SMS Group’s coke making and blast furnace specialist subsidiary Paul Wurth has joined forces with Germany’s Dillinger Saarstahl (Dillinger) to develop dry-reforming technology for coke oven gas.
Paul Wurth will supply blast furnace gas at a pilot facility, ROGESA in Dillingen for the steelmakers. The companies aim to test the technology by H2 2021.
In dry-reforming, coke oven gas is mixed with blast furnace gas and gets converted into hot reducing gas or syngas, which is injected into a blast furnace at shaft level. This process for steelmaking can reduce carbon emissions by 12pc.
Production of syngas will take place in three phases, noted Paul Wurth and SMS Group on Apr 29. Small-scale and mass industrial production will take place once the first phase of testing is complete. Both Dillinger and Saarstahl are planning to seek additional funding in the future to scale up dry reforming technology operations.
Dillinger and Saarstahl also have a fully operational hydrogen-based plant in Dillingen that commenced production of sustainable steel in August last year.