Decarbonization Ferroalloy Production Using Biocarbon

The main contributors to CO₂ emissions in ferroalloy production are the use of fossil reductants and the energy consumed. The use of renewable energy sources is imperative to decarbonize these processes. The only short-term solution to reduce the use of fossil reductants is to replace them with biocarbon. This paper reviews research on the use of biocarbon and its effects on furnace operation conducted at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and SINTEF. During heating, it has been shown that H₂ and CH₄ are produced, which may affect the degree of prereduction in the furnaces. The CO₂ reactivity is higher with charcoal compared to coke; however, when potassium accumulates in the furnace, the difference between the carbon materials decreases. Although slag reactivity is faster with charcoal than with coke, other properties, such as sulfur content in SiMn production, also play a role. Lastly, it is observed that the electrical resistivity of charcoal is higher than that of coke.