As the region’s Dendrobium Mine winds down<\/a>, BlueScope needs to make other plans, says David Scott, the steelmaker’s general manager of Manufacturing for Australian Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new berths will bring in lower-emission steelmaking technology, including biochar.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Biochar technology<\/a> uses biomass, such as timber waste, as a substitute for pulverised coal, which reduces carbon emissions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The process involves taking trees that have already been felled and stacked. These trees are then placed into a machine called a pyrolysis unit, which is the size of a shipping container.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The unit superheats the timber, breaking it down in a high-heat, oxygen-free environment. Once this process is completed, the waste from pyrolysis is classified as ‘carbon-reducing material.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n In August 2021<\/a>, BlueScope announced plans to replace its reline and blast furnace at the Port Kemba coal terminal. In October 2021<\/a>, BlueScope and Rio Tinto signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to research and design low-emission processes and technologies for its steel value chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By mid-2022, BlueScope received funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)<\/a> <\/a>to use charcoal produced from biochar to transition from traditional steelmaking to \u2018green steel production\u2019 as part of a commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Partnering with the University of Wollongong and CSIRO, BlueScope has completed a 1,000-tonne biochar trial in its No. 5 Blast Furnace, Mr. Scott said, but the biochar supply chain was challenging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The supply chain does not exist,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We need to continue to explore opportunities to develop a supply chain of biochar in the future, such that we have a viable supply chain that we can bring biochar, potentially, in over our berths.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a series of reports published on the ARENA website<\/a>, the research highlighted that the blended material could successfully bind. However, it noted that further research is still required to assess transport efficiency, handling procedures, and operational changes to BlueScope\u2019s Pulverized Coal Injection (PCI) Plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interest in Biochair is booming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last week the Australian Financial Review reported<\/a> on Kiland\u2019s <\/a>interests in \u2018Nobrac\u2019 \u2013 said to be the world\u2019s largest biochar project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kiland is the company reborn from Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\nResearch shows that pulverized biochar\/coal can successfully bind<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n$400m \u2018rebirth\u2019 for Kiland, formerly Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers<\/h6>\n\n\n\n