ArcelorMittal Steel Plant to Convert CO2 into Bioethanol

Steel giant ArcelorMittal SA is spending €150 million ($177 million) to equip its steel plant in Ghent, Belgium, to convert carbon dioxide into bioethanol fuel, starting in mid-2020.

The process, which uses microbes that feed on carbon monoxide to produce bioethanol, was developed by Skokie, Ill.-based LanzaTech Inc. During gas fermentation, carbon-rich industrial gases such as those emitted from blast furnaces during steel production are transformed into commodity fuel and chemical products.

Annual production of bioethanol at ArcelorMittal’s Ghent plant is expected to total 80 million liters (21 million gallons). This is equivalent to the annual CO₂ savings of displacing 100,000 piston-powered cars with electrical vehicles.

The €150 million ($177 million) ArcelorMittal/LanzaTech program is partially funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 program.

Last month, LanzaTech and China’s Shougang Group launched a joint venture to produce ethanol from waste gas at the Jingtang Steel Mill in Hebei Province. The partners say the plant is the first application to convert industrial emissions into ethanol.

The resulting bioethanol matches the performance of sugar-derived ethanol in gasoline-blended fuels, according to the developer. The Jingtang facility has the capacity to produce 46,000 tons (16 million gallons) of ethanol per year.