First-Of-A-Kind Electrified Process Gas Heater Pilot for Direct Reduction Iron Decarbonization at EMSTEEL

Abstract Natural-gas-based direct reduction produces iron with a lower carbon intensity than conventional coal-based ironmaking, but it still requires natural-gas combustion to provide the thermal energy required for heating the circulating reducing gas. This paper presents the design basis, integration method and pre-commissioning assessment of a 1.3-MW electric process-gas heater (ePGH) pilot plant at an operating direct reduction plant in Abu Dhabi. The unit is is being integrated in parallel with the existing fired process-gas heater and heats a controlled process-gas slipstream before the streams are recombined. This arrangement permits direct comparison with the conventional heating route while preserving the fired heater as the operating safeguard. The pilot programme is structured to evaluate heat-transfer performance, outlet-temperature control, pressure drop, electrical demand, dynamic load response, process stability, availability and maintainability under industrial conditions. Baseline testing, stepped-load trials, transient tests and an endurance campaign are combined with process and electrical modelling to determine the implications of larger electrified-heating installations. Engineering estimates indicate annual displacement of approximately 1,136,000 Nm3 of natural gas and direct avoidance of about 2,200 t CO2 when the pilot is operated for 8,000 h/year. At rated power, annual electricity demand is approximately 10.4 GWh. The estimated direct Scope 1 benefit is therefore clear, while the combined Scope 1 and Scope 2 benefit depends on the carbon intensity of the electricity supply; the calculated break-even electricity emission factor is approximately 0.212 kg CO2e/kWh. The project is consequently designed not only to validate the ePGH equipment, but also as a practical study of hybrid fired-electric operation, clean-power integration and scale-up constraints. No commercial-scale performance claim is made from the engineering estimates alone. The endurance test and reconciled plant data will provide the evidence required to assess whether direct electric process-gas heating can be expanded as an incremental decarbonization pathway for existing DRI assets.