546 Journal of Chemical Engineering of Japan Copyright © 2020 The Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan
Journal of Chemical Engineering of Japan, Vol. 53, No. 9, pp. 546–554, 2020
Multi-Objective Optimization Model for the Energy System
of Electric Arc Furnace Steelmaking Considering the Cost and
Carbon Dioxide Emission under Uncertainty
MyungSuk Son, YoungWook Bin, In-Beum Lee and Suh-Young Lee
Department of Chemical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH),
Pohang 37673, Republic of Korea
Keywords: EAF, MILP, Energy-saving Techniques, Stochastic Multi-objective Programming, Carbon Dioxide
A stochastic multi-objective mathematical model based on material and energy flows under the system uncertainty of
specific electricity demand-related scraps characteristics and operation conditions was developed to simulate the elec-
tric arc furnace steelmaking process and optimize carbon dioxide emission and cost. Considering several energy-saving
technologies based on stochastic thermodynamic energy efficiency and electricity price, this paper suggests an optimal
cost-saving and carbon-dioxide-emission-reducing strategy. The suggested model provides a trade-off relationship be-
tween cost and CO
2
emission. To minimize CO
2
emissions, a tunnel preheater without additional fuel consumption was
suggest In contrast, to minimize the cost of utilizing cost-effective fossil fuels instead of electricity as the system energy
requirement, an oxy-fuel burner and shaft furnace type of preheater were proposed. This problem was formulated as a
mixed-integer linear programming model.
Introduction
Industrial energy use has been growing strongly in recent
decades. According to the statistical data published by the
international energy agency, the industry sector accounted
for 37% (157 EJ·yr
-1
) of the total global final energy use,
and direct industrial carbon dioxide (CO
2
) emission reached
24% (8.5 Gt CO
2
·yr
-1
) of global emissions in 2018 (IEA,
2020). e iron and steelmaking industry is one of the most
energy-intensive industry sub-sectors; it contributed 24%
of the total direct industrial CO
2
emissions in 2018 (IEA,
2020). Following the environmental requirements of stricter
climate change conventions, from the Kyoto Protocol to the
Paris Agreement, various efforts have been made to reduce
carbon emissions in the steel industry (Worrell et al., 2001;
Jones, 2012; Cavaliere, 2019).
Several CO
2
-reduction technologies and routes have been
developed in the steel industry. While the conventional blast
furnace (BF)–basic oxygen furnace (BOF) process is a ma-
ture technology and accounts for 74% of steel production
worldwide (Li et al., 2018), it requires expensive capital in-
vestment and emits considerable quantities of pollutants, in-
cluding CO
2
, SO
x
, NO
x
, and CO. erefore, alternative tech-
nology such as the scrap-based electric arc furnace (EAF)
process has attracted interest in terms of energy-saving and
CO
2
emissions reduction. (Riesbeck et al., 2011; Lingebrant
et al., 2012; He and Wang, 2017; IEA, 2020).
e EAF steelmaking process, which supplies heat to
the charging materials for melting via an electric arc, can
produce all kinds of steel and features flexibility and smaller
capabilities as advantages. e EAF process is also advanta-
geous for the following reasons: (1) it requires less capital
investment and a shorter installation period; (2) it is envi-
ronmentally friendly as it emits less NO
x
and SO
x
because
it uses electricity; (3) it recycles raw materials, i.e., scrap,
and gives high metallic yield; and (4) it is easy to control
the quality of the steel product (Lee and Sohn, 2014; Li
et al., 2018; Dutta and Chokshi, 2020). Typically, a scrap-
based EAF process is less energy-intensive in that it requires
4–6 GJ·t
-1
of iron produced when using 100% scrap, where-
as the BF–BOF routes require 13–14 GJ·t
-1
of iron produced
(He and Wang, 2017).
Several studies have been conducted to estimate the
electricity requirements for the EAF process (Köhle, 2002;
Sandberg et al., 2007; Gajic et al., 2016; Carlsson et al.,
2019). Köhle (2002) developed a multivariate linear regres-
sion formula using the measurable empirical mean furnace
values, such as the total charged scrap, alloys, slag formers,
tapping steel temperature, power on/off time, consumed
burner natural gas and oxygen injection, and added oxygen
for post-combustion. Sandberg et al. (2007) developed a
method to estimate the impurity (i.e., Cu, Sn, As) and alloy
content (i.e., Cr, Ni, Mo) in scrap grades using partial least
square regression. Gajic et al. (2016) developed a multilayer
perceptron model using an artificial neural network which
estimates the electricity demand based on the input material
composition.
Because each process in iron and steel production is
closely related, one change in a single process can result
in an unexpected outcome. erefore, the mathematical
modeling of each process is crucial for an overall decision-
Received on May 8, 2020; accepted on June 16, 2020
DOI: 10.1252/jcej.20we077
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to S.-Y.
Lee (E-mail address: suhyoung@postech.ac.kr).
Research Paper