The development and one-dimensional modelling of detailed heterogenous chemistry, which can then be integrated into multiphase CFD in order to better understand the direct reduction process.
In Germany, the industrial sector emits the second-highest amount of greenhouse gases, exceeded only by the energy sector. Industrial processes, including those in the steel, cement, or aluminium industries, which currently use gas, coal, or graphite for applications such as reducing agents, electrode materials, or fuels, cannot be decarbonised through “mere” electrification. The technological gap and the long-term challenges lie in adapting industrial engineering processes to use alternative reducing agents, such as CO2-neutral hydrogen and CO2-neutral carbon. In addition, carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) can be used to capture and reuse unavoidable CO2 emissions.
The Department
With this in mind, the department of Low-Carbon Reducing Agents (LCR) investigates process technologies within the industrial sector, in order to avoid CO2 emissions by substituting carbonaceous raw materials as well as adapting existing engineering processes.
Many energy-intensive industrial processes involve subjecting solids to oxidising or reducing environments under high temperatures. The department has devised a methodology to develop alternative engineering processes using low-carbon energy carriers for such heterogenous systems. Empirical studies using pilot reactors and CFD simulations of gas-solid systems help us validate and subsequently scale up such processes to industrial levels.
Research and development topics of the LCR department include:
Decarbonisation of steelmaking by using renewable hydrogen as a reducing agent
Targeted insertion of biomass into the direct reduction process
Reduction of iron oxides for further usage as metal fuels
Retrofitting coal-fired power plants to burn metal fuels
Carbon dioxide capture through conversion to graphite and hydrogen
The insights we gain during process development and adaptation further feed into the work of the department of Simulation and Virtual Design (SVD). Both increasing the efficiency of energy conversion and utilisation and the uptake of renewable energies can contribute step-by-step to a significant reduction in CO2 emissions.
