Researchers from India and Australia have developed a new approach that could significantly reduce emissions in steel production by partially replacing coal with agricultural waste. The technology, tested in industrial conditions, demonstrates that biomass-based materials can be integrated into steelmaking processes without compromising performance, offering a potential pathway to decarbonize one of the world’s most carbon-intensive industries.
India-Australia research explores agricultural waste in steelmaking
Australia’s national science research organization CSIRO and the Indian Institute of Science (IIS) have successfully completed research and development on a method to reduce emissions in steelmaking by partially substituting coal with agricultural waste.
According to a joint statement, the approach could be implemented at commercial scale, representing a major step forward in decarbonizing iron and steel production.
The global steel sector is responsible for around one-tenth of global carbon emissions, making emission-reduction technologies increasingly critical for the industry.
Rice husk pellets tested in commercial steel production
During the research, scientists used locally sourced rice husk pellets as a biomass input.
The CSIRO team successfully validated the continuous production of biomass-derived synthesis gas used for iron ore reduction at a large-scale commercial steelworks in India.
The project was carried out in collaboration with Rescon Solutions, a commercial steel innovation company promoted by the IIS Foundation for Science and Innovation and Development.
Full-scale trial conducted at Jindal Steel plant
The research collaboration was supported by funding from the India-Australia Green Steel Research Partnership, backed by the Australian government. A full-scale industrial trial was conducted at Jindal Steel’s mill in Odisha, India.
During the trial, researchers blended five percent and 10 percent rice husk pellets into the plant’s gasifiers. The results showed stable synthetic gas production with no loss of operational performance, demonstrating the feasibility of integrating agricultural waste into existing steelmaking infrastructure.
Why this matters for India’s steel industry
India’s steel industry accounts for around 12 percent of the country’s total emissions. This high emission level is largely due to coal-based steel production processes and a large number of small rotary kiln-based direct reduced iron (DRI) plants. Leveraging India’s abundant agricultural waste resources could provide an effective pathway to lower emissions while improving resource efficiency.
Potential emissions reduction of up to 50 percent
According to the joint statement, if the technology were adopted across India, it could reduce emissions from the steel sector by up to 50 percent. This would amount to approximately 357 million metric tons of CO₂ per year.