Brazilian miner Vale substitutes biocarbon for coal in steelmaking process

Reuters:

Brazilian miner Vale (VALE3.SA) produced iron ore pellets on an industrial scale for the first time without adding coal, company executives told Reuters on Wednesday, in a major step toward reducing the company's carbon footprint.

In pellet production, coal is usually mixed with iron ore before being heated in plant furnaces. In Vale's pilot project, conducted in February in Minas Gerais state, the so-called biocarbon obtained from biomass replaced traditional coal, an especially dirty fossil fuel.

Industrial heavyweights like Vale face growing pressure to lower harmful emissions that contribute to global warming, from governments, activists as well as investors.

During Vale's pilot, 15,000 tonnes of coal-free pellets were made with 100% biocarbon from certified supplies, according to the company. Biocarbon is a renewable energy source obtained through biomass carbonization, which results in much lower emissions.

Pellets are typically made by crushing and grinding low-grade iron ore and used as a key ingredient to make steel.

Pellet production is the most carbon-intensive process contributing to Vale's direct emissions, with anthracite coal accounting for about half of its greenhouse gas emissions from making pellets, said Rodrigo Araujo, the miner's head of decarbonization projects.

[Marta Nogueira]

More: In a first, Brazil's Vale scrubs coal from iron ore pellets