20
G. Jha et al.
sinter produced. This particular composition has succeeded in delivering a significant
reduction for almost all the emissive constituents. NOx and SOx faced a noteworthy
reduction among all (see Table 3).
8.1.1 Impact Assessment
As discussed earlier, the prime reason for the carbon footprint is fossil fuels like coal
and coke [29]. The basic objective of using coal/coke for metallurgical operations is
to make available the required energy profile for the desirable phenomenon and transitions during sintering. Some of these phenomena are fuel ignition, reduction, and
partially melting the iron-bearing material and subsequently refining it by removing
the oxygen proportion in it. The carbon present in the fuel reacts chemically with
the oxygen present in the iron ore and reducing it to the next phase. During these
events, there comes the generation of the COx, NOx, and SOx gases. The reduction
and fusion occurring in the metallurgical processes can be partial or complete but
the methodology remains the same.
These emissions released during sintering need to be captured before their release
in the open environment, which is somewhat limited in the present times or not
present everywhere. An example of these arrangements that are using these effluents
are the integrated iron and steel plants. These industrial units use the gas, generated
during blast furnace smelting, for sintering and in other processes for co-heating.
But such uses are not very extensive. This is where the term like sustainability
becomes important. The industrial practice currently is undoubtedly performing their
assigned task well towards the technological goals but are we addressing the environmental acceptability appropriately? Leaving the environmental attribute makes
the process vulnerable. When incorporating biomass, it was believed that the process
will encounter that vulnerability precisely. Albeit the potential acceptable quantity
is yet to be decided, it ensures a proactive reduction in emission profile and carbon
footprint with very small substitution.
Interpretation and discussion
Biomass substitution in the fueling framework enables a significant reduction of
the sintering’s carbon footprint for an optimally attained biomass-coke blend under
consideration, thereby contributing to future energy security. The optimal substitution is proportional to the fuel energy characteristics (under consideration). As we
succeed in upgrading the energy and energy density values for biomass, then the
reduction in carbon footprint will be a breakthrough in biomass applications. For
now, interpretation of the assessment held out is discussed in a term-wise manner,
which is as follows.
CO and CO 2 emissions: As previously discussed, COx emissions primitively originate from fuel, i.e., coke. When substituting coke with biomass, sintering gets optimized at a 30% substitution. The sintering quality indices obtained at this point were
satisfactory with reduced emission profile as well as footprint.
G. Jha et al.
sinter produced. This particular composition has succeeded in delivering a significant
reduction for almost all the emissive constituents. NOx and SOx faced a noteworthy
reduction among all (see Table 3).
8.1.1 Impact Assessment
As discussed earlier, the prime reason for the carbon footprint is fossil fuels like coal
and coke [29]. The basic objective of using coal/coke for metallurgical operations is
to make available the required energy profile for the desirable phenomenon and transitions during sintering. Some of these phenomena are fuel ignition, reduction, and
partially melting the iron-bearing material and subsequently refining it by removing
the oxygen proportion in it. The carbon present in the fuel reacts chemically with
the oxygen present in the iron ore and reducing it to the next phase. During these
events, there comes the generation of the COx, NOx, and SOx gases. The reduction
and fusion occurring in the metallurgical processes can be partial or complete but
the methodology remains the same.
These emissions released during sintering need to be captured before their release
in the open environment, which is somewhat limited in the present times or not
present everywhere. An example of these arrangements that are using these effluents
are the integrated iron and steel plants. These industrial units use the gas, generated
during blast furnace smelting, for sintering and in other processes for co-heating.
But such uses are not very extensive. This is where the term like sustainability
becomes important. The industrial practice currently is undoubtedly performing their
assigned task well towards the technological goals but are we addressing the environmental acceptability appropriately? Leaving the environmental attribute makes
the process vulnerable. When incorporating biomass, it was believed that the process
will encounter that vulnerability precisely. Albeit the potential acceptable quantity
is yet to be decided, it ensures a proactive reduction in emission profile and carbon
footprint with very small substitution.
Interpretation and discussion
Biomass substitution in the fueling framework enables a significant reduction of
the sintering’s carbon footprint for an optimally attained biomass-coke blend under
consideration, thereby contributing to future energy security. The optimal substitution is proportional to the fuel energy characteristics (under consideration). As we
succeed in upgrading the energy and energy density values for biomass, then the
reduction in carbon footprint will be a breakthrough in biomass applications. For
now, interpretation of the assessment held out is discussed in a term-wise manner,
which is as follows.
CO and CO 2 emissions: As previously discussed, COx emissions primitively originate from fuel, i.e., coke. When substituting coke with biomass, sintering gets optimized at a 30% substitution. The sintering quality indices obtained at this point were
satisfactory with reduced emission profile as well as footprint.