Story of Wundowie

Australia’s First Green Iron

The use of biogenic carbon (biocarbon) as a reducing agent in the production of iron, copper, zinc and many other modern materials is nothing new. In fact, all the world’s iron was made this way until the Industrial Revolution when vast deposits of coal began to be mined to produce coke, allowing the iron making process to be simplified and scaled for mass production.

Notwithstanding, in many parts of the world where iron ore is abundant but no large scale coal resources are available, iron production using biocarbon has remained economically viable.

One such place is the town of Wundowie in Western Australia’s wheat belt where bio-Carbon in the form of charcoal sourced from the local saw mill was combined with iron ore in a blast furnace to produce a pig iron product commonly known as ‘charcoal iron’. Wundowie Charcoal Iron and Steel was established by the Western Australian government in 1943 and operated all the way up to 1981. An iron foundry continues to operate on the site today.

While Wundowie Carbon takes its inspiration from the ingenuity of the old Wundowie Charcoal Iron and Steel, we take a modern approach by using precise low emissions technology to create bespoke biocarbon products from responsibly sourced woody waste streams.

Our bio-PCI product acts as a drop in replacement for PCI coal (Pulverised Coal Injectant) which is injected into the base of a blast furnace as a means of reducing the amount of more expensive coke consumed during the production of iron and ultimately, steel.

By switching to bio-PCI, steel makers can reduce the amount of fossil carbon that is released into the atmosphere by harnessing the carbon within the existing biogenic carbon cycle.

For more information on biocarbon as a transition technology please click here.

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