2107559 Optimising the Material & Energy Flows of the Steel Industry 16/10/2024

Project Feasibility Study

Project Definition

Aim
The aim of this project is to assess and optimise different energy sources such as hydrogen,
fuel, natural gas, electricity etc. for heat treatment processes in the steel industry by
considering abundancy, economic footprint, energy value and other quantities of interest. This
model will ultimately assist the UK steel industry optimise their processing conditions for steel
production.

Scope and objectives

The scope of the project outlines activities that will be considered, as well as those which are
out of the scope of this project. This is shown in Table 1.

Table 1 – Scope of ‘Optimising the Material & Energy Flows of the Steel Industry’

In scope Out of scope

Comparative analysis of Current and LCA of steel from production to consumer
alternative methods
Alternative energy sources for heat Hydrogen production methods
treatment
Environmental and Economic footprint and Non-heat treatment processes
costs of steelmaking
Energy storage and conversion Social impact

From this scope the primary objectives of this project can be obtained and are as follows:

1. Gain an understanding of the various processes and methods involved in steel

production e.g. blast furnace steelmaking
2. Visualise these processes using a Sankey diagrams to break down the overall aim into
smaller objectives that can be managed effectively
3. Gather literature to determine the vector values of the key variables at the different
stages within a steel plant
4. Develop a MATLAB mathematical model to optimise the process of steelmaking
5. Extend the capabilities of this model to assess the effects of exchanging fuel sources
and utilising alternative production methods

Considerations of the risks and constraints of this import are imperative, and thus, the following
stretch objectives have been obtained:

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2107559 Optimising the Material & Energy Flows of the Steel Industry 16/10/2024

1. Consider the various classifications of hydrogen and how they would affect the
efficiency of a steel plant
2. Consider the effects of iron ore purity on the model and evaluate the costs and benefits
of these purities

From the aforementioned objectives, secondary objectives targeted at personal development

can be derived, and are as follows:

1. Utilise aims and objectives to define a project whilst remaining in scope

2. Maintain a balance between personal health and progress of the project by using a
risk assessment and various project management tools
3. Improve literature gathering and analysis skills through practice
4. Further refine MATLAB competency through developing/testing mathematical models
and engaging in courses

Literature Review

Background information and Importance of Study

The urgency to reduce emissions in the steel industry is more important now than ever before
with Climate Change Act 2008 mandating Net-Zero emissions by 2050 and recommending
near zero emissions from ore-based steelmaking by 2035 (Keep et al., 2023). The imminency
of this target requires a drastic improvement in efficiency and ‘green steel’ will play a huge role
in this, whether that be changes in the production process or fuel source. But this raises a
question, ‘How green can steel possibly be; what sacrifices must be made to achieve this and
is it economically viable?’. The answer to this question will prove extremely useful to the steel
industry and assist in reaching the climate targets.

A key reason behind the proposal of this project is the significant inefficiencies within the UK
steel industry, particularly regarding energy consumption and carbon emissions. The steel
sector is responsible for 14.2% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from manufacturing and
2.4% of the UK’s total emissions (Keep et al., 2023), a substantial figure given the sources the
UK’s emissions are comprised of, agriculture, energy sector, electricity supply and others
(Waite, 2024).

Steelmaking Routes
The Iron & Steel industry operates at a significantly large scale, the largest industrial sector in
terms of size, energy demand and GHG emissions accounting for 26% of GHG emissions

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from British industry (Griffin & Hammond, 2019). The industry also contributes around £2.4
billion to the UK economy (0.1% of total GDP) and supports 40000 jobs in the UK as of 2021.
Steel has a variety of uses, primarily in the construction industry, so proves extremely
beneficial to the UK infrastructure, economy and society (Griffin and Hammond, 2021).

