French industrial gas company Air Liquide and the world's largest metallurgical company ArcelorMittal are collaborating on the development of the first commercial scale demonstration plant for capturing carbon gas from steelmaking and processing it into biofuel.
Located at the ArcelorMittal steel mill in Ghent, Belgium, the plant will produce advanced bioethanol from waste gases from the steelmaking process. Enhanced Bioethanol is the second generation of biofuels made from non-food biomass.
Construction of the facility is already underway and the plant is scheduled to be commissioned at the end of 2020. It is expected to produce 80 million liters of bioethanol per year.
Air Liquide Engineering and Construction will provide a technological solution for the purification of off-gases from explosive devices. These gases will then be injected into the bioethanol bioreactor.
Air Liquide said the technology demonstrates its ability to develop sustainable solutions to help its customers in the steel industry reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
François Venet, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Member of the Executive Committee of the Air Liquide Group, overseeing the major industries, engineering and construction, said:
“This new partnership with ArcelorMittal demonstrates our shared commitment to helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is also a vivid illustration of the initiatives that Air Liquide has taken as part of its climate challenge. ”
The project is spearheaded by ArcelorMittal with its carbon recycling partner Lanzatech, and is supported by EU Horizon 2020, the EU's research and innovation program.
