BENGALURU: A joint India–Australia research effort has demonstrated, for the first time, that agricultural waste can partly replace coal in steelmaking, offering a potential pathway to reduce emissions from one of the country’s most carbon-intensive industries.Scientists from Australia’s national science agency, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have completed a large-scale trial using rice husk pellets to produce fuel gas for ironmaking, CSIRO said in a statement issued Tuesday. The experiment was carried out at a steel plant operated by Jindal Steel in Odisha. Steel production relies heavily on coal to generate the heat and gases needed to convert iron ore into metal. The process is energy intensive and accounts for roughly one-tenth of global carbon emissions.In the trial, researchers blended 5% and 10% rice husk pellets into industrial gasifiers normally fed with coal. The biomass was converted into syngas, a mixture of gases used to reduce iron ore during steel production. According to the research team, the plant maintained stable output and performance during the tests.India’s steel sector is expanding rapidly. Production capacity is expected to double to about 300 million tonnes by 2030 and rise further to 500 million tonnes by 2047. At present, the sector emits about 2.55 tonnes of CO₂ for every tonne of steel produced, higher than the global average of roughly 1.8 tonnes.Much of the country’s steel output comes from coal-based direct reduced iron units, particularly small rotary kiln facilities. Because of this reliance on coal, the sector accounts for about 12% of India’s total greenhouse gas emissions.Researchers say agricultural waste could offer a partial solution. India generates large quantities of crop residues each year, including rice husk and straw. Much of it is often burned in fields, contributing to air pollution.“The project forms part of the India–Australia Green Steel Research Partnership, supported by the Australian government. The team also worked with Bengaluru-based steel technology firm RESCONS Solutions,” the statement read.Scientists estimate that if biomass were widely used in place of coal across suitable facilities, emissions from India’s steel sector could fall by as much as 50 per cent, equivalent to around 357 million tonnes of CO₂ annually.“To help industry evaluate the idea, the researchers have also developed an online map that links steel plants across India with nearby sources of agricultural biomass. The next phase of the work will focus on testing the approach in smaller regional steel plants and assessing other forms of agricultural waste that could be used as fuel,” the statement added.
