Rio Tinto Targets Using Biomass in Steelmaking Process

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) (London, England) says it is making progress on a new technology that replaces coking coal with biomass to produce low-carbon steel.

The process combines the use of raw, sustainable biomass with microwave technology to convert iron ore to metallic iron during the steelmaking process, Rio Tinto said. The process is laboratory-proven and if larger-scale tests are successful, there is a potential for the technology to be scaled up for commercial use, the company said in a press release.

The process uses plant-based lignocellulosic biomass, instead of coal, primarily as a chemical reductant, Rio Tinto said. The biomass is blended with iron ore and heated by a combination of gas released by the biomass and high efficiency microwaves that can be powered by renewable energy.

Industrial Info is tracking 132 Rio Tinto projects, worth nearly $28 billion.

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