The Zimbabwean iron and steel strategy towards net zero emission

The modernization and economic growth of a nation depends on steel whose production is through primary or secondary processes. The primary route involves production from virgin iron ores and accounts for the huge percentage of global steel production with blast furnace being the major route for ironmaking. The blast furnace use coke as the source of the reducing agent leading to CO 2 emission. This has necessitated the development of decarbonisation strategies, focusing mainly on the ironmaking process. Zimbabwe fired her Blast furnaces in mid-2024. It is imperative to develop strategies suited to the resources in the country to decrease CO 2 emissions. A review of the strategies in place in other countries will be provided first in this paper providing a guideline on selecting and developing the decarbonisation strategies for Zimbabwe. The increased usage of pellets in the blast furnace and the use of the Iron making technology mark 3 (ITmk3) process were suggested to be potential routes. The ITmk3 process showed a metal recovery of 73%. However more research is suggested to improve the metal recovery in the ITmk3 process.