Abstract
In 2011, Bert Wasmund and colleagues published an informative paper entitled ‘Implementing New Technologies in Metallurgical Processes: Building Plants that Work’. Wasmund and team reviewed the implementation path and start-up of several new non-ferrous pyro- and hydrometallurgical technologies with a focus on successful elements that led to a rapid plant startup and met investor expectations. Fast forward to today and we see that the steel industry is in the early stages of a generational change, implementing new process technologies to greatly reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) steelmaking route. Many new steelmaking technologies propose to incorporate both high temperature metallurgical and lower temperature chemical processes in a unique fashion to achieve a significant reduction in GHG emissions.
The challenges faced by these new developments and the pathways that Wasmund and team identified for success will be presented. Case studies on the development pathway for alternative ironmaking technologies, such as the Midrex, Finex, and HIsmelt processes, will be discussed to identify the unique elements of their pathways to success. Recommended approaches and key considerations for on-going developments for several green steel technologies will also be presented.