Steel Manufacturing CO2 Emission Calculation Method
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Solution Overview
Problem
The steel industry faces challenges in reducing the overall carbon footprint of steel products, which includes both direct and indirect CO2 emissions, as customers demand lower carbon footprints without compromising physical properties and quality.
Innovation Solution
A method is developed to manufacture steel products in multiple steelmaking units, calculating and minimizing CO2 emissions by considering various raw materials, energy sources, and processes, and selecting the route with the lowest expected emissions, while providing a certificate for the carbon footprint of the manufactured steel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If steel products are manufactured using conventional methods focusing only on direct emissions, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but the overall carbon footprint cannot be sufficiently reduced to meet customer demands
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by calculating and comparing the expected CO2 emissions of different steelmaking units before manufacturing the steel product. The system determines the carbon footprint of each potential manufacturing route in advance, considering all CO2 contributions from raw materials, energy sources, and processes, then selects the unit with the lowest emissions before production begins. This prevents harmful emissions rather than addressing them after the fact.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If multiple steelmaking units are evaluated for CO2 emissions, then carbon footprint reduction is achieved, but calculation complexity and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculations of expected CO2 emissions for each steelmaking unit before the actual manufacturing decision is made. By calculating Eexpi (expected CO2 emissions) in advance for all candidate units and comparing them, the system identifies the optimal low-emission manufacturing route before production starts, avoiding the need for complex real-time monitoring and adjustment during manufacturing.
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive CO2 contribution calculation is performed for all raw materials, energy sources and processes, then accurate carbon footprint determination is achieved, but measurement and calculation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the CO2 footprint calculation into distinct components: CO2 contributions from raw materials (ECOM), energy sources (EEN), and manufacturing processes (EPROC). Each component is calculated separately for every steelmaking unit, then summed to obtain the total expected emissions Eexpi. This segmented approach makes the complex calculation manageable and systematic.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by using the calculated CO2 emission data to inform manufacturing decisions. The emission calculations feed back into the production planning system, allowing the company to select steelmaking units based on their carbon footprint performance. This feedback loop enables continuous improvement of carbon footprint reduction strategies based on actual measurement data.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of manufacturing a steel product into at least two different steelmaking units wherein an expected level of CO2 emissions for the manufacturing of said product in each respective steelmaking unit is calculated.