Case Studies
How Stelco uses alternative low carbon fuel from Walker to reduce their usage of fossil fuels
|Stelco, Hamilton, ON
Walker’s resource recovery area is used to develop innovative solutions for sustainability that benefit multiple industries.
Stelco is a Canadian steel company based in Hamilton, Ontario whose coke ovens and cold rolling finishing works have been in operation for over 100 years. One of the key ingredients to fueling their coke ovens is coal—a nonrenewable fossil carbon. But using coal as an energy source has detrimental environmental impacts to consider when sustainable alternatives become a competitive option.
Working together, Stelco and Walker’s resource recovery experts developed a unique alternative to supplying carbon to the production of coke in steel manufacturing. Fuel from railway ties, also known as biocarbon, augments higher moisture fuels and acts as a coal alternative. By utilizing this sustainable solution in their coke ovens, Stelco replaces a percentage of its nonrenewable coal usage.
A second life for Canada's railway ties
The biocarbon processed and supplied by Walker is made from repurposed wood from the Canadian railway tie industry, making it an eco-friendly win for multiple industries. As railway ties are replaced by major rail providers in Canada, Walker’s resource recovery process helps to offset the environmental impact. If these railway ties were disposed of in a landfill, they would contribute to the production of greenhouse gas emissions. Instead the scrap ties are recycled and processed into fuel for the steel manufacturing industry.
Carbon offsets from alternative low carbon fuels
Manufacturers can benefit from carbon offsets by replacing a portion of coal with biocarbon in their coking process. The result reduces industry usage of fossil fuels, diverts 20,000 metric tonnes of waste wood from landfills, reduces the manufacturer’s greenhouse gas emissions and ultimately enables them to become more competitive and environmentally sustainable.
20,000 MT of railway ties diverted
from landfill
Overall reduction
in use of fossil fuels
Reduction in GHGs
from manufacturers and waste industry
Walker’s resource recovery operation diverts various materials from landfill and has recovered over 100,000 metric tonnes of resources from waste to date.