Rockwell Automation control technologies and expertise in plant design and engineering are part of Europe’s first full-scale facility to convert CO2 to ethanol for use as fuel in plastic production. The plant, currently in the assembly in Ghent, Belgium for ArcelorMittal, represents an important step toward the circular use of carbon by recycling what was previously a harmful byproduct into a new bio-ethanol commodity called “Steelanol.”
Steelanol
ArcelorMittal is a global leader in the steelmaking sector with operations in 17 countries. By the time its Steelanol plant, which also uses technologies from LanzaTech, reaches full production capacity in 2023, it is expected to produce 64,000 metric tons of ethanol per year with no discharge to the environment.
Funding for the Ghent Steelanol plant was obtained from various sources, including the Flemish government and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. ArcelorMittal plans to implement best practices at its other operations from the new plant.
