Coresym – carbon monoxide re-use through industrial symbiosis | prior work – ISPT
Problem Statement
The steel industry produces large volumes of carbon monoxide-rich offgas from blast furnaces. Rather than treating this as waste, Coresym explored whether this gas could serve as feedstock for the chemical industry, creating an industrial symbiosis between two major sectors.
Observations
Observation A: Waste streams are misclassified resources. Blast furnace offgas contains carbon monoxide at concentrations and volumes that match chemical industry feedstock requirements. The classification as waste reflects organisational boundaries, not thermodynamic reality.
Observation B: Chemical conversion routes exist at matching scales. Fischer-Tropsch and other conversion pathways can transform steel offgas into chemical building blocks. The project mapped these routes and assessed their environmental impact, showing that cross-sector symbiosis is technically feasible.
Observation C: Industrial symbiosis requires cross-sector coordination. Steel companies and chemical companies operate in separate value chains with different investment cycles, regulatory frameworks, and commercial incentives. Realising the technical potential requires deliberate coordination across these boundaries.
Conclusion
Coresym demonstrated that industrial symbiosis between steel and chemicals is technically viable and environmentally beneficial. The barrier is not chemistry but coordination: making cross-sector value chains work requires a different kind of industrial organisation.
Scope
Cross-sector industrial symbiosis and circular carbon
Specifications
Chemical route analysis, environmental impact assessment