Analysis of Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Bottom-blowing O2-CO2-CaO Process in Basic Oxygen Furnace Steelmaking

Abstract

The O2-CO2-CaO process, which blows the lime powder from the bottom, offers significant advantages in terms of reducing the consumption of raw and auxiliary materials while improving steel quality. This study examines the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with four different converter smelting processes, using industrial test production data from nearly 1000 furnaces in a steel plant. This is the first comprehensive analysis of CO2 emissions for these processes and quantifies the CO2 emissions reduction potential of the bottom-blowing O2-CO2-CaO process. The study shows a significant difference in CO2 emissions between the duplex and conventional smelting processes, with the former exhibiting significantly higher emissions. The application of bottom-blowing O2-CO2-CaO process led to a decrease of 24.6 kgCO2/t in the duplex converter smelting process and 30.1 kgCO2/t in the conventional smelting process.