Rio Tinto commissions carbon capture trial facility for blast furnace gas
Shougang Group and Rio Tinto have successfully built and commissioned an industrial-scale carbon capture trial facility for blast furnace gas at Shougang’s operations in China.
Rio Tinto and Shougang are exploring ways to use the captured CO₂, including converting it into syngas that can be recycled back into the steelmaking process, reducing the amount of new carbon needed to make steel
The facility is designed to capture carbon dioxide (CO₂) contained in blast furnace gas produced during ironmaking. It can process up to 3000 cubic metres of blast furnace gas per hour from Shougang’s Jingtang base and capture up to 10,000 tonnes of CO₂ each year.
The commissioning of the facility forms part of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2022 by Rio Tinto and Shougang, to research and develop technologies that could help reduce carbon emissions across the steel value chain.
The newly built facility follows a smaller-scale blast furnace carbon capture facility commissioned in 2024, as part of the phased technology development program under the partnership. Using waste heat from the existing operations has the potential to further reduce carbon capture costs. Lower costs could support wider deployment of the technology across steel mills, helping to significantly reduce emissions from existing blast furnaces.
Rio Tinto iron ore sales and marketing vice president, Ramona Sim, said, “This milestone is an important step in our 30-year relationship with Shougang and our work together to find practical ways to reduce emissions from steelmaking. We’re committed to working with our customers to find better ways to use Pilbara ores in a lower-carbon future.”
Shougang Group vice president, Zhu Guosen, said, “Through this collaboration with Rio Tinto on carbon capture technology, Shougang has successfully developed and commissioned a 10,000-tonne-scale industrial trial facility. This achievement represents an important milestone for blast furnace decarbonisation and provides valuable demonstration value for reducing emissions in the conventional steelmaking route. The project has effectively addressed key challenges associated with carbon reduction in the blast furnace process and serves as an important example of our commitment to China's dual-carbon goals and the advancement of low-carbon, green development. Looking ahead, we will continue to optimise the technology, advance the utilisation of captured carbon resources, and contribute to the green and low-carbon transformation of the steel industry.”
The facility has been integrated into Shougang’s ironmaking production system and will operate long-term for trial and research purposes. Rio Tinto and Shougang are also exploring ways to use the captured CO₂, including converting it into syngas that can be recycled back into the steelmaking process, reducing the amount of new carbon needed to make steel.