Wastes including plastic and coffee grounds now join rubber tyres as alternative sources of coke and coal as previously vital ingredients as carbon sources for steel making, a research project undertaken at Newcastle steel manufacturer Molycop has shown.
Electric arc furnace at UNSW SMaRT Centre partner Molycop's Newcastle facility.
Researchers working on the University of NSW Green Steel technology project demonstrated that the waste materials can provide the element hydrogen, which vastly improves the efficiency and energy required for the manufacturing process.