Nieuwe Chinese IJzerproductiemethode Verandert Uren in Seconden

Iron Is Still The King Of Metals

When discussing manufacturing innovation, the attention tends to be concentrated on high tech (robotica, 3D-printen) or on rare metals and materials, like tungsteen, titanium, rhodium, etc. (follow the links for detailed investment reports for each).

Uiteindelijk, hoe belangrijk ze ook zijn, veranderen deze ontwikkelingen niets aan het feit dat het grootste deel van de materialen die we gebruiken veel eenvoudiger is — en geen metaal is zo essentieel voor het moderne leven als ijzer.

IJzer en staal zijn sleutelmaterialen die in enorme hoeveelheden nodig zijn voor infrastructuur (bruggen, gewapend beton, enz.), logistiek en transport (auto’s, spoorwegen, treinen, havens, schepen) en talloze industriële toepassingen (leidingen, opslagtanks, ovens, enz.).

Ijzeroxiden kunnen afkomstig zijn van mineralen zoals hematiet, limoniet, magnetiet, pyriet, goethiet en meer, en ongeveer 90% van al het metaal dat tegenwoordig wordt geraffineerd, is ijzer.

Bron: FTM Machinery

Gelukkig is ijzer zeer overvloedig op aarde (5% van de aardkorst naar gewicht) en in het universum in het algemeen. Het omzetten ervan in een bruikbare vorm kan echter een zeer energie‑intensief en tijdrovend proces zijn. Daarom is het groot nieuws dat Chinese onderzoekers hebben aangekondigd dat ze een methode hebben gevonden om een centrale stap in het ijzerproductieproces te versnellen, met een productiviteitsstijging van 3.600 keer.

How Is Iron Made?

Pure iron is produced from iron-rich ore, which is turned into purer metal through the process of smelting.

Van de primitieve, lage‑temperatuur smelter uit de oudheid werden meer geavanceerde ovens ontwikkeld in de middeleeuwen en in de moderne tijd om ijzer efficiënter te produceren bij temperaturen tot 1.400° tot 1.500° C (2.550° tot 2.700° F). Dit hete, gezuiverde ijzer wordt vaak rechtstreeks naar de staalfabriek gestuurd voor staalproductie, waardoor warmteverlies wordt verminderd.

Zelfs met moderne methoden is het smelten van ijzer in hoogovens een langdurig proces, dat 5-6 uur duurt. Dit maakt het zeer energie‑intensief, omdat de hoge temperatuur gedurende het hele proces moet worden gehandhaafd, meestal met kolen of aardgas.

Dit maakt de productie van ijzer en staal bovendien een grote consument van fossiele brandstoffen en een even grote uitstoter van broeikasgassen. De productie van ijzer en staal is verantwoordelijk voor tot wel 7% van de totale CO2‑uitstoot, meer dan de volledige uitstoot van de EU.

Vandaag is het grootste deel van de wereldwijde staalproductie geconcentreerd in China, dat meer dan 55% van de wereldwijde totale staalproductie levert, gevolgd door India (7% van de totale staalproductie).

Bron: GMK Center

Both China and India mostly use coal to produce iron and steel, making their production processes particularly large emitters of CO2.

Hydrogen To Replace Coal?

In order to replace coal, green steel manufacturing methods have been proposed, with the best candidate being using hydrogen instead of coal to reach the required high temperatures.

The problem is that so far, only very high-quality iron ore can be used with hydrogen. Cheaper ore with lower iron content would be required to compensate for the higher costs of hydrogen compared to coal.

This is true, at least in blast furnaces, but a new process, called flash iron smelting, could be different.

Flash Iron

The process was described by Chinese researcher Professor Zhang Wenhai and his team in a paper published in the peer‑review journal Nonferrous Metals. It claims to complete the iron‑making process in just three to six seconds, compared to the five to six hours required by traditional blast furnaces.

The key idea is that instead of using small pellets of iron ore, it grinds it into a dust of very small particles. This allows for the reaction turning iron ore into pure iron to be near instantaneous, more akin to an explosion than a slow melting of the ore.

This results in a flash oxidation of the particle in a few seconds.

Bron: MDPI

Iron Vortex Lance

Reducing the iron ore into fine particles is not a very difficult step or complex technology. What is a lot more tricky is injecting it into the smelter safely and efficiently.

