Tag: electric furnaces

Counting on … day 123

11th July 2024

It is easy to see how plant and animal/ fish resources can be regenerated. But what about metals? 

The iron ore that is mined from the earth was typically formed millions of years ago – the exception being where recent volcanic eruptions release iron-containing magma. So rather than talking about regenerating metals, we should talk about recycling metals. 

Do we recycle as much – indeed all – the metal we discard? 

The FT reports “The UK produces 10mn-11mn tonnes of scrap steel each year of which less than 3mn is recycled. The rest is exported as there is not enough demand from domestic steelmakers.” https://www.ft.com/content/1e273a6d-2683-419c-9567-91281df3c648   However as the UK switches from coal burning blast furnaces to green electric furnaces, which smelt 100% recycled steel, that demand will grow. 

What about newer metals such as lithium, which we have only recently begun to exploit? Even if we did recycle all that we discard, growing demand for lithium still means more raw ore will be mined. Can this be sustained – and sustained in a way that does it exploit people nor damage their land and ecosystems?

“Q. How can I recycle my lithium-ion batteries?

  1. You can take your used batteries to designated collection points such as local authorities, civic amenity sites, retailers, and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) recycling sites that hold an ABTO license.” https://www.cellcycle.co.uk/a-guide-to-lithium-ion-battery-recycling-in-the-uk/

Further reading –

https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20240319-the-most-sustainable-alternatives-to-lithium-batteries

Counting on … day 1.208

3rd November 2023

Another industry highly dependent on energy is the steel industry. Traditionally that has come from coal, but electric furnaces are providing a less environmentally damaging alternative, producing what is termed ‘green steel’. Providing investment to enable British based steel plants to switch is becoming an election issue. The Guardian reported that “Labour is promising to invest £3bn in smoothing the green transition should it win power at the next election. This is substantially more than the offers made by Mr Sunak’s government to Tata Steel and the Chinese Jingye Group, the respective owners of the Port Talbot works and British Steel. As Sir Keir pointed out, with the right kind of backing and vision from Westminster, domestic steel production can become a crucial component in meeting Britain’s clean power targets. That, in turn, will help protect good, well-paid jobs in regions that desperately need them. Britain is set to require more, not less, steel as it builds net zero machinery and infrastructure at pace. That can be a catalyst for industry renewal, if a committed government shows the drive and imagination to make it so. New public procurement rules, for example, could ensure the use of clean British steel in the manufacture of wind turbines, rather than reliance on imports from abroad.” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/24/the-guardian-view-on-labour-and-the-steel-industry-how-to-forge-a-better-future?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Nothing is straight forward. To add to this story, it seems that switching to electric furnaces has to further knock on effects. First the furnace needs fewer people to operate it, so the switch comes with redundancies. We should be aspiring to a just transition to net zero which means we should be looking to create jobs for those facing redundancy. This could involve reskilling people for work in the green sector eg building and installing wind turbines, heat pumps, solar panels, etc. Second – and which is a positive really – electric furnaces don’t produce steel from iron ore but by recycling steel and iron.