currently, steel dust coming from EAF processes contains "anywhere from 0.2 to 3.4 million tonnes of zinc annually," says the report, adding that steel dust and other residues provide approximately 1.6 million tonnes of zinc units globally. About 17% of EAF dust is zinc.
Here is the key issue the report sees: "More use of DRI in the EAF process will lead to a decrease in zinc-rich dust, further increasing the cost and carbon intensity of zinc recovery." Right now, EAF is a small part of the steelmaking world, but by 2050, Wood Mackenzie's Head of Zinc Markets, Andrew Thomas, expects it to account for almost 50% of the market--which is why the zinc carbon footprint matters.
It's about the technology. "The current 'best available technology' for zinc recycling is highly carbon-intensive, making it difficult for the zinc market to align with decarbonization goals of the steel industry," said Wood Mackenzie. "Primary smelters currently utilize up to 25% of zinc oxides and other residues in their raw material feed. However, this practice also poses a challenge for the future of secondary zinc. The primary raw material for smelters is zinc oxide, obtained through the pyrometallurgical process of recovering zinc from steel dust. Steelmakers either have to pay for its disposal in specialized landfill sites or hand it over for further processing."
So far, methods other than pyrometallurgical have not proven feasible, the report said, a fact that could make recycling more expensive, although it does not explain why that would be. Higher costs, it fears, could dampen producers' enthusiasm for the larger decarbonization transition. That could also mean more zinc is lost to the steel industry if the associated dust is instead used in ferro concrete or fertilizers. Thomas feels this loss would also tax the zinc industry "in meeting the demands of decarbonization and the circular economy" as a whole. Because half of the word's zinc production is used in the steel industry, its recycling is a key supply-chain component. Other energy-transition technologies are also competing for the world's zinc production, including storage batteries, wind/solar production, and electronics, to name a few.
Research
The report does not specifically have a conclusion, nor does it compare the amount of carbon saved in EAF compared to the additional carbon emitted by associated zinc recycling. But it would seem apparent that ongoing research into cleaner recycling methods would be in order before electric arc furnaces can be declared to be a solution for decarbonizing steel.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
Headlined "Decarbonization efforts in the steel industry could hinder circularity of zinc, warns new study," WoodMac notes that direct reduced iron (DRI) plants using green hydrogen could make zinc recycling more costly and more carbon intensive than it is in gas or coal-fired plants. "The shift towards the use of more DRI in electric arc furnaces (EAF) versus scrap steel is expected to increase the cost and carbon intensity of zinc recovery due to the reduced zinc content in EAF (electric arc furnace) dust."
Earlier, Wood MacKenzie had issued a study on DRI and other top contenders in the race to decarbonize steel, and their direct benefits. This new study shows that the road to decarbonization may be bumpier than expected.
Think Zinc
Steel is one of the most widely-used metals in the world, and zinc is a key corrosion protector for the metal. Because of the great demand, both are heavily recycled as well.
The American Galvanizers Association reports that about 70% of zinc currently used comes from mines, the other 30% from recycling. Specifically, in 2019, 13.5 million tons came from mining, with 6 million tons from recycling. The American Zinc Association adds that it is the fourth most used metal on earth, with a worldwide market of $40 billion per year in 2019. Almost 50% of the world's production is used in the steel industry, making its recycling a key supply-chain component.
Recycling Zinc from Dust
Currently, steel dust coming from EAF processes contains "anywhere from 0.2 to 3.4 million tonnes of zinc annually," says the report, adding that steel dust and other residues provide approximately 1.6 million tonnes of zinc units globally. About 17% of EAF dust is zinc.
Here is the key issue the report sees: "More use of DRI in the EAF process will lead to a decrease in zinc-rich dust, further increasing the cost and carbon intensity of zinc recovery." Right now, EAF is a small part of the steelmaking world, but by 2050, Wood Mackenzie's Head of Zinc Markets, Andrew Thomas, expects it to account for almost 50% of the market--which is why the zinc carbon footprint matters.
It's about the technology. "The current 'best available technology' for zinc recycling is highly carbon-intensive, making it difficult for the zinc market to align with decarbonization goals of the steel industry," said Wood Mackenzie. "Primary smelters currently utilize up to 25% of zinc oxides and other residues in their raw material feed. However, this practice also poses a challenge for the future of secondary zinc. The primary raw material for smelters is zinc oxide, obtained through the pyrometallurgical process of recovering zinc from steel dust. Steelmakers either have to pay for its disposal in specialized landfill sites or hand it over for further processing."
So far, methods other than pyrometallurgical have not proven feasible, the report said, a fact that could make recycling more expensive, although it does not explain why that would be. Higher costs, it fears, could dampen producers' enthusiasm for the larger decarbonization transition. That could also mean more zinc is lost to the steel industry if the associated dust is instead used in ferro concrete or fertilizers. Thomas feels this loss would also tax the zinc industry "in meeting the demands of decarbonization and the circular economy" as a whole. Because half of the word's zinc production is used in the steel industry, its recycling is a key supply-chain component. Other energy-transition technologies are also competing for the world's zinc production, including storage batteries, wind/solar production, and electronics, to name a few.
Research
The report does not specifically have a conclusion, nor does it compare the amount of carbon saved in EAF compared to the additional carbon emitted by associated zinc recycling. But it would seem apparent that ongoing research into cleaner recycling methods would be in order before electric arc furnaces can be declared to be a solution for decarbonizing steel.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
