JAB
2024-02-08 02:12:43 UTC
An electrifying new ironmaking method could slash carbon emissions
By extracting metallic iron without producing carbon dioxide, the new
process could even be carbon negative, at least for part of the
world's iron production
Making iron, the main ingredient of steel, takes a toll on Earth's
delicate atmosphere, producing 8% of all global greenhouse gas
emissions. Now, a team of chemists has come up with a way to make the
business much more eco-friendly. By using electricity to convert iron
ore and salt water into metallic iron and other industrially useful
chemicals, researchers report today in Joule that their approach is
cost effective, works well with electricity provided by wind and solar
farms, and could even be carbon negative, consuming more carbon
dioxide (CO2) than it produces.
"It's a very clever approach," says Karthish Manthiram, a chemical
engineer at the California Institute of Technology who was not
involved with the study. He notes that the process has other
advantages, including working at a low temperature, and being amenable
to working with intermittent renewable electricity. "It checks all the
boxes."
https://www.science.org/content/article/electrifying-new-ironmaking-method-could-slash-carbon-emissions
By extracting metallic iron without producing carbon dioxide, the new
process could even be carbon negative, at least for part of the
world's iron production
Making iron, the main ingredient of steel, takes a toll on Earth's
delicate atmosphere, producing 8% of all global greenhouse gas
emissions. Now, a team of chemists has come up with a way to make the
business much more eco-friendly. By using electricity to convert iron
ore and salt water into metallic iron and other industrially useful
chemicals, researchers report today in Joule that their approach is
cost effective, works well with electricity provided by wind and solar
farms, and could even be carbon negative, consuming more carbon
dioxide (CO2) than it produces.
"It's a very clever approach," says Karthish Manthiram, a chemical
engineer at the California Institute of Technology who was not
involved with the study. He notes that the process has other
advantages, including working at a low temperature, and being amenable
to working with intermittent renewable electricity. "It checks all the
boxes."
https://www.science.org/content/article/electrifying-new-ironmaking-method-could-slash-carbon-emissions