Improvements to the productivity of the hydrogen direct reduction of iron through the application of computational fluid dynamics

R&D Focus Areas:
Industrial heat processes

Lead Organisation:
Swinburne University of Technology

Partners:
Not Applicable

Status:
Active

Start date:
May 2023

Completion date:
August 2026

Key contacts:
Gordon Chakaodza – Director, Victorian Hydrogen Hub: gchakaodza@swin.edu.au
Victorian Hydrogen Hub (VH2): vichydrogenhub@swin.edu.au
Jamal Naser, Project Primary Supervisor: jnaser@swin.edu.au
Jan Wadowski, Project Key Researcher: jwadowski@swin.edu.au

Funding:
Victorian Government – Victorian Hydrogen Hub

Project total cost:
AUD$130,000

Project summary description:
The global iron and steel industry contributes 7% of the global direct carbon dioxide emissions, which is one of the largest contributions from any single industrial sector. A substantial component of these emissions come from the production of iron, where raw iron ore is stripped of its oxides in the production of crude iron. Today, the coal coke-based blast furnace process dominates the industry, with over 70% of all crude iron being produced through this process.

An alternative approach that has the potential to replace the blast furnace is the direct reduction of iron process. In this process, the iron particles react with a reductant gas, stripping the oxides from the raw material. By using green hydrogen as the reducing gas, the iron reduction process has the potential to be carbon neutral. However, the process requires further development to improve process efficiency and throughput before it would be a viable replacement.

This project aims to numerically simulate the direct reduction of iron process through the application of computational fluid dynamics. The developed simulations will broaden our understanding of this complex industrial process and highlight factors that could contribute to its successful implementation.

Related publications and key links:
None to date

Higher degree studies supported:
One PhD student at Swinburne University of Technology is supported by this project.

 

September 2024