Materials Processing Institute Completes Pilot Electric Arc Furnace Trials for Cement 2 Zero Project
The Materials Processing Institute has successfully completed its pilot Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) trials, marking a major milestone for the UKRI Cement 2 Zero project. The trials began in September 2022 and involved 12 induction furnace trials and eight trials using the Institute’s 7-tonne EAF.
These trials focused on developing and testing the use of end-of-life cement as an electric arc furnace flux to produce steel, while simultaneously capturing the slag to produce clinker for the cement industry.
Research has demonstrated that Portland Cement can be produced from recycled cement within an EAF during the steel recycling process. The Cement 2 Zero project aims to industrially demonstrate the production process for Cambridge Electric Cement prior to its use in a major UK construction project.
The pilot trials have allowed the project team to finalise the process for making electric cement and successfully de-risk the process for the next stage: full-scale industrial trials at Celsa UK using their large-scale EAF.
The Institute’s trials involved close collaboration with project partners, including the University of Cambridge and Celsa UK, with technical teams present at each melt to provide support.
The industrial-scale trials at Celsa UK are set to begin this month, with the overall project scheduled for completion in February 2025.
