Air Liquide to purify offgas from Lanzatech’s ArcelorMittal facility for use in ethanol production

In France, Air Liquide is partnering with ArcelorMittal in the first industrial scale demonstration plant to capture carbon gas from the steelmaking process and recycle it into chemicals, specifically advanced bioethanol.

In this project, Air Liquide Engineering & Construction will provide a technology solution that purifies the offgas coming from the blast furnace. These gases will then be injected into a bioreactor to produce bioethanol. This technology leverages Air Liquide’s extensive know-how and illustrates its capacity to develop sustainable solutions supporting its customers in the steel industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The project is led by the world-leading steel company ArcelorMittal together with its partner Lanzatech, and supported by EU Horizon 2020, the EU research and innovation program. Located at ArcelorMittal’s steel plant in Ghent, Belgium, this first industrial scale demonstration plant will produce advanced bioethanol from waste gases from the steelmaking process. Construction of the facility is underway at the ArcelorMittal site in Ghent Belgium and the plant is planned to become operational at the end of 2020. It is expected to produce 80 million litres of bioethanol annually.