BFI VDEh-Betriebsforschungsinstitut GmbH

Initial situation:

The aim of the project, which was funded by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and launched in August 2021, is to significantly reduce CO₂ emissions in steel production in the short term by increasing the use of ferrous recycling material in the blast furnace and converter.

Project targets:

To achieve this, it is necessary to produce a high-quality and certified recycled product from conventional primary materials (consumer scrap). To manufacture this product, a new type of recycling process is being set up on a pilot scale at TSR, a recycling company within the REMONDIS Group, and continuously developed further. The key to achieving the required product qualities lies in the new measurement and detection technology to be developed and adapted by BFI and TSR. A data management system is being set up to ensure that the required product qualities are produced accurately and that all recycling batches produced can be tracked.

Innovative approaches:

This recycling material is being trialled for the first time in the blast furnace at thyssenkrupp and in the converter at HKM with scientific support from BFI. High utilisation rates of metallic iron in the form of the high purity recycled product reduce the need for iron ore and carbon (coke, coal) in the blast furnace, increase the proportion of recycled material in the converter and thus lead to a significant reduction in CO₂ emissions for the same amount of newly produced steel.

Project organiser:

Funded by:

Zuwendungen des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen auf Grundlage der Richtlinie über die Gewährung von Zuwendungen aus dem „Programm für rationelle Energieverwendung, regenerative Energien und Energiesparen progres.nrw - Programmbereich Innovation" progres.nrw – Innovation