Sustainable steel production by efficient use of discarded textiles

Important results from the project

Hypothesis: the steel industry´s CO2 footprint can be reduced by replace fossil coal with sustainable coal made from textile waste and simultaneously improve the waste handling. The project goal was to investigate the technical and sustainability potential of using textile waste in the production of sustainable coal for use in the steel industry. The project has confirmed the hypothesis, biochar from textile waste meets the technical and environmental requirements for use in the steel industry.

Expected long term effects

The set impact goal can be achieved to contribute to the transition towards a circular and bio-based economy through the efficient use of end-of-life textiles as a resource in the production of sustainable steel. Through the dissemination of knowledge from the project, the results can also lead to biochar from textile waste being used in applications other than steel production, and that the steel industry can find other waste fractions to source more sustainable coal from.

Approach and implementation

The project was initiated with analysis of three textile materials followed by pyrolysis experiments in lab and pilot scale. Initially, it was planned that all materials would be pyrolyzed in lab scale, but due to too little biochar was produced, tests were carried out in a larger pilot plant, why only one of the textile materials was evaluated. The biochar from the pilot plant was compacted and evaluated for map CO2 reactivity. Finally, the sustainability benefits of the concept were evaluated.