First barge filled with CO2-captured made bioethanol in Ghent

At ArcelorMittal in Ghent, the first barge has been left with bioethanol derived from captured CO2. It is the first time that the steel plant’s so-called ‘Steelanol’ plant has provided enough sustainable fuel for inland barges to start using.

The plant, a first for the European steel industry announced in 2019, could eventually reach an annual capacity of 80 million liters of bioethanol, around half of Belgium’s total current demand.

Milestone

For the first shipload, 500 tons of bioethanol were used. These were pumped out through two storage tanks at the ArcelorMittal site in the port of Ghent via an underground pipeline to two larger storage tanks at Carbon Green Logistics. From there, the bioethanol was then loaded onto a barge.

LanzaTech, a company based in Chicago that specializes in carbon recycling, developed the technology in the gas conversion process. It uses microbes that feed on carbon monoxide to produce bioethanol.

“This milestone represents an important step toward treating industrial emissions as raw materials – rather than waste – to profitably support European supply chains in creating everyday products,” said LanzaTech CEO Jennifer Holmgren.

Reducing the ecological footprint

For ArcelorMittal, the Steelanol plant, representing an investment of 180 million euros, is crucial to reducing its ecological footprint. The steel giant, the biggest polluter in Belgium, with 7,14 megatons, or 8% of Belgium’s emissions, has often been in the news in recent weeks as a decision on one of Belgium’s most significant climate investments—one or two electric furnaces and a DRI plant (Direct Reduced Iron)—has been postponed.

However, in addition to initiatives such as Steelanol, other sustainability projects are underway in Ghent. For example, Torero produces bio coal from waste wood. “We are already making significant progress in reducing CO2 emissions with those two projects,” says CEO Manfred Van Vlierberghe.

125,000 tons per year

The Steelanol plant should make it possible to reduce carbon emissions from the Ghent site by 125,000 tons per year. In this way, it contributes to the EU Climate Target Plan 2030 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by the decade’s end.

The ethanol produced can be sold directly on fuel markets or further purified or converted for use in a wide range of consumer products, such as clothing, personal care products, and packaging. The first shipment of bioethanol is being purified and sold to customers such as cosmetics companies and perfume makers, such as Coty.

Transformers are back in operation

Meanwhile, at ArcelorMittal Ghent, all transformers are back in operation. The large steel company’s production had to be shut down last weekend after a power outage.

On Monday, production could be resumed in the raw materials, port and transport departments, the coking plant, sinter plant 1, the blast furnace, and the steel shop. Other departments were started up in a delayed regime. But in the meantime, the third transformer was also put back into operation.