Blast furnace steelmaking currently accounts for over 80% of steel making in the UK (BCSA,
2024).But due to the damage the process causes to the environment and to meet the climate
targets, Blast Furnace (BF) steelmaking in the UK is planned to be discontinued completely
by 2032 in favour of the ‘greener’ recycling method, Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steelmaking
which currently has a far smaller capacity of 20% (BCSA, 2024). At face value, this would
decrease the environmental footprint drastically, reducing the UK’s entire carbon emissions
by around 1.5% through the closure of the Port Talbot site alone (Selvaraju and Robins, 2024).
Furthermore, advancements in renewable energy and increased availability of hydrogen are
promising developments set to curb emissions further. However, one must consider the
potential social and economic impact of this change such as the 1929 Tata steel works losing
their jobs in Port Talbot (Price and McCarthy, 2024) or the argument proposed by (Yellishetty
et al., 2011) who noted that pig iron is in price competition with ferrous scrap as a raw material
for steelmaking; so it is important that regulators incentivise recycling by keeping the costs
involved down.

The carbon and energy intensity of EAF steelmaking are 0.75t CO2/t and 9–12.5 GJ/tcs (tonne
of crude steel) respectively, when compared with the far more intense 1.55t CO2/t and 28–
31 GJ/tcs of BF steelmaking (Devlin, 2023). (Griffin and Hammond, 2019) state that the
drastically lower values are owed to the fact that EAF plants operate outside integrated
steelworks and utilise electricity and recycled steel at ambient temperature, bypassing the
requirement for a sinter plant and coke oven.

(Yellishetty et al., 2011) argue that steel recycling has the potential to mimic a mine being
continuously replenished but that the EAF production capacity is physically limited by the
availability of scrap steel. In addition, (Drewniok et al., 2023) stated that the UK has an ample
supply of scrap metal and export 80% of the scrap generated due to a lack of EAF facilities
available for it to be recycled. The two researchers point towards a future in which less steel
scrap is exported and more EAF production facilities are introduced to capitalise on the
available scrap.

In the meantime, the industry is presented with the task of finding the optimum balance
between primary and secondary steel production, in order to minimise costs and maximise
benefit. This is especially relevant when considering the energy costs associated with EAF
steelmaking, which may consequently increase the price of steel products. (UK Steel, 2024)

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state that this may make cheaper less carbon-friendly imports that are in an excess supply
more attractive especially since the steel safeguards protecting UK sector from trade diversion
will have to expire in 2026 due to World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. This means a
primary production method may be required in the long term to reintroduce virgin steel so as
to reduce prices and reliance on imports.

Green Hydrogen and H2-DRI-EAF

(Rechberger et al., 2020) state that achieving 2050’s climate goals seems an impossible task
with current steel production technology so there is a clear need for innovation. A promising
development within the steel industry is the usage of hydrogen, particularly green, and
especially through the Hydrogen-Direct Reduced Iron-Electric Arc Furnace (H2-DRI-EAF)
route. If a complete transition to this route is made then CO2 emissions have the potential to
be reduced by up to 95% if 100% renewable energy is used. However this requires a deep
decarbonisation of the electricity sector as a prerequisite (Rechberger et al., 2020). Although
other groundbreaking technological breakthroughs have been made, namely electrowinning,
they are currently cost prohibitive and are not expected to reach long term commercial
readiness until 2040. H2-DRI-EAF on the other hand, will be ready commercially by 2025
highlighting its importance today as we approach that date (Devlin et al., 2023).

However, (Molnar, 2022) highlights the challenges the H2-DRI-EAF route presents such as,
ensuring an adequate supply of Direct-Reduction (DR) grade iron ore and establishing a
sustainable green hydrogen value chain for steel production. (Molnar, 2022) also highlights
that the hydrogen economy itself faces the challenges of limited manufacturing capacity of
electrolysers, and requires significant electricity consumption – 300MW around the clock,
posing challenges for the renewable energy industry due to the variability of sources and
supply. This implicates firms within the industry to drive innovation through large investments,
which may be facilitated by tax breaks or government intervention.

Concluding Remarks and Project Justification

Also while Hydrogen presents numerous opportunities in reducing emissions, (Devlin et al.,
2023) states incremental measures such as improving energy efficiency and partial fuel
switching (biomass or hydrogen) of fossil-based operations will be insufficient to meet the steel
sector’s climate commitments; the blast furnace must be retrofitted with carbon capture
technology, or phased out.

