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ArcelorMittal has ordered 30,000 tons of biocoal for the blast furnaces of its steel plant in Ghent. A relatively sustainable raw material compared to fossil coal, because about 2.5 tonnes less CO2 is emitted per tonne of biocoal. In time, the use of biocoal can be increased to 350,000 tons per year.
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Biocoal is created by torrefying biomass, a process that is carried out by the Dutch company Perpetual Next. The pellets have the same properties as fossil coal and are prepared during a thermal refining process. It is a relatively affordable renewable raw material with a high energy density.
ArcelorMittal Gent is starting a pilot project to partially replace fossil coal. This concerns an initial delivery of 30,000 tons for the blast furnace in Ghent, which can be scaled up to 350,000 tons on an annual basis.
This is necessary to make the polluting industry more sustainable, because 70 percent of the 1.86 billion tons of crude steel that is produced annually comes from blast furnaces that use fossil coal. Steel demand is expected to double by 2050, leading to a massive increase in emissions.
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