LanzaTech-Shougang joint venture in China earns RSB certification for waste steel mill gas to biofuel process
05 November 2013
Beijing Shougang LanzaTech New Energy Science & Technology Co., Ltd. has earned the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials Services Foundation’s (RSB’s) sustainability certification for the joint venture’s facility that converts waste steel mill gases to sustainable biofuels. LanzTech and the Shougang Group signed the joint venture agreement in September 2011.
The facility, which utilizes LanzaTech’s waste gas fermentation technology (earlier post), is the first RSB-certified biofuel plant in China, and the first of its kind anywhere to receive this key certification for industrial carbon capture and utilization. The RSB is a global sustainability standard and certification system for biofuels and biomaterials production.
Off-gases from the production of iron and steel contain significant amounts of carbon monoxide (CO) and CO2; globally, the iron and steel industry contributes 6.7% to the worldwide CO2 emissions. The production of one tonne of steel results, on average, on the emission of 1.8 tonnes of CO2. These waste gases are usually flared or used to create process heat and electrical energy within the mill.
LanzaTech’s innovative technology instead re-uses the off-gases from converter, coking plant or blast furnace processes as nutrients and a source of energy. The patented biological fermentation process allows steel plant operators to make use of the chemical energy contained in off-gases in the form of CO, CO2 and hydrogen for the production of bioethanol or other basic chemicals such as acetic acid, acetone, isopropanol, n-butanol or 2,3-butanediol.
Earlier this year, LanzaTech and Siemens Metals Technologies signed a 10-year co-operation agreement to develop and market integrated environmental solutions using LanzaTech technology for the steel industry worldwide.
RSB certification shows the joint venture’s commitment to environmental improvements through a novel biological approach that converts waste carbon emissions from steelmaking into biofuels and chemicals. Using the RSB methodology and assumptions based on commercial production, it is estimated that ethanol from the process may reduce life cycle greenhouse gas emissions by 60% compared to petroleum fuels.
In addition, the joint venture partners anticipate that the process will improve local air quality by materially reducing nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate emissions. The technology has the potential of making a significant global impact by reusing up to 150 million tonnes of CO2 from the global steel industry alone.
The use of novel gas fermentation technology to convert industrial waste gases into biofuels aligns with the RSB Principles and Criteria, which go beyond greenhouse gas emissions reductions to focus on economic and social sustainability. By using a widely available waste resource located in areas typically unsuitable for agriculture, LanzaTech’s process reduces overall emissions without negatively impacting the food chain or causing land use changes.
By enabling the production of fuels from available steelmaking waste, Beijing Shougang LanzaTech New Energy Science & Technology Co., Ltd. will help China balance economic growth with sustainability, as well as increase its supply of domestic biofuels.
RSB is a preferred standard of major airlines globally, including LanzaTech’s partner Virgin Atlantic and the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group, an aviation industry-led coalition that is supporting the development, certification, and commercial use of lower carbon renewable fuels, derived from sustainable sources.
The audit was conducted by SCS Global Services (SCS), a leading global provider of third-party environmental and sustainability certification, auditing, testing, and standards development for nearly 30 years.
Resources
LanzaTech Inc. technology at the Beijing Shougang LanzaTech New Energy Science and Technology Co., Ltd. SCS Certificate Code: SCS-RSB/PC-0003
Im interrested to buy biofuels but i won't go to china to do it. There is enouph waste gas here in north-america to do it here also. Im sick and tires to wait and wait for something to happen, wake somebody. Till that time conventionnal petroleum fuels stay at a high price because the lack of competition on the market and i have to put gasoline in my tank each week instead of equivalent biofuels. This website is crap and only talk about dry lab experiments but not the real market that is almost the same as it was in 1973 when oil compagnies , goverment hacked the retail gasoline/diesel market. This had lead to the proliferation of these greencarcongress scientists and journalists hacking our days with the same 'breakthru stories and news' but in reality gasoline prices are still very high.
Posted by: Gorr | 05 November 2013 at 01:09 PM