SBIR Phase I: Process for Producing Steel using Super-Pure Iron Ore Powder (SPIOP) and Hydrogen

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to enable an environmentally sustainable, reduced-carbon emissions steelmaking process for the iron and steel industry. This industry is responsible for 7%~9% of global carbon emissions. The proposed innovation will produce no solid waste discharge and no greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, the proposed innovation will contribute to the United States and society by reducing the use of precious mineral resources and promoting the use of renewable energy sources. Once this innovation is proved to be successful and scalable, it can be commercialized and massively applied to the American iron and steelmaking industry, with the potential to reduce dependency on steel imports, provide greater resilience to the US manufacturing sector, and reduce the carbon footprint. This SBIR Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of producing reduced-carbon emissions steel using Super-Pure Iron Ore Powder (SPIOP) and hydrogen. Steel is ubiquitous in our lives, from bridges and skyscrapers to cars and consumer goods. Yet, producing steel often comes with a long flow sheet, high cost, waste, and pollution. The proposed innovative process uses hydrogen (H2) to directly reduce SPIOP in a high-temperature hydrogen reduction electric furnace to produce steel. The raw iron ore is first ground to a fine target size range (~0-0.076mm) to dissociate iron ore particles from gangue/impure particles such as quartz and rocks. The dissociated iron ore particles are then purified using the company’s high-intensity iron separation technologies. The purified iron ore concentrate is >99.0% purity. The hydrogen reduction process and direct reduced iron melting process occur in the same furnace, producing a one-step crude steel manufacturing process. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.