Finding environmentally friendly metallurgical methods.

A team of scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has discovered a new method that allows for the separation of iron from ore while minimizing CO2 emissions.

This new metallurgical method was published in a recent issue of the journal Nature.

Illustrative image. (Source: VNA)

According to the study's authors, the new method, essentially molten oxide electrolysis (MOE), significantly simplifies the process of separating iron from ore and substantially reduces energy consumption, making it an environmentally friendly metallurgical method that limits greenhouse gas emissions.

Iron is the main component of steel. In current conventional metallurgical methods, iron is extracted from ore by heating the molten ore, which requires a lot of heat and produces a large amount of CO2 gas.

Using the MOE electrolysis method, scientists developed positive electrodes, specifically from chromium, to withstand the high temperatures and corrosion of the electric current flowing through them.

There have been previous attempts to separate iron by electrolysis using inexpensive iridium anodes.

Derek Fray, an expert from the Department of Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge (UK), believes that this new metallurgical method requires the design of a large-scale experimental reactor, and the authors need to further develop the technique before it can be widely applied.

In 2011, the world produced nearly one billion tons of iron, generating 5% of the world's total CO2 emissions.

According to (VNA) - VT