RESEARCH NEWS
The steel decarbonisation challenge
Dr . Luis Escott is coordinating research at SaMI ( Steel and Metal Institute at Swansea University , UK ) to gain a better understanding of scrap as a vital step in creating a circular economy in the steel industry .
“ The steel and cement industries are together responsible for almost a fifth of global carbon emissions . I am working on the RECTIFI project which is bringing together the steel , cement and recycling industries to significantly reduce these carbon emissions . RECTIFI stands for ‘ Reducing Embedded Carbon Through Transformation of Foundation Industries ’ and the aim of the research is to avoid almost five million tonnes of CO₂ from entering the earth ’ s atmosphere each year ,” he highlighted .
“ SaMI ’ s role is developing and implementing improved sorting processes to reduce enrichment of problematic residuals associated with melting scrap material . We will sort and characterise 3B scrap to improve our understanding of the scrap material , its sources and contaminants . From this , we can identify , implement and develop scrap sorting processes to improve the quality of scrap for steelmaking . This will help industry partners to develop rigorous and objective material specifications for the new recycled material grades . It provides independently verified , fully transparent bulk materials analysis for those materials ,
Stainless-steel scrap metal ( image : H & S Metals ).
together with life-cycle assessment of emissions saved during the project ,” he continued .
“ Better control of residual elements would improve scrap quality which would enable higher recycling rates and reduce the reliance and use of raw materials ; a vital step in reducing carbon emissions during steelmaking ,” added Dr . Escott .
Alternatively , by-products produced during metal recycling can also be utilised to decarbonise cement production through the development and use of mineral-rich products that can be used as an alternative raw material during the cement production process .
“ At SaMI , we are performing extensive sorting and characterisation of the scrap material to identify high residual material and determine the weight percentage of that material within the overall mass of scrap . We have melted large volumes of material using our Vacuum Induction Melting ( VIM ) furnace to gain a better understanding of the bulk chemistry of the scrap ,” outlined Dr . Escott .
“ We are also developing a sampling method to determine whether a small volume of scrap material can accurately characterise a larger volume of material .
“ By characterising the scrap , we have identified high residual material that is undesirable for increased scrap use for steelmaking . From this knowledge , we have successfully implemented an improved sorting process to demonstrate that the quality of scrap can be significantly improved . This has the potential for allowing larger volumes of scrap to be used . This will help advance the steel industry in its decarbonisation challenge ,” he concluded . n
Avoiding security issues for industrial software
Researchers at the Heinz Nixdorf Institute in Paderborn , Germany , have developed a specifiable analysis tool .
“ To simplify software development , programmers often use so-called ‘ Application Programming Interfaces ’ ( APIs ) or codes that contain commands for general functions or enable interactions with an external system , for example . The use of APIs is helpful when there are standards to be adhered to or complicated programming tasks . However , incorrect use can also lead to security vulnerabilities and enormous costs ,” explained the Institute .
To recognise potential misuse at an early stage , scientists at the Heinz Nixdorf Institute at Paderborn University are working with TRUMPF SE + Co KG to develop an appropriate analysis tool . The “ API _ ASSIST - Specifiable automatic detection of API misuse in CI pipelines ” project from the “ Secure Software Engineering ” group is being funded with 100,000 euros as part of the Software Campus programme of Germany ’ s Federal Ministry of Education and Research ( BMBF ). The project will run for 19 months .
“ The incorrect use of APIs often leads to security vulnerabilities , which can have catastrophic consequences in the financial sector , for example ,” said project manager , Michael Schlichtig , from Paderborn ’ s Department of Computer Science . In the Collaborative Research Centre SFB 1119 “ CROSSING ” project , the research assistant had already developed the “ CogniCrypt ” programme which detects the incorrect use of cryptographic APIs . As part of the new project , the static analysis tool is to be adapted so that programmers can use it for their individual areas of application .
“ Our goal is a precise and , above all , easily adaptable analysis programme for developers in the industry . The tool should be integrated into CI pipelines and be able to cover any
APIs of the Java programming language ,” he explained . When designing the tool , the focus is not only on the simple adaptability of the analysis to the application context , but also on comprehensible feedback for developers . This is intended to help them isolate the programming error or API misuse .
The basis for the project idea came from Schlichtig ’ s “ FUM ” framework , which classifies API usage restrictions and the resulting misuses . This classification can be used to better categorise and explain API misuse .
“ By working together with industrial companies , we can now achieve practical results that can be used in real programming situations [ by ] medium-sized companies ,” summarised Schlichtig . n
www . uni-paderborn . de / en /
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