Alto-forno sustentável: o mercado de carbono no Brasil com ênfase na produção de gusa a partir de carvão vegetal de florestas plantadas de eucalipto

Abstract

The increase of the atmospheric greenhouse gases, as a result of human activities, called the attention of scientists and governments. As a consequence of these concerns the Kyoto Protocol was established in order to determine legal obligations for the reduction of greenhouse gases. Countries like Brazil collaborate, in a voluntary way, using the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to help the developed countries reach the aims established by the Protocol. The steel companies collaborate with part of the emission, especially due to the iron ore reduction process. The main objective of this work is to study the use of char coal as a substitute of coke, in the production of pig iron in blast furnaces, as an alternative for the reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases. The specific objectives proposed are: the analysis of the history highlighting the use of char coal; the analysis of the forest production in Brazil; the comparison between the char coal properties with the coke ones; the identification of the Brazilian contribution in order to avoid climatic changes; and the identification of the greenhouse gases emission in the reduction process, together with the analysis of two case studies, the Plantar project, a candidate for the CDM, and the ArcelorMittal Brazil projects. The methodology employed involved a research on the bibliography and interviews in both companies Plantar and ArcelorMittal Florestas. The main conclusions presented identify that: history demonstrated Brazils capacity to produce pig iron with char coal; the forest plantations in Brazil, specially the eucalyptus ones, have high productivity and low costs; char coal has different properties from coke, and the main consequence is the capacity limitation of the unities, in the case of char coal use; Brazil has been contributing with programs whose main objective is to avoid climatic changes, being the third country in the world in numbers of CDM projects; ArcelorMittal and Plantar projects make the attainment of Certified Reduction Emissions possible, through projects of coke substitution to char coal from planted forests for the pig iron production in blast furnaces. The Plantar project demonstrated sustainability and the possibility for the reduction of greenhouse gases as it already has part of its project validated by the MDL Executive Committee.