Posted on 17 Aug 2011
Global industrial solutions company Harsco Corp and clean energy technology firm LanzaTech have entered into a strategic alliance to promote the capture and reuse of steel mill flue gases "as an environmentally significant" energy source. LanzaTech, founded in New Zealand in 2005, is the first company to successfully demonstrate production of fuel-grade ethanol from steel mill off-gases, Steel Business Briefing understands.
"Its proprietary biotechnologies convert the waste gases emitted by blast furnace, coke oven and BOF operations into low-cost, zero-carbon ethanol, thereby significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions while also providing a commercially scalable alternative to traditional ethanol production and its heavy reliance on agricultural food crops," the companies said in a statement. "The agreement with Harsco will now accelerate the introduction of this technology to steelmaking customers throughout the Americas, Europe and selected emerging markets." The two companies "will jointly develop plans to present the LanzaTech biotechnology to Harsco's major mill customers and explore potential business relationships for installing and operating commercial facilities at selected sites throughout the world." A spokesman for Camp Hill, Pennsylvania-based Harsco did not immediately respond to SBB's request for comment regarding which mills might be approached about installing the facilities. "Its proprietary biotechnologies convert the waste gases emitted by blast furnace, coke oven and BOF operations into low-cost, zero-carbon ethanol, thereby significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions while also providing a commercially scalable alternative to traditional ethanol production and its heavy reliance on agricultural food crops," the companies said in a statement. "The agreement with Harsco will now accelerate the introduction of this technology to steelmaking customers throughout the Americas, Europe and selected emerging markets." The two companies "will jointly develop plans to present the LanzaTech biotechnology to Harsco's major mill customers and explore potential business relationships for installing and operating commercial facilities at selected sites throughout the world." A spokesman for Camp Hill, Pennsylvania-based Harsco did not immediately respond to SBB's request for comment regarding which mills might be approached about installing the facilities.
