CARBON CAPTURE IN FERMENTATION
The invention relates to a steel mill adapted to provide gas stream(s) comprising CO to a microbial fermentation, the steel mill comprising a steel mill structure containing apparatus for a steel manufacturing process wherein said apparatus produces waste gases during various stages of the steel making process, said waste gases being directed into the atmosphere by a waste stack, wherein the waste stack is connected to a fermentation system by a transfer means connected to the waste stack to divert at least a portion of the waste gases to the microbial fermentation system.
1 . A steel mill adapted to provide gas stream(s) comprising CO to a microbial fermentation system comprising providing a steel mill structure, the steel mill structure containing apparatus for a steel manufacturing process wherein said apparatus produces waste gases during various stages of the steel making process, said waste gases being directed into the atmosphere by a waste stack, wherein the waste stack is connected to a fermentation system by a transfer means connected to the waste stack to divert at least a portion of the waste gases to the microbial fermentation system.
2 . The steel mill of claim 1 wherein the transfer means is selected from the group consisting of piping and conduit.
3 . The steel mill of claim 1 further including a scrubber apparatus wherein the waste gases are passed through water to remove particulate matter before passing to the waste stack.
4 . The steel mill of claim 1 wherein the waste gases are driven into the waste stack by one or more fans.
5 . The steel mill of claim 1 , wherein the waste gases comprise 20%-60% CO by volume.
6 . The steel mill of claim 1 , wherein the fermentation system produces ethanol and/or acetate.
7 . The steel mill of claim 1 , wherein the anaerobic bacterium is Clostridium autoethanogenum, Clostridium ljungdhali or Clostridium carboxydivorans.
8 . The steel mill of claim 1 , wherein the anaerobic bacterium is Clostridium autoethanogenum.
9 . The steel mill of claim 1 , wherein the Clostridium autoethanogenum is a Clostridium autoethanogenum having the identifying characteristics of the strain deposited at the German Resource Centre for Biological Material (DSMZ) under the identifying deposit number 19630.
10 . The steel mill of claim 1 , wherein the gas stream comprises less than 1% H2.
11 . The steel mill of claim 1 , wherein the steel manufacturing process comprises a decarburisation process.
12 . The steel mill of claim 1 , wherein the decarburisation process is carried out in a basic oxygen furnace.
13 . The steel mill of claim 1 , wherein the gas stream comprises 43-50% CO, 17-20% CO2, 2-3% H2 and 27-34% N.