Published today: Oxidation and electrical properties of chromium–iron alloys in a corrosive molten electrolyte environment | Scientific Reports a study into the efficiency of Molton Oxide Electrolysis for the production of primary steel. This alternative pathway has the potential to use renewable energy for the direct reduction of iron oxide to iron:
The MOE process, if run above 1,535°C can provide a liquid metal product, ready for steel production including continuous casting. Here, the sole by-product of the reduction reaction is oxygen gas, i.e., no CO, CO2, SO2 or NOx. To date, MOE for ironmaking is a laboratory-proven extraction technology and is foreseen as scalable considering its analogies with molten salt electrolysis, which is used to produce several millions of tonnes of metals such as Al, Mg, Li, Mn and rare earth metals.