A steely transition

As part of the 2015 Paris Agreement to help reduce global temperature by 1.5 degree in the years to come, India committed itself to cut emissions intensity per unit of GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030. And working towards the national climate change priorities, the Indian steel industry has already started its transition towards a low-carbon growth.

There is a huge difference between how the steel industry functioned a few decades ago as compared with the present. With most of the expansion of the industry yet to happen, India has had the benefit of adopting the latest clean and energy efficient technologies to make its transition to ‘sustainable manufacturing’. The industry has the added advantage of steel being a 100 per cent recyclable product which is fundamental to achieving a sustainable circular economy where the society reduces the burden on nature for creating a better life for everyone on the planet.

The World Steel Association Life Cycle Assessment report suggests that for every tonne of steel scrap used to make new steel, we save over 1,400 kg of iron ore, 740 kg of coal and 120 kg of limestone. Re-manufacturing plays a crucial role. Steel’s strength and durability enables long product life spans. For example, in Germany, 116 wind turbines with a total rated capacity of 56 MW were dismantled and replaced by 80 turbines with a total rated capacity of 183 MW in 2010. Resource-intensive industries such as steel are looking at re-manufacturing in a big way to provide green solutions to tide over various challenges. The industry is focusing on ensuring zero waste.

On an average, the production of one tonne of steel results in 200-400 kg of by-products. These include slag, dust, sludge and other materials. By-products today are an integral part of the business and its recycling provides significant benefits like reduction of landfill waste, decrease in carbon dioxide emissions and preservation of natural capital.

Recognising the need for energy efficiency and in order to ensure sustainability, the steel industry has invested in research and technology to create new grades of advanced and ultra-high-strength products. Over time, this has helped reduce the energy consumption per tonne by 60 per cent and weight of many steel applications by 40 per cent. Over time and with improved technology and adoption of global best practices, the steel industry has considerably reduced its environmental footprint.

Another important aspect of ensuring sustainable manufacturing is reducing our water footprint. Water is used throughout the steel-making process in the cooling operations, for descaling and dust scrubbing. Even though the steel industry uses large quantities of water, very little of that water is consumed and most of it is reused or returned to source. Global best practices such as ‘zero effluent discharge’, the use of cyanide bacteria for treatment of waste water in plants and on-site power generation is also being incorporated by the industry.

While the steel industry is working relentlessly to innovate and apply energy efficient technologies, it is imperative that this is supported by a robust policy framework that incentivises a culture of research and development.

The writer is MD, Tata Steel India and SEA

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