Environmental, Social, and Governance

One of the core principles of Ironton’s production process is maximizing the flexibility of feedstocks without compromising finished product quality. Ironton’s process allows for repurposing of mill scales, flue dusts, iron ore fines, iron ore screenings and sludges, heretofore considered as wastes destined for landfills. Ironton will convert these materials into consumable, high-demand, pig iron products.

The company intends to maximize the use of renewable biomass fuel sources. Ironton’s process design engineering firm, Minitec, has significant experience in designing a mini blast furnace system that has the ability to operate on one hundred percent (100%) biomass fuel sources. Ironton is working to identify and develop biomass supply from different sourcing options (forestry, wood processing, farming, etc.).

Ironton has incorporated a semi-dry off-gas treatment system, limiting the emissions to less than 100 NT/yr.

Using this technology, waste and unused gas streams from the MBF, MSP, and preheaters are combined and processed to remove these regulated air emissions from the final stack exhaust.

In this process, a thermal oxidizer is used to convert CO to CO2 and hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S) into sulfur dioxide (SO2) for further cleaning and scrubbing. Once through the thermal oxidizer, the gas is cleaned of SOX through a scrubbing process and NOX is removed through a catalytic conversion and collection step.

In addition to the removal of regulated air emissions from the gas, all transfer points, process areas, and critical locations where particulate matter (PM) emissions are possible, are controlled through a collection of hoods and baghouses.

Having a domestic source of pig iron reduces the need for imported material from locations like the Black Sea (6,750 nautical miles) and Brazil (4,000 nautical miles), inadvertently offsetting and reducing carbon emissions produced by ocean vessels transporting product. Preliminary estimates for carbon reduction from displacement of ocean vessel shipments; 15,000 to 20,000 NTs per year.