IIT Bombay research finds potential pathway to decarbonise steel industry  

IIT Bombay researchers develop green hydrogen catalysts to decarbonize steel industry, reducing CO2 emissions for a sustainable future.

Steel, a vital component of infrastructure and economy, contributes massive environmental damage in its production process as it relies heavily on coal as a fuel. In the steel production process, carbon (primarily sourced from coal and natural gas) reacts with iron ore to produce molten iron, which is then refined to create steel. This process generates vast amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and as a result, the steel industry alone, globally, emits over 3.7 billion metric tons of CO2 every year, contributing to 7–9 % of carbon emissions.  

To combat the issue, a team of researchers, Arnab Dutta, Sukanta Saha, Suhana Karim and Santanu Ghorai, from the Chemistry Department at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) have come up with a set of sustainable catalysts for generating green hydrogen that can be utilised in steel making process via hydrogen-based direct reduction of iron (H-DRI) method. 

In a recent review published in the Journal of Energy and Climate Change, researchers from IIT Bombay, led by Professor Arnab Dutta, have collated the advances made in the field of hydrogen generation for the steel industry and put forward the best way to decarbonise the steel industry using ‘green’ hydrogen. 

The H-DRI process uses hydrogen to convert iron ore into steel instead of coal, releasing water vapour rather than carbon dioxide as a byproduct during the manufacturing process. This makes hydrogen a great option for decarbonising the steel industry. 

Currently, most of the hydrogen comes from processes like steam methane reforming or coal gasification that rely on fossil fuels and still generate CO2.  

To produce hydrogen sustainably, researchers are shifting towards water electrolysis — a process of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity in an electrolyser device. If renewable energy sources like wind or solar can power the electricity, the process becomes emission-free, hence the term ‘green hydrogen’, Mr. Dutta said.  

However, producing green hydrogen at an industrial scale is expensive as it needs considerable infrastructure modifications and effective catalysts that are essential to make the water electrolysis used for hydrogen production effective.