Green H2 and circular bio-coal from biowaste for cost-competitive sustainable Steel (H2STEEL)

实现欧盟委员会制定的净零排放目标是一项巨大的挑战，如果不重新思考传统路线（材料和能源链），就无法实现。H2STEEL项目提出了一种创新的、颠覆性的解决方案，将湿废物流转化为绿色的氢、碳和关键原材料。提出的创新解决方案旨在支持最难以减弱的工业部门之一的绿色转型：冶金。特别是H2STEEL通过创新的催化热解与化学浸出相结合的方式，将生物废弃物和生物ch4转化，将生物废弃物充分转化为绿色氢、绿色碳（生物煤），并回收关键（无机）原料。生物甲烷热解是在一个全新的、特别设计的、概念验证的反应器中进行的，反应器的床层是由预碳化的生物废物制成的生物煤，即在非常便宜的全碳基催化剂上进行的，这种催化剂对温度和污染物具有很强的抵抗力：这将提高甲烷裂解步骤产生绿色氢的效率。由于甲烷裂解产生的新的固体碳在生物煤表面产生，从而降低了催化剂的性能，因此在反应器中插入新的生物煤催化剂，同时去除废生物煤。由于其成本低，并且考虑到废催化剂的市场价值，催化剂的持续更新是可行的。这种完全以生物碳为基础的材料，随后被用于炼钢，作为冶金（化石）焦炭的替代品，产生温室气体净减少，符合欧盟排放交易计划（EU ETS）的要求。因此，废催化剂的再生变得不必要，因为生物煤用于下游工艺，避免了大气中二氧化碳的释放（就像在SMR工艺或大多数催化剂再生步骤中发生的那样）。

The achievement of the Net-zero emissions target established by the European Commission is huge challenge which could not be achieved without re-thinking the conventional route (materials and energy chains). H2STEEL project proposes an innovative, disruptive solution to convert wet waste streams into green Hydrogen, Carbon and Critical Raw Materials. The proposed innovative solution aims at supporting the green transition of one of the most hard-to-abate industrial sector: metallurgy. In particular, H2STEEL combines the conversion of biowaste and bioCH4 through innovative catalyzed pyrolysis with chemical leaching, to fully convert biowastes into Green Hydrogen, Green Carbon (bio coal), and recovery of Critical (inorganic) Raw Materials. Biomethane pyrolysis is carried out in a brand new, adhoc designed, and proof-of-concept reactor, on a bed of bio coal made from pre-carbonized biowastes, i.e. on a very cheap fully carbon-based catalyst, very resistant to temperature and contaminants: this will enhance the efficiency of the methane cracking step to generate Green Hydrogen. As new solid carbon from methane cracking is generated on the bio coal surface, thus reducing the performance of the catalyst, new bio coal-catalyst is inserted in the reactor, while the spent bio coal is removed: the continuous renewal of the catalyst is feasible thanks to its low cost, and to the market value of the spent catalyst. This material, fully bio-carbon based, is then used in steelmaking as a substitute of metallurgical (fossil) coke, generating a net GHG reduction, EU ETS (Emission Trading Scheme) compliant. The regeneration of the spent catalyst thus becomes unnecessary, as the bio coal is used in a downstream process, avoiding the release of CO2 in atmosphere (as it happens in the SMR process or in most of the catalysts regeneration steps).