November 2022 Volume 4

MATERIALS

Conclusion Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities, which add more CO2 to the atmosphere and influence the ability of forests and soils to remove and store CO2 from the atmosphere. DOE recently announced funding support “to decarbonize the American industrial sector and move the U.S. toward net-zero carbon emissions.” As it relates to the decarbonization of iron and steel, this program seeks proposals “on advancements that enable decarbonization in ore-based or scrap based iron and steelmaking operations, and that convert other existing iron and steelmaking ancillary and thermal processes to use clean fuels or electricity.” Both domestically and internationally, many of the forging industry’s supply chain partners, most notably steel producers, have announced or started initiatives to reduce their carbon footprints. Cleaner melting furnaces such as EAFs are becoming the norm, replacing traditional bast furnace technologies that have a high CO2 footprint. On the electric utility side, there are projects in place whereby electric utilities are generating more of their output through sustainable, non-carbonaceous sources. The forging industry is very much in the midst of global decarbonization efforts, and support of its participating supply chain partners helps. Forgers continually seek any way in which their collective carbon footprints can be minimized. It could be something small, such as the use of energy-efficient LED lighting or something major such as Forge Resources Group’s solar-powered plants (see the sidebar in this article). Hydrogen is getting lots of attention and research funding as a non carbon fuel of the future. There is much to recommend hydrogen as a fuel, most notably that the byproduct of hydrogen combustion is water. Though there are many obstacles to its practical and ubiquitous use, many see hydrogen as the answer to the curtailment of carbonaceous GHGs. Finally, it is not planet Earth that is in potential peril. The planet will take care of itself and respond to GHG warming as nature will dictate. It will orbit the sun regardless of extreme weather or other surface phenomena generated by higher temperatures regardless of their cause. The peril belongs to the humans, fauna and flora that exist upon it. This article has been based on the notion that humankind can do something about the conditions it has, at least partially, nurtured through its industrious, though often negligent, use of Earth’s resources.

establishing a hydrogen fueling station network in the northeast region of the U.S. The company has already announced plans to convert its global fleet of approximately 2,000 trucks to hydrogen fuel cell zero-emission vehicles. Given the decarbonization and examples of hydrogen development around the world, it follows that interest and investment in the use of hydrogen (and hydrogen carriers such as ammonia) are growing rapidly. Nonetheless, hydrogen is neither the immediate nor complete answer to global decarbonization. There are obstacles to its widespread use that must be overcome before hydrogen gains global traction as a fuel source. Research and pilot projects are underway to prove concepts and advance global hydrogen technology and its utility.

Natural gas flame (left) is more visible than the hydrogen flame. Courtesy FNAC.

Author Dean M. Peters has covered metal working markets, including the foundry, welding & industrial gas, heat treatment and forging industries formore than 30 years. His journalistic credentials are enhanced by his BS in metallurgical engineering, MBA in finance and a decade of experience in market research. He can be reached by e-mailing ForgeOpEd@gmail.com.

The lab furnace at Fives North American Combustion, Cleveland, Ohio, uses regenerative burners to burn natural or hydrogen. Courtesy FNAC.

FIA MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2022 43