How can we maximise scrap utilisation for a greener UK steel industry?

The UK steel industry, as a part of the UK economy, is on the journey towards 2050 net zero emissions. The UK government in the recently published Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy considers that the iron and steel sector will be largely decarbonized by 2035. Despite this commitment, the roadmap to how this will be achieved is not defined yet. There is an abundant supply of domestic scrap in the UK of more than 11 Mt per year, although 80% of this is currently exported; this is a unique resource for a sustainable UK steel industry. The transition to a scrap-based steel industry, or at least maximising scrap utilisation in steel production, could be a practical pathway to a greener, sustainable UK steel industry. Significant efforts from the UK steel community (steelmaker, academics, RTOs, recyclers, trade organizations and policy makers) have been made to address the challenges to increase scrap utilisation in the UK steel production.

The Advanced Steel Research Centre (ASRC), Supply Chain Research Group (SCRG) and Data Science Group, in WMG at the University of Warwick have been collaborating with various stakeholders and focusing on research in the following aspects:
1. State-of-the-art analysis on the UK steel scrap supply and utilisation
2. Current scrap supply chain practice and circular scrap supply chain design
3. Technology development to improve scrap quality, remove impurities and increase residual tolerance in steel
4. Identifying opportunities, challenges and strategy recommendations for increased scrap utilisation

This Webinar will provide a great opportunity to hear some of the research findings, but also to share views with the wider community for shaping future relevant research and thinking to support a greener UK steel industry.

Register to attend via the link below.

The Historical Metallurgy Society, in association with Brunel University London, presents an online half-day conference, A Metallurgical Miscellany, to precede its AGM on Saturday 5th June 2021.

The morning will be devoted to short metallurgical papers ranging in date from antiquity to the present and including both ferrous and non-ferrous topics.

A full programme and conference abstracts will be available here: https://historicalmetallurgy.org/current-events/agm-2021/

This event is free to all, but advance booking is required. Details about how to join the online conference will be circulated, in advance of the event, to those who have registered to attend.

LiME Hub Member Dr. Chamini Mendis will be giving a talk titled “Bright sparks to engine blocks: The history of magnesium, the lightest of the structural metals”.

Programme

All Times below are British Summer Time (GMT + 1 hour)

The morning session will have a brief break midway through.

10.00 – 10.10 Welcome (Lorna Anguilano)

10.10 -10.35 The bad side of recycling: The use of ancient coins as a source of material for counterfeits (Laura Perucchetti and A Dowler)

10.35 -11.00 Roman mould technology for small castings (Justine Bayley)

11.15 -11.40 A very compleat paper trail (Peter Northover)

11.40 -12.05 The context of the British Iron Act of 1750 (Peter King)

12.05 -12.30 Bright sparks to engine blocks: The history of magnesium, the lightest of the structural metals (Chamini Mendis)

12.30 - 13.30 Lunch break

During this time we will screen two films submitted for the 2020 online Woodford Furnace Festival, which aims at reviving the production of iron in Ireland using only local materials:

• Smelting Irish bog iron ore in Master Kihara's tatara furnace, Japan

• Current bloomery iron production in Yakutia, Russia

The afternoon session will start with a keynote lecture from the HMS Chairman that will be followed by an Extraordinary General Meeting and then the HMS Annual General Meeting.

13.30-14.00 The rising of the smith (Paul Rondelez)

14.00-15.00 HMS EGM followed by HMS AGM

Conference abstracts and papers for EGM/AGM are available here.

The Centre for Circular Metals vision is to make the UK the first country to fully circulate metals by 2050.

The Interdisciplinary Centre for Circular Metals, one of five centres recently funded as part of a £22.5 million government investment is hosting its official online launch. The centre is a collaboration between Brunel University London, University College London and Warwick University; and over 30 industry partners.

This launch will outline the Centre’s vision and aims to make the UK the first country to fully circulate metals by 2050; as well as hearing from prominent figures in industry, public and academia. There will also be opportunities for networking and lively panel debate sessions with guest speakers.

Programme

Chaired by Professor Mark Miodownik

11.00

Welcome: Brunel’s Strategic Challenge (Sustainability / Manufacturing) & Universities UK Perspective

Professor Julia Buckingham, Vice-Chancellor Brunel University London and President of Universities UK

11.05

Climate Change Committee – What are we facing?

Baroness Brown of Cambridge (Professor Dame Julia King), Chair of the Adaptation Committee, Climate Change Committee; Chair of the Carbon Trust

11.15

The Circular Economy-Hub – Overview of CE Programme, Centres and role of Hub 

Professors Charnley and Hopkinson

11.25

BCAST – Re-shaping the Future: Towards a Circular Metals Economy

Professor Fan, Director, BCAST, Brunel University London

11.35

The UK’s Green Industrial Revolution

UKRI

11.45

Circular Economy as an Opportunity for UK Metals Sector

Chris McDonald, CEO, Materials Processing Institute

11.55

Circular Metals Research planned work packages

· WP1 Circular metal/ metallurgy with Professor Brian Cantor

· WP3 Circular Business Models with Professor Jan Godsell

· WP4 Circular Macroeconomics with Professor Raimund Bleischwitz

12:15 Break

12.25

Interactive Panel Session 1: Barriers to Circular Metals, why is reality harder than the vision?

Panel: Professor R. Bleischwitz, Professor G. Scamans, Professor C. Davis, Professor Z. Fan, Tom Jones (CEO, ALFED)

Panel Session Chair: Professor M Miodownik

12:45

Interactive Panel Session 2: New Business Models for Circular Metals

Panel: Dr F. Ceschin, Dr M. Winning, Dr Z. Li, Professor N. Bocken

Panel Session Chair: Professor J Godsell

13.05

Making Metals Circular – the Aluminium and Steel Industries

Martin Jarrett, Constellium, Dr Mark White, JLR, and Gareth Stace, Director General of UK Steel

13.15 Q&A

13.30 Close

Following the successful completion of one of the LiME Hub funded feasibility studies, Dr Shaun McFadden of Ulster University will be giving a seminar titled "NUPRO project Feasibility study: Modelling Grain-Refined Aluminium Alloy using the Nucleation Progenitor Function approach - Comparisons with microgravity experimental data observed via x-ray radiography". 

The seminar will be 1 hour long followed by a discussion with investigators from LiME Hub and Spoke partners about potential collaborations.

Missed the meeting? Watch it below: