(Credit: Schnitzer Steel)Schnitzer Steel manufactures steel and recycles scrap metal. The Portland, Oregon-based company was founded in 1906, and it became public in 1993. Sustainability is central to is mission — one that recycles scrap and diverts those materials from landfills.
It is environmentally conscious. Renewables fully power its facilities and its finished steel products are comprised of 95% recycled content. The metal it recovers and recycles provides low-carbon solutions for industries and infrastructure.
Its goal is net zero for its steel manufacturing, metals recycling, and auto dismantling businesses by 2050. It incorporates advanced emissions control technologies, fuel conservation, fuel switching, and electrifying its processes.
“We continue to build on these foundations at all our operations — investing in advanced metal recovery technology systems, air emissions and stormwater control systems, and fuel-efficient equipment — to improve our ability to recover valuable resources, divert material from landfills, improve air and water quality, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” the company says.
The record so far:
— Achieved 100 percent net carbon-free electricity use.
— Recycled more than 4.74 million metric tons of metals.
— Achieved a 19% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions compared to our fiscal 2019 base year. It wants to cut Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse emissions from recycling operations by 25% by 2025.
It has a state-of-the-art electric arc furnace steel mill where it melts and shapes recycled metal into steel products. That includes coiled rebar, wire rod, and merchant bar — materials used in various applications, including construction, reinforcing concrete highways, and supporting bridges.
“Our steel manufacturing operation, Cascade Steel Rolling Mills, leverages Schnitzer’s integrated business model by sourcing much of its metal feedstock from our own recycling facilities. We power this facility using primarily carbon-free hydroelectricity, greatly reducing the environmental impact of our operation and the overall carbon content of our finished steel products,” the company says.
An electric arc furnace uses high-voltage electric currents to melt recycled scrap metal. They produce “significantly less” greenhouse gas emissions than a traditional basic oxygen furnace, which uses a mix of virgin iron ore, recycled metal, coal, and limestone as raw material feedstock.
Moreover, renewable energy fuels its electric arc furnace, adding sustainability to its processes.
“By leveraging electric arc furnance technology, Schnitzer’s sustainable steel products are already delivering on the expected demand in the steel marketplace, as countries around the world seek low- or zero-carbon products and services,” the company says. It adds that 95% of the finished product has recycled content, and 87% of the steel dust is recycled.
To be clear, the byproducts of steelmaking are steel dust, mill scale, and slag. It says that steel dust is separated and sold to recyclers, who recover the zinc. That reduces virgin zinc mining and production. Similarly, the company reuses mill scale, which offsets pure iron ore mining and production.
Most of the byproduct is comprised of slag, which contains silica, calcium, magnesium, aluminum, and iron oxide residuals as a result of the smelting process. It can substitute for lime — used for road construction. Or it can be used in agriculture as fertilizer.
This is an energy-intensive process. In 2020 Schnitzer upgraded the carbon injection system at its steel mill, which increased “precision results” and reduced emissions and waste. As such, the CO2-equivalent emissions intensity dropped significantly, as did the energy intensity.
Its technology encompasses advanced copper separation, aluminum separation, and primary nonferrous recovery. Those technologies improve the recovery rate and purity of aluminum and copper. “While ferrous metal makes up the overwhelming majority of Schnitzer’s recycled metal products by weight—more than 93%—we are implementing advanced separation and processing systems to meet the increasing demand for more refined grades of recycled nonferrous metal,” it says.
Those investments mean the company has a broader product line while sending fewer scraps to landfills, allowing Schnitzer to market its services to domestic and international customers competitively. “The rollout of these new technologies is anticipated to be completed in fiscal 2022, with total capital expenditures estimated to be $115 million, of which $77 million has been invested, including $36 million during fiscal 2021.”
It says that 93% of the nonmetal material it processes is recycled, supporting the conservation of more than 1.8 million cubic meters of topsoil.
Since 2017, the company committed to using the best available technologies for air emissions generated by metals shredding. That includes commissioning state-of-the-art control and treatment systems while fast-tracking capital investments to capture, treat, and eliminate the process emissions from its four major shredding facilities. As a result, it says it captures 95% of the emissions produced during the shredding process. What else?
— 96% reduction in process emissions compared to 2019.
— $56 million has been invested in emissions reductions and air quality since 2016.
— 96% of the company’s steel mill’s process water is recycled.
Recycling is essential to reducing carbon. In the steel sector, it provides a competitive advantage. For every ton of recycled materials, it avoids 58% CO2 emissions for steel, 65% for copper, and 92% for aluminum, says Schnitzer
“This year we achieved our goal of 100% net carbon-free electricity use at our facilities ahead of our original 2022 schedule. We also made significant progress in achieving our goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from recycling operations by 25% by the end of fiscal 2025 by reducing GHG emissions from metal shredding processes by 25%. These successes were made possible in large part due to significant capital investment in industry-leading control technologies,” says Brian Lewallen Chief Sustainability Officer.
