Tata Steel has commissioned a coke oven gas (COG) injection project at Blast Furnace No. 1 at its Meramandali steel plant in Odisha, describing it as the first-of-its-kind project in the Indian steel industry.
The project uses COG, a hydrogen- and hydrocarbon-rich byproduct of coke production, as a partial replacement for fossil fuels in the blast furnace. The gas is injected through the blast furnace tuyeres with technology support from Paul Wurth-SMS and equipment supplied by Kobelco.
The technology is expected to reduce fossil fuel and coke consumption as well as CO2 emissions. The system also allows the blast furnace to operate with a three-fuel injection system, providing greater operational flexibility and efficiency.
The project is part of Tata Steel’s broader programme to deploy lower-carbon technologies across its steelmaking operations. The company has previously tested hydrogen, biochar and coal-bed methane injection technologies in blast furnaces and has set a target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2045.
The COG injection project was developed in partnership with SMS group and follows an order placed by Tata Steel in 2024. The technology was designed to reduce the blast furnace coke rate by utilizing the chemical potential of coke oven gas.
Tata Steel, part of the Tata Group, is one of the world’s leading steel producers with operations in India, the Netherlands, the UK and Thailand. The company has an annual consolidated crude steel capacity of 35.9 mln tons and plans to increase it to 51.5 mln tons per year by FY2030-31.