Insights into heat and moisture emission characteristics in the iron and steel industry: Case of an integrated steel site

This study quantifies and characterises heat and moisture emissions from an integrated iron and steel production site. A systematic model is developed to calculate these emissions, accounting for solid, liquid and gaseous carriers and integrating both sensible and latent heat. A comprehensive case study was conducted, applying the model to a representative steel plant in China. The results show total heat emissions of 9.91 GJ/t-steel, with the blast furnace plant being the largest contributor (42.72%). Total moisture emissions are 155.20 kg/t-steel, also dominated by the blast furnace plant (34.49%). The analysis reveals that while sensible heat constitutes the majority of gaseous heat emissions (74%), latent heat from flue gas presents a significant recovery opportunity (18% of gaseous emissions). Furthermore, flue gas is identified as the primary source of moisture emissions (91%). This quantification provides a detailed baseline and source-specific data essential for designing targeted waste heat and water recovery technologies in the steel industry.