Energy balances as a basis for LCA

The course is taught every other year, and the next semester will be autumn 2027.

The course encompass chemical, metallurgical and electrical relations in the production of ferroalloys and related products. Raw materials (natural and recycled) and their pre-treatment as well as refining (e.g.decarburisation) are included. Sustainable production is related to the thermodynamics and kinetics of the reduction processes. Material and energy balances are demonstrated as the most important factor to reach optimal resource utilisation. Review of fundamental thermodynamic analysis of production of steel, ferroalloys and metallurgical grade Si is important. Function and operation of reduction furnaces with systems for gas cleaning and energy recovery. The project assignment is either based on laboratory work or review-project.

After successful completion of this course the student will be able to: - Explain the sustainability issues for the industrial production of metals. They will understand the fundamental thermodynamic and phase relations pertaining to production of ferroalloys, iron and steel - Account for the various unit processes in plants for iron, steel and ferroalloy production regarding energy use (chemical/electric) and how energy is supplied/removed from process variants - Perform basic calculations (Thermodynamic limitations and simple kinetics) - Develop mass and energy balances for pyrometallurgical processes - Identify and describe alternative and feasible production routes for metals and alloys from given raw materials (ores, reduction agents, slagformers, etc.) - Choose necessary actions for changes and/or improvments of process design and operation in order to meet changes in constraints for a given production method - Define simplifying calculation assumptions including validation and verification after the calculation is performed

Lectures, calculation exercises and project work. The main part of the exercises will be done using the thermodynamic software HSC, and training of HSC will be an important part of the course. The lectures will be presented during 2 seminars (2 seminars over 2 whole days) in addition to some individual lectures. The course ends in October. The stimated work effort is 200 hours.