Hydrogen Fluidisation of Iron Ore Particles For Green Steel Production (HyFIOPS)

The ongoing research focuses on developing a hydrogen-based process for the reduction of fine iron ore particles in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB). The objective is to identify a stable and scalable operating window—defined by the interplay between main parameters for both hydrodynamics and reaction kinetics—that ensures steady particle movement and efficient reaction conditions. Insights obtained from simulations and experiments are being used to support reactor design and scale-up for hydrogen-based direct reduction technologies.

A stable computational framework has been established in Barracuda Virtual Reactor (CPFD). The simulation environment has been successfully migrated from CPU to GPU-based high-performance computing (HPC) platforms at the University of Luxembourg, reducing the runtime of a typical production case from several weeks to days and hours. This improvement enables systematic parameter exploration.

PhD Researcher: Zahra Aminigarakani