It is clear that authors researching the decarbonisation of the steel industry are not in
agreement on a clear strategy and that the factors pertaining to steel production, regardless

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of the method, need to be studied further for an optimal solution to be reached. This project
will aim to utilise the works of these researchers and any data they have gathered to propose
an optimal energy and material mix for minimising the energy vector associated with steel
production, which in turn will minimise the carbon footprint. This will provide a concrete
solution, assisting the steel industry with its climate goals, aiming to eliminate speculation
regarding the matter. The need for such a model is highlighted further by the 7-year delay in
British Steel's transition to electric arc furnaces, due to the national grid’s inability to provide
the necessary power connection until 2032 (Gill, 2024). This delay emphasizes the lack of
strategic planning in the industry and the need for a model that can guide decision-making,
even in the presence of unforeseen circumstances.

Project Risks
Risks and Mitigation Techniques
Table 2 - Comprehensive Risk assessment considering various sources
Residual
Risk and Consequence Technique for Mitigation
Risk
Technical/Project related Risks
Loss of motivation to complete project. Utilise tri-weekly self-reflection to identify areas I am lacking
This will increase difficulty in in, the reasons for this and what to do moving forward
1 Low
completing the project and time
management
Loss of focus on the essential Discuss the key objectives with supervisor and create a Gantt
deliverables on the project by either chart to outline and focus on key tasks
2 Low
losing track of the scope or focusing
on unnecessary tasks
Lack of software support. Can lead to MATLAB has been chosen as the programming software for
3 halts in progress of the project this project and is widely available and supported by most None
devices.
Lack of and difficulty finding relevant Use online databases such as ScienceDirect and annual
and available literature to assist with reports to find reliable data
4 project research. This could lead to Low
difficulties with developing the
mathematical model
Time and Uncertainty related Risks
Difficulty managing time in tandem Implement a robust and detailed schedule for Macro
with other personal and university management in the form of a Gantt chart and
5 commitments. This could lead to tasks micromanagement techniques such as ‘Todoist’ Medium
being piled up and the missing of key
deliverables and objectives
Developing the code for the Allocate time periods within the Gantt chart for debugging
mathematical model overruns code and explore alternative pathways e.g. if modelling
6 expected duration. This could lead to a becomes difficult on MATLAB then attempt using excel, or Medium
breakdown in the project and schedule ask for help from supervisor and use the time to work on
other priorities
Health & Safety related Risks
Deterioration of mental health due to Regularly attend the gym and meal-prep healthy meals
overworking and sleep deprivation. weekly. Keep on top of updating the wellbeing section of the
7 Low
Can lead to demotivation and a slump logbook and weekly self-reflections.
in project progress
Illness of either the supervisor or Project plan can be altered to reallocate time that is missed
myself. Could cause deadlines to be during illnesses. Holiday period schedule can be altered to
8 missed and a temporary stoppage of make up for lost time. In the worst case, mitigating Medium
the project circumstances form can be submitted alongside required
evidence if the impact is severe

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Security related Risks

Stolen laptop or technical issues e.g. Regularly back up project related documents onto a hard
broken hard drive. Can lead to a loss drive after reaching milestones or cloud storage i.e. using
9 None
of all work completed up until that point OneDrive storage space and/or email updated documents to
myself.
Guidelines/Regulatory related risks
Incorrect referencing style or Use Mendeley referencing manager to keep references
10 inadequate referencing could lead to sorted and autogenerate an adequate bibliography None
the failure of the project
Not following the best practice for code Allocate time for MATLAB learning courses that can teach
and coding guidelines of the specific coding techniques and assist in following specific guidelines
11 industry. Can lead to the code being Medium
difficult to follow or be used by the end
consumer

Table 3 illustrates the probability of occurrence and severity relative to the project for the
risks in Table 2.
Table 3 - Risk Assessment Matrix quantifying and illustrating risks
Severity
Very low Low Medium High Very high
Very high
Probability

High
Medium 1 2,6,9
Low 8 4 7
Very Low 10 3,5,11

Non-Risks and Justification

1. Ethical Assessment
- The Ethical Review Flow Chart explaining the permissions required for work with data
from human participants have been read and understood
- This project will not include any human participant data, and therefore is exempt from
ethical review

2. Intellectual Property
No IP constraints are present within this project as all knowledge is open source and widely
available.
3. Budget Requirements
There are no budget requirements for this project as the software in question, MATLAB, is
accessed through a student license provided by the university and any online databases used
for research are accessed through institutional logins.

