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Steel for a fossil-free future
Luleå University of Technology
Co-financed by Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth
With funding from the EU

Emmanuel Agyekum

Via experimental design, data analysis and modelling for new alloy design and waste management when using hydrogen reduction, Emmanuel aims to contribute to reducing the steel industry's carbon footprint as well as to the promotion of the circular economy.

Via experimental design, data analysis and modelling,

What were you doing before joining Steel for a Fossil-Free Future?

I completed my Master’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering at Hohai University in China. During my master’s, I focused on designing and preparing Cu-Mg-RE alloys with enhanced balance of electrical and mechanical properties. With this project, coupled with the many interesting courses I took, I gained a rich understanding of metallurgy and alloy design. Also, I earned my Bachelor’s degree at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Materials Science and Engineering, where I was involved in various research projects, including energy storage materials, Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) & Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER) and computational design. I must say that my passion for sustainable engineering and its applications was ignited during this period.

What will you be doing as a PhD?

As a PhD candidate, I will work on the topic Hydrogen Based Reduction of Advanced Oxide Mixtures for Sustainable Alloy Production. This will involve several key activities:  

  • Direct Alloy Production: I will produce alloys directly from oxide mixtures using hydrogen as a reductant, without melting and without the use of fossil fuels.  
  • Investigating Reduction Mechanisms: I will perform in situ studies in order to determine the paths that are followed during the reduction process.  
  • Developing Predictive Models: My research will entail the development and validation of models that can be used to control the reduction process with a view to enhancing its effectiveness and scalability.  
  • Sustainable Alloy Design: I will try to incorporate waste materials into new alloy systems.

What challenges will your PhD work contribute to solving?

 My research will study the basic mechanisms of hydrogen based oxide reduction in order to optimise the process - and optimise scaling technology - with an aim of 70% emissions reduction. 

How can your research contribute to addressing those challenges?

My research approach incorporates both the experimental and computational studies:  

  • Experimental Techniques: I will employ the thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) to determine the changes in the weight during reduction in real time and the synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) for the in situ structural analysis.  
  • Advanced Microstructural Analysis: The use of electron microscopy and mass spectrometry will be employed in the study of homogenization processes and the final microstructure.  
  • Model Development: I will establish thermodynamic and kinetic predictive models using MATLAB, ThermoCalc, and COMSOL. These models will be compared with the experimental data to check the accuracy and validity of the models.

The name of my research project is ...

Alloys from Advanced Oxide Mixtures: Reduction Kinetics.