Metal is everywhere — in the cars we drive, the buildings we live in, and the smartphones we use every day. But making it can be a problematic business when it comes to the environment.
Traditional iron production relies on massive, high-temperature blast furnaces that burn dirty energy sources like coal and oil, generating large amounts of planet-heating pollution. But researchers at the University of Oregon have developed a new method that could make cleaner iron a reality, as reported by the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining.
The breakthrough lies in an electrochemical process that isolates iron using electricity instead of heat. By passing an electric current through a liquid bath containing iron-rich materials, scientists were able to extract nearly pure iron metal at much lower temperatures — around 80 to 90 degrees Celsius, compared to the thousands of degrees Celsius used in blast furnaces. However, they needed to fine-tune this process to be more selective.
To figure out which types of iron ore could support large-scale adoption, the team tested both porous, high-surface-area iron oxide particles and denser, more natural ore-like samples. They developed a custom-built electrochemical cell and a specialized cathode to pull the iron metal from the solution while electrified.
"Identifying oxides which can be converted to iron metal at low temperatures is an important step in developing fully electrified processes for steelmaking," said Paul Kempler, the study's corresponding author, in a report from ACS Energy Letters.
This is big news for sustainability. Mining and metal production account for roughly 8% of the world's heat-trapping pollution. By eliminating the need for high heat and improving selective extraction, this electrochemical method could dramatically reduce the environmental impact of everything from building supplies to wind turbines. For people, that means one step closer to cleaner air and reduced health issues linked to air pollution.
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Even better, the process is affordable. Researchers estimate it could produce iron for less than $0.60 per kilogram — on par with traditional methods, but far cleaner. A patent is pending, and with help from a federal grant, the team plans to demonstrate iron production at 1 kilogram per hour by the end of 2026.
If successful, this could move us closer to a cleaner industrial age — one where producing the materials we rely on doesn't come at the planet's expense.
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