Australia-India partnership takes step closer to green steel through world-first use of ag waste in steelmaking
New Delhi, March 12: An Australia–India research partnership has moved a step closer to producing low-carbon “green steel” after successfully demonstrating the world’s first use of agricultural waste in the steelmaking process.
Scientists from Australia’s national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) conducted a commercial-scale trial showing that farm waste such as rice husk pellets can partially replace coal in steel production. The breakthrough offers a promising pathway to reduce emissions in one of the world’s most carbon-intensive industries.
The trial was carried out at an Indian steel facility, where researchers blended rice husk pellets into gasifiers used in the direct reduction process for producing iron. The experiment demonstrated that biomass-based fuel could be integrated into existing steelmaking operations without affecting performance or output.
Steel production currently accounts for nearly 7–10% of global carbon dioxide emissions due to its heavy reliance on coal. Researchers believe that replacing part of the coal with agricultural residues could significantly cut the sector’s environmental footprint while also providing a productive use for surplus farm waste.
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The initiative highlights growing cooperation between India and Australia in clean technology and sustainable industry. Researchers say the next phase will focus on increasing the proportion of biomass used and evaluating its long-term impact on industrial steel production, bringing the goal of affordable green steel closer to reality.
According to the research team, wider adoption of biomass in India’s steel industry could potentially reduce emissions by up to 50%, equivalent to roughly 357 million tonnes of CO₂ annually.
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