Impact of upscaling on the environmental impacts of Hydrogen Plasma Smelting Reduction (HPSR) process

Main Presenter:    Ekinsu Akdogan 

Co-Authors:   Karel Van Acker                                               

It is essential to understand the future environmental impacts of emerging technologies, while still at the design stage, in order to make informed decisions. Projecting the process flow diagram (PFD) of the deployment-ready state of the technology is an essential part of ex-ante prospective LCA methodology. Laboratory or pilot-scale mass-energy balances are often used to project technological readiness level (TRL) 9 PFD, which then forms the basis of LCA modelling, often combined with future technical or socio-economic scenarios. However, the literature lacks discussion of how the upscaling process itself influences the evolution of environmental impacts.

This study investigates the impact of technological upscaling on environmental performance using hydrogen plasma smelting reduction (HPSR) as a case study. HPSR is an emerging steelmaking technology with the potential to reduce direct greenhouse gas emissions by up to 95% compared to conventional routes. Currently at TRL 5, HPSR is being upscaled to TRL 7 within the H2PlasmaRed project. In this study, three distinct LCA models are developed to represent TRL 5, TRL 7, and a projected TRL 9 configuration. The assumptions introduced during each upscaling step are transparently shown, and their influence on the resulting environmental impacts is systematically discussed. By comparing LCA results across TRLs, this study has potential for deriving quantitative rule-of-thumb relationships between technology readiness level and environmental impact, supporting the interpretation of low-TRL LCA results in terms of expected future environmental performance.

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