To help solve the problems of "dual carbon" and iron ore resource scarcity faced by China's steel industry, the launch meeting of the "Research on Green and High Quality Development Strategy of China's Steel Industry under the Dual Carbon Background" project was recently held in Beijing.
This project is the key project of strategic research and consultation of Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2023. Speaking of the special significance of the project, Tang Lixin, an academician of the CAE Member and vice president of Northeastern University, said that the retirement of steel (scrap) in the traditional sense was taken as a starting point to promote the role of scrap in the whole life cycle of steel.
China's crude steel production has remained at a high level of 1 billion tons for many years, ranking first in the world for 27 consecutive years. Wang Guodong, an academician of the CAE Member and a professor of Northeastern University, said that it is expected that at some time in the future, there will be a peak of scrap steel corresponding to the current peak output, when the supply of scrap steel will exceed the demand for steel that has declined year by year.
The era of complete scrap steel is bound to come, and the issue of scrap steel must start immediately from now on. Wang Guodong said that the overall goal of the project is to propose suggestions for the green, scientific, and reasonable utilization of scrap steel resources with Chinese characteristics, to help solve the problems of "dual carbon" and iron ore resource scarcity faced by China. The content includes analysis of the current situation and development trend of scrap utilization, collaborative implementation of EPR documents throughout the entire industrial chain and lifecycle (the "Implementation Plan for the Extended Producer Responsibility System"), digitization of product lifecycle and entire industrial chain, labeling management, and roboticization of high-quality scrap dismantling, among other topics.
Gan Yong, an academician of the CAE Member, proposed that at present, the scrap processing and recycling industry in China is showing a "small, scattered, and chaotic" situation, and it is very important to use digital technology and intelligent platforms to establish recycling systems. The steel industry should set an example and promote the full process of identification analysis and coding, in order to achieve digitalization, intelligence, and personalization of scrap steel recycling throughout the entire industrial chain.
Jiang Tao, an academician of the CAE Member and professor of Central South University, said that the project has a high starting point, but it needs a transition period from now to the formation of relevant technologies, during which some changes need to be made. Disassembling, crushing, sorting, and recycling in the absence of identification parsing technology and disassembly robots is currently a problem that needs to be considered.
Sun Shitong, Deputy Director of the Metallurgical Department of the Industrial Development Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that promoting high-quality recycling of scrap steel is of great significance for ensuring the supply of raw materials in the steel industry, reducing environmental pollution, and achieving green and low-carbon development of the industry. Wang Yingsheng, Chief Economist of the China Iron and Steel Industry Association, said that the project will lay the foundation for improving China's steel recycling and processing application system and achieving efficient recycling of steel materials.