2022 Faculty Courses School of Materials and Chemical Technology Department of Materials Science and Engineering Graduate major in Materials Science and Engineering
Ironmaking process for sustainable society
- Academic unit or major
- Graduate major in Materials Science and Engineering
- Instructor(s)
- Kenichi Higuchi / Hiroshi Harada / Toshio Isohara
- Class Format
- Lecture (HyFlex)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - Intensive (S8-501)
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- MAT.M429
- Number of credits
- 100
- Course offered
- 2022
- Offered quarter
- 3-4Q
- Syllabus updated
- Jul 10, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
The aim of this course is to learn about the issues that the steelmaking process must solve in order to achieve a sustainable society and to consider possible solutions. This lecture will begin with an overview of the position and the pig iron-making process, future resource issues, and environmental issues (carbon neutrality). In addition, some examples of how multiphysics phenomena in the refining and continuous casting processes have been understood and controlled will be presented. In addition, a life cycle assessment (LCA) of steel will be outlined for each stage of manufacturing, use, and recycling. The steel manufacturing stage is undergoing a major transformation toward a low-carbon economy. The use phase with high-performance material contributes to low carbon emissions in various ways. Steel is an extremely recyclable and sustainable material, and the quantification of recycling benefits will be discussed.
Course description and aims
A target of this course is to understand what kinds of effort are being carried out by steelmaking companies on the research and development of ironmaking process in order to attain the sustainable society. Based on this understating, the future targets for CO2 emission reduction will also be discussed, which is the other important target of this course.
Keywords
sintering, blast furnace, iron ore, coal, coke, resource issues, carbon neutrality, refining and continuous casting processes, life cycle assessment (LCA), recycling
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
The lectures are given using power point which shows the related photos and data.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Overview of the steelmaking process and the role of the refining and continuous casting processes in the production of high-grade high-performance steel | Understanding of the evolution of the refining and continuous casting processes that have improved the productivity of high-grade, high-performance steel products. |
| Class 2 | Overview of a life cycle assessment (LCA) of steel | Understanding that steel is an extremely recyclable and sustainable material |
| Class 3 | Overview of the pig iron-making process and future resource and environmental issues (carbon neutrality) | Considering how to address resource and environmental issues (carbon neutrality) |
Study advice (preparation and review)
Textbook(s)
Materials relevent to the lecture are provided in the course.
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Materials relevent to the lecture are provided in the course.
Evaluation methods and criteria
To attend the course and to submit the report
Related courses
- MAT.M428 ： Properties and manufacturing process for automotive sheet steels
- MAT.M319 ： Thermodynamics in Metals
- MAT.M207 ： Phase Diagram and Stability in Metals
- MAT.A204 ： Thermodynamics of Materials
- MAT.M203 ： Chemical Reaction Dynamics(M)
Prerequisites
Students must have successfully completed " Thermodynamics in Metals (MAT.M319)", or have equivalent knowledge.