Project Planning
Gantt Chart
Figure 2 is a Gantt chart, with a planned run-time of 20 weeks, containing major tasks,
subtasks and milestones and is derived from Figure 1 which illustrates the projected timeline
for the project. Notably, a holiday period is introduced and can be used to account for

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unfinished tasks that could potentially stunt the progress of the project. For a more detailed
view, the Gantt Chart can be exploded to monitor weekly and daily progress.

Figure 1 – Timeline for ‘Optimising the Material & Energy Flows of the Steel Industry’

Figure 2 - Gantt Chart for ‘Optimising the Material & Energy Flows of the Steel Industry’

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Figure 1 was produced as the optimal timeline for this project after consider all other possible
timelines. It possesses the most realistic and accurate expectations for workloads within the
proposed timeframes after considering all the possible risks mentioned in Table 2.

However, considering the stress that exams and revision may incur, the holiday shall be
considered as a buffer region increasing the time available to catch up on any incomplete
tasks e.g. debugging the code for the mathematical model to increase the clarity of the code
and ensure following of the best practices for coding. However this, potentially, comes at the
expense of a stretch objective as they are of lower priority.

For tracking progress, the Gantt Chart site of choice, GanttPro, possesses an intuitive
interface with a slider to update the progress of each task as shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2.
This will assist in keeping track of progress and further mitigate risk 2, from table 2, as the
progress of key deliverables relative to the red ‘Today’ marker will be clearly visible.

Reviewing Progress
To evidence progress throughout the project the logbook will be updated on a weekly basis,
every Sunday. This will contain key updates to the report, notes from each meeting, required
forms and self-reflection to ensure the project is on track.

4. Utilising Micromanagement
To support and maximise the utility of the Gantt Chart, a tool named ‘MinimaList’ will be used
as shown in Figure 3. This will allow for daily tracking of both project related tasks and personal
commitments. This can assist with risks 2 and 7, from Table 2, allowing me to maintain focus
on the project and not be overwhelmed by my personal workload.

Figure 3 - Example To-Do list from MinimaList

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5. Self-Reflection
Self-Reflection reports will be used to track the progress of the report, but also to reflect on
any progress made that may not be as obvious e.g. new skills that have been learnt or further
refined. The motive behind this decision was a lack of confidence and competency in
MATLAB, which can now be tracked and improved upon using these reports.

This can be a useful tool to identify areas of underperformance in the project and can be
remedied by asking the supervisor for advice and suggested resources. An example self-
reflective report can be seen in Table 4.

Table 4 - Example Self-Reflective Report

Performance (1-5)
Skills Developed
1 2 3 4 5
Technical and analytical
Energy systems analysis x
MATLAB proficiency x
Modelling and Simulation
Mathematical Modelling x
Data Analysis x
Research and Evaluation
Energy Economics x
Sustainability Research x
Environmental awareness x
Data Gathering x
Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking
Multi-Criteria Decision Making x
Optimisation techniques x
Mathematical proficiency x
Communication and Reporting
Technical Writing x
Presentation x
Time Management and Organisation
Project Planning x
Discipline/Punctuality x
Micromanagement x

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https://www.bcsa.org.uk/resources/sustainability/steel-sustainability-faqs/ (accessed 10.14.24).
Devlin, A., 2023. Steel sector deep dive: How could demand drive low carbon innovation in the steel
industry Steel sector deep dive: How could demand drive low carbon innovation in the steel
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Devlin, A., Kossen, J., Goldie-Jones, H., Yang, A., 2023. Global green hydrogen-based steel
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Drewniok, M.P., Azevedo, J.M.C., Dunant, C.F., Allwood, J.M., Cullen, J.M., Ibell, T., Hawkins, W.,
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