• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.25 no.6_3
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• pp.1247-1260
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• 2022

The steel industry accounts for about 5% of the total annual global energy consumption and more than 6% of the total anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore, there is a need to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in these industries. The utilization of coke oven gas, a byproduct of the coke plant, is one of the main ways to achieve this goal. Coke oven gas used as a fuel in many steelmaking process is a hydrogen-rich gas with high energy potential, but it is commonly used as a heat source and is even released directly into the air after combustion reactions. In order to solve such resource waste and energy inefficiency, several alternatives have recently been proposed, such as separating and refining hydrogen directly from coke oven gas or converting it to syngas. Therefore, in this study, recent research trends on the separation and purification of hydrogen from coke oven gas and the production of syngas were introduced.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.53-67
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• 2000

Coke-oven workers are regularly exposed to coke oven emissions (COE), which consist primarily of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and volatile organic components. This study assessed the exposure of coke-oven workers to COE and PAH. The results of this study are as follows. 1. Among the 136 samples on coke-oven workers 33.1% exceeded the occupational exposure limit to the Coal Tar Pitch Volatiles ($0.2mg/m^3$) established by the Korean Ministry of Labor and American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists(ACGIH). 2. The coke-oven workers were classified into twelve job categories and there was statistically significant difference among the airborne concentrations of COE and PAH in twelve job categories(p<0.001). 3. There was no significant difference of the airborne concentrations of COE between NIOSH method and OSHA method applied. 4. There was a significant correlation between the airborne concentrations of total PAH and COE(r=0.733, p<0.01). 5. The percentage of naphthalene in total PAH was 55.9% and the highest among those of 16 PAHs. There was a significant correlation between the airborne concentrations of naphthalene and total PAH(r=0.90, p<0.01) and this study recommends naphthalene as the index component of PAH.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.37-53
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• 1993

The polynuclear hydrocarbons (PAHs) emitted from coke oven standpipe were sampled using three sampling systems, including glass fiber filter+silver membrane filter, glass fiber filter+silver membrane filter+XAD-2 adsorbent tube, PTFE membrane filter+XAD-2 adsorbent tube, extracted by methylene chloride and analysed by gas chromathography using flame ionization detector. The results of this study were as follows. 1. Because the amounts of coke oven emissions(COE) were large, the analyses of PAHs were simple and possible without evaporation and concentration. Although the generation of COE was high during early stage of coking, the airborne concentration of PAHs was low and increased during late coking. 2. The contents of PAHs in COE were 1.35-2.81%. 3. The index components of PAHs were fluoranthene and pyrene. Their correlation coefficient to total PAHs were 0.96, 0.95, respectively. 4. The particulate PAHs were sampled by filter and gaseous PAHs by adsorbent tube. The collection efficiency of glass fiber filter+silver membrane filter was 20% of total amount sampled by filters+adsorbent and PTFE membrane filter 50%. Adsorbent tube must be attached to the filter to collect light and small PAH components. 5. The generation of acenaphthene and indeno (1,2,3-cd) pyrene were low and concentrations of fluorene and anthracene were $20-40ug/m^3$ throughout coking time. Other PAH eoncentrations were sometimes high. The generation of PAHs was low at 4-6 hours of coking time. The gaseous PAHs were generated earlier than particulate PAHs.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.264-278
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• 1997

The average level of coke oven emissions in the work site was $0.04mg/m^3$, which was below the permissible exposure level($0.2mg/m^3$). The average level of 1-OH-pyrene in the urine of the wokers was $0.745{\mu}mol/mol$ creatinine which is far below the BEI($2.3{\mu}mol/mol$ creatinine). Correlation between airborne COE in working environment and urinary 1-OH-pyrene concentration was statistically significant. These results explain that exposure level by biological monitoring is much higher than that by environmental monitoring. The effect of hygienic measures for reducing internal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was studied in 25 coke-oven workers. Their 1-OH-pyrene levels increased by $0.77{\mu}mol/mol$ creatinine, while working with ordinary protective measures. The average levels of the same workers with extra hygienic measures increased by $0.34{\mu}mol/mol$ creatinine. The average increase of the urinary 1-OH-pyrene concentration over the 5-day work week was 56.3%($0.43{\mu}mol/mol$ creatinine) lower when extra hygienic measures were taken(p=0.0001).

