1,93%Turning Waste into Energy
How Aperam’s Circular, Bio-Based Solutions Help Other Sectors Decarbonize their Industrial Processes
For over a decade, Aperam BioEnergia, our South American renewable energy unit, has been producing the charcoal used to power steel production at the Timóteo plant in Brazil. Derived from our 100,000-hectare managed eucalyptus forest, this charcoal has not only enabled us to eliminate the use of carbon emitting coke from our steel-making processes, but also to become carbon-neutral (scopes 1 and 2).
But why stop there?
Today, BioEnergia is also busy developing innovative, bio-based solutions that can help other industries become more sustainable.
A Circular Opportunity
Take bio-oil, a 100% renewable, plant-based co-product generated from the wood carbonization process.
According to Aperam BioEnergia executive manager Benone Braga, bio-oil is formed within the condensation produced when the wood from our eucalyptus forest is transformed into charcoal. “To produce the charcoal used in Aperam’s green steel manufacturing, the wood harvested from BioEnergia’s planted forests undergoes a carbonization process using ultramodern furnaces,” he explains.
These furnaces are connected to gas burners that capture and incinerate most of the greenhouse gases emitted during the process. However, in addition to producing the desired charcoal, the process also produces condensable vapors.
It was within these vapors that BioEnergia saw an opportunity to advance the circular economy. “The gases emitted from the furnaces contain small fractions of tar, from which bio-oil can be extracted,” says Braga.
Bio-oil has a unique composition of different hydrocarbons, with high viscosity and density and an interesting calorific value. It can also be produced using a zero-carbon process.
Noticing this calorific value, the BioEnergia team identified a market potential for bio-oil as a sustainable alternative to the diesel used in many industrial processes. “Instead of letting this co-product go to waste, we decided to turn it into a circular product – a product that other companies can use to replace their dependence on fossil fuels, transition to a low-carbon energy source and, ultimately, advance their own sustainability journeys,” adds Braga.
One of those companies is Samarco, a mining company that Aperam recently partnered with on a project to enable the company’s large-scale use of bio-oil. The company is committed to enabling a circular economy and reducing its carbon footprint and saw the use of bio-oil as an opportunity to gradually decarbonize its energy mix.
“This pioneering project aligns with the global goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2032 and reflects our commitment to sustainable innovation initiatives,” says Samarco president Rodrigo Vilela. “Sustainability is a responsibility for all of us, and with bio-oil, we are turning this responsibility into concrete action.”
Following a test run at two of its pelletizing plants, the company expects to be able to gradually replace up to 5% of its natural gas use with bio-oil – a shift that would reduce Samarco’s scope 1 emissions by 1 – 2 kg CO2 per ton of dry ore (tms). Considering that natural gas accounts for over 20 kg CO2/tms of the 77 kg CO2/tms emitted, this change marks a significant step towards Samarco’s decarbonization.
Raising the Bar on Sustainability
The successful project exemplifies how, through a relentless focus on research, innovation and collaboration, Aperam continues to raise the bar on sustainability.
“Committed to performance and customer satisfaction, Aperam remains a sustainable leader not only in the metallurgical sector but, through the circular use of our co-products, across other industries as well,” concludes Aperam South America president Frederico Ayres Lima.