Life cycle assessment of sintering process for carbon footprint and cost reduction: A comparative study for coke and biomass-derived sintering process

Iron ore sintering is an energy-intensive process that converts iron ore fines into an agglomerated porous mass. Sintering plays a prominent pre-processing role in blast furnace smelting operations because of its unsuitability with finer ores. In recent years, the conventional sintering method using coke/coal is being gradually discarded due to environmental degradation. As a result, there is a need for extensive research on sustainable technologies and cleaner fuel sources with lesser carbon footprints. The recent trend is towards the use of biomass. Although biomass is carbon neutral and environmentally friendly energy source, its energy value is comparatively low and inferior. Nevertheless, biomass is emerging to be a viable alternative. In the present study, life cycle assessment has been carried out between the conventional and eco-friendly method of sintering to reveal comparative economic and environmental aspects. The assessment witnessed a 10% reduction in the production cost which is offered with biomass incorporation. Moreover, biomass addition ensured a reduction in emissive indices by 6% for COx, 15.25% for NOx and 20.79% for SOx. Although these reported values are only for the 30% biomass replacement and are subject to enhance with higher biomass proportions.