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.636-642
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• 2022

The "Hydrogen Economic Activation Road map" was announced in 2019, and hydrogen demand is expected to exceed 470,000 tons per year in 2022 and keep increasing. Under this circumstance, it has become important to understand the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with various hydrogen production pathways. In this study, the evaluation of life cycle GHG emissions regarding the hydrogen produced as by-product from coke oven gas (COG) in steel mill is conducted. To cover the possible range of operations, three literatures were reviewed and their data of inputs and outputs for the process were adopted for calculation. Life cycle inventories and emission factors were mostly referred to GaBi and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines, respectively. When there are multiple products from a single process, the energy allocation method was applied. Based on these sources and the assumptions, the life cycle emission values of COG-based hydrogen were found to be 3.8 to 4.7 kg/CO₂-eq./kg-H₂.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.1111-1117
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• 2024

The technology for hydrogen production from by-product gases generated in steel mills has recently garnered significant attention, with commercialization gradually progressing. Hydrogen production based on by-product gases presents a critical technological breakthrough, enabling the reduction of carbon emissions in steel production while promoting sustainable energy generation. In this study, a consequence analysis of potential accidents was conducted by analyzing the components of a newly proposed membrane-PSA hybrid process aimed at reducing the cost of hydrogen production from the PSA-only process. The findings indicate that the extent of pipeline damage and weather conditions significantly influence the range of hydrogen leakage, the radiative heat from jet fires, and the overpressure range in vapor cloud explosions. These results provide essential foundational data for evaluating the risks associated with hydrogen leakage accidents and for establishing safety design and preventive measures.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.145-152
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• 2001

This study was performed to evaluate the coke oven emissions (COE) and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon levels in coke manu-facturing industry, secondary lead smelting industry and glass bottle manufacturing industry. 1. There were no significant difference between the means of personal samples and area samples by the types of industry(p>0.05). The levels of airborne total particulates of the secondary lead smelting industry was the highest($2.30mg/m^3$), and those of the coke manu-facturing industry and glass bottle manu facturing industry were $1.95mg/m^3$ and $1.37mg/m^3$. The concentration of COE was the highest in the glass bottle manufacturing industry($0.79mg/m^3$), and in order of $0.19mg/m^3$ in the coke manufacturing industry and $0.06mg/m^3$ in the secondary lead smelting industry. COE/total particulates(%) was highest in the glass bottle manufacturing industry(58.1%) and in order of 10.3% in the coke manufacturing industry and 3.1% in secondary lead smelting industry. There were significant differences in the total particle concentration and COE by the types of industry(p<0.05). 2. The levels of airborne total particulates was the highest at the smelting process of secondary lead smelting industry($2.30{\pm}0.72mg/m^3$), and the lowest at the smelting process of glass bottle manufacturing industry ($0.99{\pm}1.22mg/m^3$) Concentration of COE was the highest at the casting process of glass bottle manufacturing industry ($1.09{\pm}1.15mg/m^3$), the lowest at the smelting process of secondary lead smelting industry ($0.06{\pm}0.03mg/m^3$). The COE/total particulates(%) was the highest at the casting process of glass bottle manufacturing industry($65.9{\pm}20.5%$), and the lowest at the smelting process of secondary lead smelting indusry($3.1{\pm}2.7%$). 3. There were positive correlations between level of The airborne total particulates and concentration of COE in coke manufacturing industry and glass bottle manufacturing industry (p<0.05), but negative correlation in secondary lead smelting industry. 4. The numbers of case and rates that over the Threshold Limit Values(TLVs) were 24 (77.4%)cases in glass bottle manufacture, 14(23.7%) cases in the coke manufacturing industry and no one case in secondary lead smelting industry. Total numbers of case and rates that over TLVs were 38( 35.5%) cases. 5. The limit of detection(LOD) for PAH was $10{\mu}g/ml$ in standard sample. All PAH levels of the cokes manufacturing industry and the secondary lead smelting industry and the glass bottle manufacturing industry were trace or not to detect.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.111-118
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• 2019

