Biochar-Based DRI / Sponge Iron Production

In the steel industry, carbon neutral production will be achieved when iron and steel production use 100% renewable energy. Electric arc furnaces (EAFs) can be used as long as the electricity is generated from renewable energy sources. However, EAFs, which still use electricity from fossil fuels, can be a transitional medium before 100% carbon neutral production due to their lower CO2 emissions compared to blast furnaces (BF) using coke from coal. The raw materials processed with EAFs are steel scrap and direct reduced iron (DRI/sponge iron). Steel scrap or DRI (sponge iron) is directly fed into the electric arc furnace (EAF) for steelmaking, resulting in lower carbon emissions compared to the blast furnace (BF) method. CO2 emissions from the blast furnace (BF) are approximately 2.33 tons for each ton of crude iron/pig iron, while with the EAF, they are only approximately 0.66 tons for each ton of crude steel.

Currently, approximately 80% of steel scrap is recycled using EAFs. Globally, EAFs account for approximately 22% of steel production (based on scrap and sponge iron). India is the largest producer of sponge iron, or DRI. Other major producers include Iran, Russia, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. In 2023, India produced 49.3 million tons, while Iran produced 33.4 million tons. Global sponge iron, or DRI, production reached 135.5 million tons in 2023, while pig iron reached nearly 1.5 billion tons.

And the fact is that currently, to achieve the goal of producing carbon neutral steel is still far away because the construction of blast furnaces - basic oxygen furnaces (BF -BOF) is still being carried out a lot, which should be EAF (Electric Arc Furnace) or currently only about 30% globally the iron and steel industry uses this EAF. The construction of new blast furnaces does tend to increase, in fact, by mid-2024, around 207 million tons per year of new production has been announced and around 100 million tons per year is under construction.

Sponge iron, or DRI, is produced from iron ore that has been processed to remove oxygen, resulting in a porous, sponge-like material. The process for producing DRI is called direct reduction. Direct reduction processes can be roughly divided into two categories: gas-based and coal-based. Just as coal can be used, so charcoal (biochar) can be used as the carbon source. The difference is that charcoal (biochar) is derived from wood or biomass, which are renewable resources. The process typically involves a rotary kiln where iron ore and coal or charcoal (biochar) are fed together, and the reduction reaction occurs in the solid state. India is a major producer of coal-based DRI, with production increasing substantially in recent years, as shown in the map below. Other major producers of DRI, or sponge iron, generally use natural gas-based processes.

The availability of biochar that meets specifications and sufficient volume, as well as its sustainable supply, is needed to substitute coal in DRI production. Therefore, on the upstream side, the availability of biomass raw materials from forestry waste, wood processing, agricultural waste, and agro-industrial waste is crucial for the sustainability of biochar production, including the establishment of energy plantations for this purpose. In addition to replacing the reductant or fuel from coal to charcoal (biochar) in DRI or sponge iron production, efforts to reduce carbon emissions in steel production on the DRI-EAF route also include replacing the EAF electrode from fossil-based synthetic graphite to biochar-based biographite. For more details, read here. 

Chemical Fertilizer Plant, Blue Hydrogen, Blue Ammonia and Ruminant Farms

As a comparison of the sheep population in New Zealand with people population of 3 million, the number of sheep is 5 million, then Australia with people population of 25 million, the total population of cattle is 26 million while Indonesia with people population of 270 million, the total population of sheep is less than 50 million, moreover the cattle population is also confirmed much smaller. This indicates that the ruminant livestock sector is not yet a business or industrial engine for economic growth. Whereas in addition to natural resources that support, the need for meat and fertilizer needs for agriculture is also very large. When the ruminant livestock sector is optimized, apart from being self-sufficient in meat as a source of animal protein, it can even be exported, and it will also promote agriculture because the manure is turned into organic fertilizer. This organic fertilizer has many advantages over chemical fertilizers, including not destroying the physical and chemical properties of the soil, activating soil microbes and providing complete nutrients. When the livestock sector is optimized, it is also very likely that it will replace the use of chemical fertilizers or other languages ​​as well as self-sufficiency in fertilizers so that chemical fertilizer plants close or stop producing. The integration of livestock and agriculture will create food sovereignty, an extraordinary achievement if it can be realized.

To save the chemical fertilizer plants, it can be converted into a plant or energy producer in the form of blue hydrogen or blue ammonia. Natural gas, which is a fossil fuel and is the raw material for chemical fertilizers, is separated from the carbon elements so that hydrogen is obtained. Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas that has been separated from natural gas is then captured and stored (CCS = Carbon Capture and Storage) so that it is not released into the atmosphere. And because the raw material for hydrogen fuel comes from fossil fuels, it is called blue hydrogen, whereas if it comes from renewable materials such as biomass, water and so on, it is called green hydrogen. So it can be said that blue hydrogen is still half fossil because the raw materials are from fossil sources and green hydrogen is already 100% from renewable sources. Hydrogen compounds or hydrogen gas have atomic bonds in the form of two hydrogen elements (H2) as a stable compound in nature, and to increase the energy of hydrogen gas, ammonia (NH3) can be made, namely with three hydrogen bonds. Just like the term blue hydrogen above, when the ammonia comes from fossil fuels it is called blue ammonia and when it comes from renewable materials it is called green ammonia. Japanese companies have even made power plants (generators) that use 100% as fuel, for more details read here.

Efforts to boost the livestock sector by integrating with the agricultural sector is not an easy thing. The factors of market access ability, farming techniques, provision of feed, management and livestock business are a number of things that hinder the realization of the vision of food sovereignty. Especially for innovations so that they can be competitive at the international level. Motivation factors, low willingness, low reading and learning culture, lack of friendship for networking, government alignments with policies for less carrying capacity, and so on also hinder on the other hand. But with abundant natural resources potential and strong will, these obstacles should be overcome, especially ruminant farming, especially sheep and goats, is also highly recommended in Islam so that as a Muslim should be more motivated. There is almost no one when doing any kind of effort, let alone to realize a big idea without a hitch, because that is the sunatullah.