Iron and steel production is one of the most resource and energy demanding industries around the world. Throughout the life cycle of iron and steel products, the intensive use of raw materials and energy results in contributions to a wide range of environmental impacts. This study conducts a life cycle assessment (LCA) for iron and steel production in Turkey using SimaPro software and IMPACT 2002+ impact assessment method with the purpose of comparing the impacts of life cycle stage (coke making, sintering, iron making, steel making) and final products (billet, slab, hot rolled wire rod, hot rolled coil). The system boundary was set as cradle-to-gate, the functional unit was selected as 1 ton of product, and the study was conducted using the inventory data collected from one of the three integrated iron and steel facilities representing the majority of the industry in Turkey. Different production scenarios for the final products were also evaluated to see the variation in the total impacts. The results indicated that, liquid steel production process exhibited the highest total environmental impact, which was followed by sinter production. Coke production process showed the highest impact on depletion of non-renewable energy sources. The comparison of the impacts for different final products revealed that hot rolled coil causes the highest total environmental impact. Moreover, the environmental impact of mechanical workshop of the facility was found negligible when compared to the production processes.

European Union published IPPC Directive in 1996 aiming to create an integrated approach in order to manage and control industrial facilities better. IPPC provides the development of a new concept of &ldquo / Best Available Techniques (BAT)&rdquo / , the most effective, advanced and applicable methods, preventing emissions to the environment and providing efficient use of resources. Within this framework, numerous sectoral Best Available Techniques Reference Documents were published giving information on the sector and BAT alternatives for this sector. Iron and steel industry, which causes quite significant amount of resource depletion and waste production, is one of the industries within the scope of IPPC Directive. In the this study, environmental performance of an integrated iron and steel plant in Turkey is evaluated and compared with the EU&rsquo / s integrated iron and steel plants, in order to suggest applicable BAT alternatives for the studied plant. Totally 74 BAT alternatives were evaluated and among them 36 alternatives were determined to be applicable for this plant. Finally, two of these applicable BAT alternatives were selected and compared by use of cross-media effects and financial analysis. The results of this study indicated that dust emission and high energy consumption are the common problems in the facility. Moreover, sintering process was found to be the least compatible sub-process with EU&rsquo / s iron and steel plants. Additionally, it was determined that with respect to application of BAT alternatives, facility is quite compatible with EU&rsquo / s iron v and steel plants. Furthermore, cross media effect and financial analysis revealed that the selected BAT alternatives, &ldquo / Advanced Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP)&rdquo / and &ldquo / Bag Filter-combined or integrated reduction of solid and gaseous pollutants&rdquo / , have different cross media effects on the environment, however, the second alternative is a more cost-effective alternative than the first one. Since this study was undertaken in an integrated iron and steel plant that represents Turkish iron and steel industry with respect to its production process, production capacity and environmental performance / the results of this study can be used to aid decision makers to make environmental initiatives in iron and steel industry in Turkey.

Die Einführung neuartiger Energietechnologien wird allgemein als der Schlüssel zur Senkung klimaschädlicher Treibhausgase angesehen. Allerdings ist die Abbildung derartiger Technologien in numerischen Modellen zur Simulation und ökonomischen Analyse von energie- und klimaschutzpolitischen Maßnahmen vielfach noch rudimentär. Die Dissertation entwickelt neue Ansätze zur Einbindung von technologischen Innovationen in energie-ökonomische allgemeine Gleichgewichtsmodelle, mit dem Ziel den Energiesektor realitätsnäher abzubilden. Die Dissertation adressiert einige der Hauptkritikpunkte an allgemeinen Gleichgewichtsmodellen zur Analyse von Energie- und Klimapolitik: Die fehlende sektorale und technologische Disaggregation, die beschränkte Darstellung von technologischem Fortschritt, und das Fehlen von einem weiten Spektrum an Treibhausgasminderungsoptionen. Die Dissertation widmet sich zwei Hauptfragen: (1) Wie können technologische Innovationen in allgemeine Gleichgewichtsmodelle eingebettet werden? (2) Welche zusätzlichen und politikrelevanten Informationen lassen sich durch diese methodischen Erweiterungen gewinnen? Die Verwendung eines sogenannten Hybrid-Ansatzes, in dem neuartige Technologien für Stromerzeugung und Eisen- und Stahlherstellung in ein dynamisch multi-sektorales CGE Modell eingebettet werden, zeigt, dass technologiespezifische Effekte von großer Bedeutung sind für die ökonomische Analyse von Klimaschutzmaßnahmen, insbesondere die Effekte hinsichtlich von Technologiewechsel und dadurch bedingten Änderungen der Input- und Emissionsstrukturen. Darüber hinaus zeigt die Dissertation, dass Lerneffekte auf verschiedenen Stufen der Produktionskette abgebildet werden müssen: Für regenerative Energien, zum Beispiel, nicht nur bei der Anwendung von Stromerzeugungsanlagen, sondern ebenso auf der vorgelagerten Produktionsstufe bei der Herstellung dieser Anlagen. Die differenzierte Abbildung von Lerneffekten in Exportsektoren, wie zum Beispiel Windanlagen, verändert die Wirtschaftlichkeit und die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und hat wichtige Implikationen für die ökonomische Analyse von Klimapolitik. / Energy technologies and innovation are considered to play a crucial role in climate change mitigation. Yet, the representation of technologies in energy-economy models, which are used extensively to analyze the economic, energy and environmental impacts of alternative energy and climate policies, is rather limited. This dissertation presents advanced techniques of including technological innovations in energy-economy computable general equilibrium (CGE) models. New methods are explored and applied for improving the realism of energy production and consumption in such top-down models. The dissertation addresses some of the main criticism of general equilibrium models in the field of energy and climate policy analysis: The lack of detailed sectoral and technical disaggregation, the restricted view on innovation and technological change, and the lack of extended greenhouse gas mitigation options. The dissertation reflects on the questions of (1) how to introduce innovation and technological change in a computable general equilibrium model as well as (2) what additional and policy relevant information is gained from using these methodologies. Employing a new hybrid approach of incorporating technology-specific information for electricity generation and iron and steel production in a dynamic multi-sector computable equilibrium model it can be concluded that technology-specific effects are crucial for the economic assessment of climate policy, in particular the effects relating to process shifts and fuel input structure. Additionally, the dissertation shows that learning-by-doing in renewable energy takes place in the renewable electricity sector but is equally important in upstream sectors that produce technologies, i.e. machinery and equipment, for renewable electricity generation. The differentiation of learning effects in export sectors, such as renewable energy technologies, matters for the economic assessment of climate policies because of effects on international competitiveness and economic output.