To solve this issue, Pr. Zhang’s team has developed a vortex lance that can inject 450 tonnes of iron ore particles per hour. A reactor equipped with three such lances produces 7.11 million tonnes of iron annually.

More importantly, this technology is not just a laboratory experiment but is already entering commercial production.

This has not been an overnight success, but the result of long‑term efforts started in 2013 when Zhang’s team obtained a patent for a flash smelting technology capable of directly producing liquid iron. It took ten years to refine the method and scale it up to a pilot plant, demonstrating that safe, large‑scale production was possible.

Bron: News.com.au

It should also be noted that Professor Zhang has experience in changing metallurgical science. He revolutionized copper production with a similar flash smelting technique he applied to copper in the 1970s. He was handed the first prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award in 2000 and elected to the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2003.

China’s Strategic Goals

Carbon Emissions

As China is the global leader in steel making, the over-reliance of this process on coal has hindered the country’s ambitions to reduce carbon emissions. It also makes its industry highly reliant on imported coal, especially from Australia.

So, China has a strong incentive to develop alternative methods and deploy them quickly, especially if it allows the use of hydrogen instead. Combined with its role as a leader in green energy production, China is in a good place to become the leader in green steel production.

Reshaping Global Iron Markets?

Another thing that makes this method unique is that it works very well for low or medium‑yield ores. This could completely reshape the global iron markets.

Currently, high‑quality, iron‑rich ore from Australia is the primary supply of iron to Chinese smelters and steel plants.

Bron: S&P Global

If flash iron smelting with hydrogen is used to replace coal‑powered blast furnaces, the domestic supply of lower‑quality iron ore could be used instead.

De relatie tussen China en Australië is de afgelopen tien jaar gestaag verslechterd, despite China’s dependence on Australian iron. For example, in the 2020 trade war with Australia, ijzer werd uitgesloten van sancties due to the country’s high dependence on it. So, solving this vulnerability could be seen as a strategic imperative by China, regardless of the economic calculus.

Iron Mining Company

A decrease in iron smelting costs and carbon emissions could make steel an even more popular material than it is today. When it comes to mining, scale and good geology are everything, with low production costs allowing for higher profits and safety during downturns, which are inevitable in commodity markets.

The Brazilian company Vale is the largest producer of iron and nickel in the world, met een totaal van 323-330 miljoen ton geproduceerd in 2024.

The company is also a producer of metals relevant to the “energy transitions,” like copper. While these metals might be important for the future, for now, iron is the core of the company.

The company used to be more diversified but re‑centered around iron in recent years, having divested $2B worth of various other metal mines and other commodities like palm oil.

Bron: Vale

Large Asset Base

Vale qualifies as a medium‑sized utility company, operating its own railroad, trains, harbors, and ships to transport ore from extraction to delivery to customers.

It also produces a lot of its own energy, as it operates in remote regions and cannot depend on the Brazilian government to do its job properly, especially considering its massive power requirements.

This was commonly done with hydropower, as the business of mining is not so different from hydropower construction (earthworks, digging rock with explosives, massive amounts of concrete, heavy machinery, mega construction projects, managing rain, etc.).

These infrastructures are complemented by the company’s R&D center, laboratories, hundreds of geologists, training centers, etc.

Getting Over Past Liabilities

One big risk with a massive mining company like Vale is a massive accident causing massive damage.

This is what happened in 2015, with a massive disaster that occurred after a Vale‑built dam collapsed. And then a similar incident in 2019.

The flooding caused Brazil’s worst environmental disaster to date, verloor 19 mensen, en trof 39 gemeenten in twee staten, die ze begraven in mijnbouwafvalproducten.

Since then, a lot of similar dams have been repaired and/or improved to avoid another catastrophe during the rainy season.

The company has also changed how it operates, having invested $2.5B in four filtration plants to create dry tailing (the crushed rock, dust, and mud) instead of wet tailing requiring dams. So in the future, iron mining activity will no longer create the sort of waste that requires dams at all.

The company is also actively repairing its image, insisting on how its mining activity, combined with a large natural reserve financed by the company, is a major contributor in preserving the Brazilian rainforest, others turned into pasturelands in the region.

Bron: Vale

Over het geheel genomen overwint Vale nu zijn eerdere problemen met ecologische rampen en wordt het een van Brazilië’s meest waardevolle activa en een centrale leverancier van ijzer aan de wereld, en in het bijzonder aan China, een land waarmee Brazilië via het BRICS‑handelsnetwerk diepere banden smeedt.