Why do we still mine coal? Coal mining, from what I hear, is extremely destructive, not only to the environment, but to the body. Compare that to charcoal, and while it’s still pretty dirty, it doesn’t require smacking a pick onto a rock that spits toxic dust into your face. The process to make charociaI is also inherently contained, as it requires you keep the wood in a small space with no air flow. I mean, looking online, I barely see any differences between coal and charcoal. The most I see was one Reddit comment saying “coal burns longer.”
Steelmaking requires huge amounts of coal. Early British steel industry used charcoal and deforested most of the island in the process, and now we produce several orders of magnitude more steel globally. We simply don’t have enough forests.
Let me guess, it’s one of those situations where there is there is a better method available but nobody has invested in the infrastructure to use this new method?
Steel production emits something like 1.4 tons of CO2 per 1 ton of steel made. The steel industry is responsible for about 8% of global carbon emissions. Not only for the high temperatures required but because carbon is used to reduce iron ore to pure iron, and because carbon is a component of steel alloy. Liquid natural gas is used as well, and there’s a “green” version of steel production that uses hydrogen instead of carbon to reduce the iron ore. But today almost all hydrogen is produced from natural gas.
I’ve definitely seen big electric arc furnaces in places like China and Korea, although i don’t know if that’s only for steel recycling. Hopefully with how many fucktillion watts of power China is producing now, they can figure out an all-electric method of steel production.
China developed a flash ironmaking method (3600 times more productive) that removes the dependency on coke
The team also revealed that this new ironmaking technology could improve energy efficiency in China’s steel industry by over one-third, further enhancing its environmental sustainability and cost-effectiveness. It is also expected to enable the steel industry to achieve the coveted goal of ‘near-zero carbon dioxide emissions.’
Only tangentially related.
Why do we still mine coal? Coal mining, from what I hear, is extremely destructive, not only to the environment, but to the body. Compare that to charcoal, and while it’s still pretty dirty, it doesn’t require smacking a pick onto a rock that spits toxic dust into your face. The process to make charociaI is also inherently contained, as it requires you keep the wood in a small space with no air flow. I mean, looking online, I barely see any differences between coal and charcoal. The most I see was one Reddit comment saying “coal burns longer.”
Steelmaking requires huge amounts of coal. Early British steel industry used charcoal and deforested most of the island in the process, and now we produce several orders of magnitude more steel globally. We simply don’t have enough forests.
Good point, comrade. Thanks for bringing it up!
antiquated steel manufacturing processes depend on the use of coke, which is the charcoal of coal
Let me guess, it’s one of those situations where there is there is a better method available but nobody has invested in the infrastructure to use this new method?
Steel production emits something like 1.4 tons of CO2 per 1 ton of steel made. The steel industry is responsible for about 8% of global carbon emissions. Not only for the high temperatures required but because carbon is used to reduce iron ore to pure iron, and because carbon is a component of steel alloy. Liquid natural gas is used as well, and there’s a “green” version of steel production that uses hydrogen instead of carbon to reduce the iron ore. But today almost all hydrogen is produced from natural gas.
Yeah, it’s definitely a fuck.
I was just saying that there might have been a better way to do it but since Porky doesn’t care about “better” it’s never been done, yk?
I’ve definitely seen big electric arc furnaces in places like China and Korea, although i don’t know if that’s only for steel recycling. Hopefully with how many fucktillion watts of power China is producing now, they can figure out an all-electric method of steel production.
China developed a flash ironmaking method (3600 times more productive) that removes the dependency on coke
https://www.techexplorist.com/groundbreaking-ironmaking-breakthrough-china-increases-productivity-3600-times/95169/
China W.