Greenhouse gas emissions have a profound effect on global warming. Various environmental regulations have been introduced to reduce the emissions. The largest amount of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, is produced in the steel industry. To decrease carbon dioxide emission, hydrogen-based iron oxide reduction, which can replace carbon-based reduction has received a great attention. Iron production generates various by-product gases, such as cokes oven gas (COG), blast furnace gas (BFG), and Linz-Donawitz gas (LDG). In particular, COG, due to its high concentrations of hydrogen and methane, can be reformed to become a major source of hydrogen for reducing iron oxide. Nevertheless, continuous COG cannot be supplied under actual operation condition of steel industry. To solve this problem, this study proposed to use two alternative COG-based fuel mixtures; one with natural gas and the other with biogas. Reforming study on two types of mixed gas were carried out to evaluate catalyst performance under a variety of operating conditions. In addition, methane conversion and product composition were investigated both theoretically and experimentally.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.410-417
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• 2024

Steel mill gases, including coke oven gas (COG), blast furnace gas (BFG), and Linz-Donawitz gas (LDG), are mainly used as fuels within steel plants, resulting in substantial CO₂ emissions. This combustion process accounts for 10% of South Korea's total CO₂ emissions. These off-gases, rich in CO, CH₄, and hydrogen, have the potential to be converted into valuable chemicals through catalytic processes, thereby reducing CO₂ emissions and increasing their economic value. This study investigates the conversion of steel mill gases into methanol, an important platform chemical and cleaner transportation fuel. By using COG and LDG as sources of CO and H₂, respectively, a novel process was developed. In this process, H₂-rich COG from a simple single-step membrane separation and raw LDG are converted into methanol with high selectivity using a Cu-Zn-Al catalyst. The study identified the optimal gas compositions for methanol production through experimental results, demonstrating efficient methanol synthesis from various compositions of LDG, COG, pure hydrogen, and H₂-rich COG. This innovative approach not only aims to reduce specific CO₂ emissions from steel plants but also enhances the economic value of the byproduct gases. Thus, the study provides a sustainable and economically advantageous solution for the steel industry.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.50-63
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• 2007

The development of domestic plant specific emission factors is very important to estimate reliable national emissions management. This study, for the reason, was carried out to obtain advances emission factor for Carbon Dioxide ($CO_2$) by source-specific emission tests from the iron and steel industry sector which is well known as one of the major sources of greenhouse gases ($CO_2$). Emission factors estimated in this study were compared with those of IPCC for evaluation and they were found to be of similar level in the case of $CO_2$. There was no good information available on $CO_2$ plant specific emission factors from the iron and steel industry in Korea so far. The major emission sources of $CO_2$ examined from the iron and steel manufacturing precesses were a hot blast stove, coke oven, sintering furnace, electric arc furnace, heating furnace, and so on. In this study, the concentration of $CO_2$ from the hot blast stove process was the highest among all processes. The $CO_2$ emission factors for a ton of Steel and Iron products (using B-C oil) were estimated to be 0.315 $CO_2$ tonne (by Tier 3 method) and 4.89 $CO_2$ tonne. In addition, emission factor of $CO_2$ for heating furnace process was the highest among all process. Emission factors estimated in this study were compared with those of IPCC for evaluation and they were found to be of similar level in the case of $CO_2$.