Near carbon neutral carbothermal pyrometallurgy of green energy materials

加拿大承诺将其二氧化碳当量(二氧化碳当量)排放量从2019年的730公吨二氧化碳当量大幅减少到2030年的503公吨二氧化碳当量。然而，必须强调实现这一二氧化碳目标的困难。事实上，近年来，加拿大的二氧化碳当量排放量没有显著变化(2015年=723公吨二氧化碳当量，2010年=703公吨二氧化碳当量，2005年=739公吨二氧化碳当量)。因此，本发现计划提出了新的二氧化碳减排解决方案，以支持加拿大高温冶金(火法冶金)部门，该部门占加拿大2019年二氧化碳当量预算的3.4%。碳热火法利用碳作为还原剂和能源转化固体氧化物。因此，CP是众所周知的二氧化碳密集型污染物。例如，2021年，钢铁CP占全球二氧化碳当量排放量的7%。已经提出了替代的非碳热冶金(例如，氢冶金)。然而，这些仍然受到重大技术壁垒、高成本和不确定的净二氧化碳排放经济的阻碍。因此，该探索计划将探索研究的长期目标(LTG)，其建议的解决方案很容易与现有的碳热冶炼厂兼容，即近碳中性碳热火法冶金工艺(nCnC-P2)。为了关注其对环境的影响，LTGs将致力于降低通过CP生产的绿色能源材料的二氧化碳足迹。-LTG A.了解如何使用ncnc-P2将二氧化碳排放转化为绿色能源材料。-LTG B.了解如何在现有的碳热火法冶金技术中用生物源碳前体(BCP)取代传统的碳前体(TCP)，以创造用于绿色能源材料生产的创新nCnC-P2。为了在这些长期目标方面取得进展，提出了四个短期目标(STO)。对于LTG A：-STO A.1。开发一种用于将二氧化碳转化为锂离子电池(Lib)负极石墨炭的ncnc-P2。对于LTG B：-STO B.1。开发一种以BCP为原料合成碳化硅的nCnC-P2。-STO B.2。开发利用BCP回收LiB石墨的ncnc-P2。-STO B.3.开发利用BCP回收铜冶炼炉渣的ncnc-P2工艺。为了量化拟议的STO对工业和环境的潜在(短期)影响，将使用的关键指标将是开发的ncnc-P2的二氧化碳足迹。所有STO都将致力于提出与报告的工业价值相比减少材料二氧化碳足迹的建议。如果STO A.1成功(长期影响)，目前的二氧化碳减排路线可以略微调整，以合成所有其他等级的石墨(例如，太阳能、核能、冶金)。如果STO B.1成功，由于碳化硅碳热冶金的还原机理可与铁氧化物的碳热还原相媲美，因此TCP-to-BCP溶液可转化为铁CP的脱碳。如果STO B.2和STO B.3成功，废锂石墨和铜渣将成为可回收材料。因此，它们的内在价值将不再被挥霍。

Canada has committed to significantly reduce its CO2 equivalent (CO2 eq) emissions from 730 Mt CO2 eq in 2019 to 503 Mt CO2 eq in 2030. However, the difficulty to meet this CO2 goal must be highlighted. Indeed, in recent years, Canadian CO2 eq emissions have not changed significantly (2015 = 723 Mt CO2 eq, 2010 = 703 Mt CO2 eq, 2005 = 739 Mt CO2 eq). Thus, the present Discovery program proposes novel CO2 mitigating solutions to support the Canadian high temperature metallurgy (pyrometallurgy) sector, which accounted for 3.4% of Canada 2019 CO2 eq budget. Carbothermal pyrometallurgy (CP) converts solid-state oxides using carbon as both the reducing agent and energy source. Thus, CP is notoriously CO2 intensive. For example, in 2021, steel and iron CP accounted for 7% of the world CO2 eq emissions. Alternative non-carbothermal metallurgies (e.g., hydrogen metallurgy) have been proposed. However, these remain hindered by significant technological barriers, high costs, and uncertain net CO2 economies. Hence, this Discovery program will explore long-term goals (LTGs) of research whose proposed solutions are readily compatible with existing carbothermal smelters i.e., near carbon neutral carbothermal pyrometallurgical processes (nCNC-P2). To focus its environmental impact,  LTGs will aim to lower the CO2 footprint of green energy materials produced through CP. -LTG A. Understand how to convert CO2 emissions to green energy materials using nCNC-P2. -LTG B. Understand how to replace traditional carbon precursors (TCPs) with biosourced carbon precursors (BCPs) in existing carbothermal pyrometallurgical technologies to create innovative nCNC-P2 for green energy materials production. To progress on these LTGs, four short-term objectives (STOs) are proposed. For LTG A: -STO A.1. Develop a nCNC-P2 for the conversion of CO2 to lithium-ion battery (LiB) anode graphitic carbons. For LTG B: -STO B.1. Develop a nCNC-P2 to synthesise silicon carbide from BCPs. -STO B.2. Develop a nCNC-P2 for the recycling of LiB graphite using BCPs. -STO B.3. Develop a nCNC-P2 recycling process for copper smelting slag using BCPs. To quantify the potential (short-term) industrial and environmental impacts of the proposed STOs, the key metric to be used will be the CO2 footprint of the developed nCNC-P2. All STOs will aim to propose reduced materials CO2 footprint relative to reported industrial values. If STO A.1 is successful (long-term impact), the present CO2 reduction route could be slightly adjusted to synthesise all other graphite grades (e.g., solar energy, nuclear, metallurgical). If STO B.1 is successful, the TCP-to-BCP solution could be translated to iron CP decarbonisation as SiC carbothermal metallurgy is comparable in its reduction mechanism to the carbothermal reduction of iron oxides. If STO B.2 and STO B.3 are successful, waste LiB graphite and copper slags would become recyclable materials. Their inherent value would thus no longer be squandered.