Hyundai Steel to Produce Blast Furnace Fuel from Cattle Manure

Ministry of Agriculture and NongHyup Central Association Sign Agreement on Utilizing Solid Fuel from Cow Manure
Using 1 Ton of Cattle Manure Fuel Reduces 1.5 Tons of Greenhouse Gases

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Hyundai Steel has embarked on applying eco-friendly technology that replaces blast furnace fuel with cow dung.

On the 16th, Hyundai Steel announced that it signed a "Business Agreement for the Production and Promotion of the Use of Solid Fuel from Cow Dung" together with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation to recycle cow dung as solid fuel for blast furnaces.

According to this business agreement, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will provide policy support for the solidification of cow dung fuel and promote quality and usage expansion; the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation will be responsible for the production and supply of solid fuel from cow dung; and Hyundai Steel will handle technical cooperation to expand its use within the steelworks.

Through collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, Hyundai Steel plans to use solid fuel from cow dung as a heat source for drying the refractory lining of the hot metal runner starting in 2022, and after operational testing, will consider using it as blast furnace fuel in the future.

Utilizing 1 ton of solid fuel from cow dung is estimated to recycle 4 tons of livestock waste and reduce 1.5 tons (tCO2) of greenhouse gases, along with additional economic benefits such as substituting imported raw materials.

In South Korea, about 22 million tons of cow dung are generated annually, but most are used as compost, which has caused over 2 million tons (tCO2) of greenhouse gas emissions each year.

The technology to use cow dung as fuel in steelworks was developed by Hyundai Steel starting in 2012, with a patent application filed in 2014, followed by demonstration evaluations the same year to diversify its applications. Commercialization was delayed due to issues with collection, solid fuel production, and economic feasibility, but with active support from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the responsible department, it has borne fruit after nine years.

Andong-il, CEO of Hyundai Steel, said, "We hope to contribute to expanding the use of renewable energy from livestock manure and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as supporting the government's carbon neutrality policy and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' efforts to reduce unused livestock manure."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.