Iron as a zero-carbon sustainable fuel for industrial heat and remote power

按需获得清洁和可靠的能源对于加拿大实现其气候变化目标和向繁荣的低碳社会过渡至关重要。麦吉尔的替代燃料实验室领导了一项国际研究和开发工作，重点是使用金属，特别是铁和铝，作为工业加热和远程电力应用的无碳和可回收燃料。通过之前的NSERC战略资助，我们的团队开发了一种新型的铁燃料燃烧器和产品收集系统，并提交了临时专利申请来保护这一知识产权。我们已经证明，我们可以有效地稳定湍急的纯铁火焰，有效地捕获氧化铁燃烧产物，而不会产生可测量的损失或污染物排放，同时产生高品位的热。下一步是证明燃料可以燃烧、捕获、回收和再次燃烧，关闭环路以证明铁可以是一种可持续的循环燃料，在许多循环中不会损失。为了实现这些目标，该项目汇集了麦吉尔的五名合作调查员和四家工业合作伙伴：力拓钢铁钛公司、Hoeganaes Corp.、塔塔钢铁公司和AgnicoEagle。力拓、塔塔钢铁和Hoeganaes是铁粉供应商，正在为其铁粉寻找新的市场，作为可回收燃料，并将供应铁粉并回收燃烧的氧化铁产品，以证明铁燃料可以在闭路循环中使用。AgnicoEagle经营偏远的矿山，并已确定铁燃料是远程供热和发电的潜在选择，使它们能够实现其脱碳目标；在该项目中，他们将帮助进行生命周期和技术经济分析，以建立进一步投资的商业案例。通过这些合作，项目中产生的知识将有效地转移到关键决策者手中，帮助我们调动知识和转让技术。我们计划通过一家剥离出来的公司扩大这项技术的规模，该公司将在未来5年将铁作为一种无碳燃料商业化，为我们的合作伙伴和加拿大社会带来经济和环境效益。

On demand access to clean and reliable energy is essential to Canada meeting its climate change targets and transitioning to a prosperous low-carbon society. The Alternative Fuels Laboratory at McGill has led an international research and development effort focused on the use of metals, specifically iron and aluminum, as carbon-free and recyclable fuels for industrial heating and remote power applications. Through a previous NSERC Strategic grant, our team developed a novel iron-fuelled burner and product collection system, and filed a provisional patent application to protect this intellectual property. We have proven that we can efficiently stabilize a turbulent pure-iron flame and effectively capture the iron-oxide combustion products without measurable loss or pollutant emissions, while generating high-grade heat. The next step is to demonstrate that the fuel can be burned, captured, recycled, and burned again, closing the loop to prove that iron can be a sustainable circular fuel without loss over many cycles. To achieve these goals, this project brings together five co-investigators at McGill and four industrial partners: Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium, Hoeganaes Corp., Tata Steel, and AgnicoEagle. Rio Tinto, Tata Steel, and Hoeganaes are iron powder suppliers looking for new markets for their iron powders as a recyclable fuel, and will supply iron powder and recycle the burned iron oxide products, to demonstrate that the iron fuel can be used in a closed loop. AgnicoEagle operates remote mines and has identified iron fuel as a potential option for remote heat and power that will enable them to achieve their decarbonization targets; within this project they will help with the life-cycle and techno-economic analyses to build the business case for further investment. Through these collaborations, the knowledge generated in the project will be effectively transferred to key decision makers that can help us mobilize the knowledge and transfer the technology. We plan to scale-up the technology through a spinoff company that will commercialize iron as a carbon-free fuel for Canadian industry over the next 5 years, bringing economic and environmental benefits to our partners and Canadian society.