Hydrogen and biomass-based carbon source integration for iron and steel manufacturing: a systematic review of life cycle assessment studies
File(s)
Author(s)
Kankanamge Dona, Nethmi Sewwandi
Arias, Ana
Donati, Franco
Cucurachi, Stefano
Kleijn, Rene
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
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Iron and steel manufacturing is a material-intensive, energy-intensive, and emission-intensive process that is focused on attaining carbon neutrality. An important step towards decarbonizing iron and steel manufacturing is quantifying the environmental impacts associated with its potentially sustainable emerging technologies. In this study, we conducted a systematic review of 21 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies that integrated hydrogen and/or biomass in iron and steel production. We categorized various technologies following an LCA approach, focusing on the technological and regional definition of goal and scope and impact categories of Global Warming Impact (GWI), Terrestrial Acidification (TA), Fossil Resource Scarcity (FRS), Mineral Resource Scarcity (MRS), and Fine Particulate Matter Formation (FPMF). According to the findings, GWI of steel ranges from -845 kg CO
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eq. to 2287 kg CO
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eq. per ton of steel and the GWI of iron ranges from -41kg CO
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eq. to 2799 kg CO
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eq. per ton of iron. Furthermore, the integrated technologies also have corresponding average approximate TA, FPMF, MRS, and FRS of 11 kg SO
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eq., 3 kg PM 2.5 eq., 83 kg CU eq., and 304 kg oil eq. per ton of iron. The variations in these results are highly dependent on technological and regional differences of the goal and scope of the studies. This study reinforces the significance of exploring hydrogen and/or biomass integration methodologically, linking results to various LCA choices. Additionally, the results derived from this review also aim to emphasize the need for technological and region specific modelling, data and methodological standards, transparent reporting in conducting LCA in integrating hydrogen and/or biomass into the iron and steel industry.
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Iron and steel manufacturing is a material-intensive, energy-intensive, and emission-intensive process that is focused on attaining carbon neutrality. An important step towards decarbonizing iron and steel manufacturing is quantifying the environmental impacts associated with its potentially sustainable emerging technologies. In this study, we conducted a systematic review of 21 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies that integrated hydrogen and/or biomass in iron and steel production. We categorized various technologies following an LCA approach, focusing on the technological and regional definition of goal and scope and impact categories of Global Warming Impact (GWI), Terrestrial Acidification (TA), Fossil Resource Scarcity (FRS), Mineral Resource Scarcity (MRS), and Fine Particulate Matter Formation (FPMF). According to the findings, GWI of steel ranges from -845 kg CO
<ns3:sub>2</ns3:sub>
eq. to 2287 kg CO
<ns3:sub>2</ns3:sub>
eq. per ton of steel and the GWI of iron ranges from -41kg CO
<ns3:sub>2</ns3:sub>
eq. to 2799 kg CO
<ns3:sub>2</ns3:sub>
eq. per ton of iron. Furthermore, the integrated technologies also have corresponding average approximate TA, FPMF, MRS, and FRS of 11 kg SO
<ns3:sub>2</ns3:sub>
eq., 3 kg PM 2.5 eq., 83 kg CU eq., and 304 kg oil eq. per ton of iron. The variations in these results are highly dependent on technological and regional differences of the goal and scope of the studies. This study reinforces the significance of exploring hydrogen and/or biomass integration methodologically, linking results to various LCA choices. Additionally, the results derived from this review also aim to emphasize the need for technological and region specific modelling, data and methodological standards, transparent reporting in conducting LCA in integrating hydrogen and/or biomass into the iron and steel industry.
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Date Issued
2026-02-03
Date Acceptance
2026-02-01
Citation
Open Research Europe, 2026, 5, pp.196-196
ISSN
2732-5121
Publisher
F1000 Research Ltd
Start Page
196
End Page
196
Journal / Book Title
Open Research Europe
Volume
5
Copyright Statement
© 2026 Kankanamge Dona NS et al. This is an open access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
10.12688/openreseurope.20725.1
Subjects
Life Cycle Assessment
Iron
Steel
Hydrogen
Biomass
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2026-02-03