Sustainability enhancement of the coal based direct reduction of iron premised on a rotary kiln

Abstract

Sustainability of steel manufacturing industries in most under developing economies around the globe has become an issue of concern bothering around both environmental and systemic sustainability. The principles of circular economy (CE) in systems thinking (ST) have been proposed in this paper as a measure towards augmenting the sustainability of coal based Direct Reduction of Iron (DRI) process. The DRI approach for steel production is preferred for economic reasons in most low-income countries, even though it is an inevitably dirty process, emitting gaseous and solid wastes in large quantities. The pollution level of the DRI process violates the United Nations sustainable development goal no. 13 which focuses on climate action. The concept of CE in ST has been presented as a comprehensive measure that is capable of reducing and aiding with the recovery of wastes in the DRI process through effective tracing, tracking and control within an integrated network.