Tata Steel to test SMS group decarbonization solution at Jamshedpur

Tata Steel has signed an agreement with Germany's SMS group to collaborate on decarbonization of the steel-making process, the company announced.

Under the memorandum of understanding, the companies will conduct a joint industrial demonstration of SMS's group's EASyMelt technology at the 'E' Blast Furnace in Tata Steel's Jamshedpur plant, with an aim to more than halve CO2 emissions from the blast furnace's baseline. Earlier this year, the company had tested hydrogen gas at the furnace.

SMS group's EASyMelt (derived from electric-assisted syngas smelter) technology captures top gas exiting the blast furnace to produce syngas, which is a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen.

This syngas is then injected back into the blast furnace at both shaft and tuyere level, with the gas injected at the tuyere level further being heated using a plasma torch system. The SMS group points out that the technology can be implemented in existing integrated steel plants.

Steelmakers have been looking for ways to reduce emissions, with some companies looking to use green hydrogen to fuel plants.

Amid the options, the capture and conversion of top gas and its recirculation into the blast furnace is seen as an effective solution to improving furnace performance and reducing emissions.