Siemens Metals Technologies, Austria, and LanzaTech, New Zealand, have signed a ten-year cooperative agreement to develop and market integrated environmental solutions for the steel industry worldwide. The collaboration will utilize fermentation technology developed by LanzaTech to transform carbon-rich off-gases generated by the steel industry into low-carbon bioethanol and other platform chemicals. Siemens and LanzaTech will work together on process integration and optimization, and on the marketing and realization of customer projects. LanzaTech’s microbial gas fermentation technology was successfully demonstrated in joint venture with Baosteel at a 300 ton pre-commercial plant at one of Baosteel’s steel mills outside Shanghai in 2012.
Off-gases from the production of iron and steel contain significant amounts of carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Globally, the iron and steel industry contributes 6.7% to worldwide CO2 emissions. To produce one metric ton of steel, an average of 1.8 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) is emitted. Up to now, these gases have been flared or used to create process heat and electrical energy within the plant.
LanzaTech’s innovative technology uses the off-gases as nutrients and a source of energy for the eco-friendly production of bioethanol or other basic chemicals such as acetic acid, acetone, isopropanol, n-butanol or 2,3-butanediol.
