In Italy, coke producer and supplier Italiana Coke s.r.l. and Paul Wurth S.A, a Luxembourg-headed international engineering company belonging to the SMS Group, have signed an agreement to install a test facility for assessing a newly developed carbon dioxide (CO2) reducing technology at Italiana Coke’s production site in Cairo Montenotte, Savona.
The joint project aims to validate the feasibility of an innovative process developed by Paul Wurth to generate carbon dioxide (CO2) neutral hot syngas from coke plant by-products by dry reforming.
The subsequent utilization of the syngas – a mixture of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen – in the blast furnace allows for decreasing the portion of fossil reductants and thus reducing CO2 emissions in the hot metal production process by an expected 15-20 percent, with competitive operating costs and no CO2 taxation incurred.
I am convinced this is the right direction to achieve significant results in terms of emission abatement. This cooperation is a further important step towards carbon-neutral ironmaking for which Paul Wurth and SMS group aim to be the technological front runners, said Thomas Hansmann, Chief Technology and Operations Officer of Paul Wurth.
Since taking over Eni’s coke production and bulk logistics operations in 1994, Italiana Coke has focused on the growth and continuous improvement of its operational activities.
A 24 MWe cogeneration plant uses the gases derived from the coke production process to provide electricity and steam to the coke plant for internal use with excess power supplied to the grid.
Italiana Coke and Paul Wurth have a long history of cooperation and research. In the frame of our efforts to improve and search for better environmental performances, Italiana Coke is proud to help Paul Wurth pilot an innovative project and test a revolutionary technology, aimed at reducing steel production cycle emissions worldwide, said Paolo Cervetti, Managing Director of Italiana Coke.
