JSDC looks at iron smelting

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The empty westbound coal trains passing through Jamestown may someday bring iron ore to Stutsman County.

The Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. decided to fund a share of a feasibility study for a plant to smelt the ore into pellets during its regular meeting Monday. The plant would be co-located with Great River Energy’s Spiritwood Station coal-fired generating plant at Spiritwood.

The concept was presented by John Simmons, chairman of Carbontec Energy Corporation of Bismarck. His company has been working with researchers on using renewable energy to smelt iron.

“This seems like a good fit,” said Connie Ova, CEO of the JSDC. “But we don’t know for sure, which is why we ask for a study.”

A grant application for $105,000 has been made by the JSDC to North Dakota Ag Products Utilization Committee. This will be matched with a $25,000 cash payment by the JSDC, $5,000 in JSDC staff time and $25,000 from Carbontec Energy Corporation.

Mary Fletcher, director of business development for Carbontec, said the feasibility study would identify transportation and construction costs for the project.

“Rail rates are a big issue,” she said. “Rail is the most important cost because transporting the iron concentrate is big tonnage.”

The plan includes bringing iron ore concentrate from northern Minnesota in the west-bound coal trains that usually travel empty.

In the smelting operation, the iron ore would be mixed with biomass materials, such as sugar beet waste or switchgrass, and lime before heating either with natural gas or waste steam from Spiritwood Station.

The heating process sets off a chemical reaction that leaves iron pellets mixed with waste materials, or slag. The slag is brittle and can be knocked away from the iron pellets, which are gathered with a magnet.

The use of biomass reduces emissions from the process when compared to smelting iron using coal.

“There is not a lot of waste water,” Fletcher said. “Biomass makes the process carbon neutral and there are not a lot of emissions.”

Simmons said the intent is to build a pilot-scale plant at Spiritwood if the study indicates it is feasible. Construction could start as early as late 2013. The initial plant could employ about 25 people.

The plant could be expanded if the pilot project works well.

A full-scale plant would require between 60,000 and 80,000 tons of biomass each year.

“This could fit in well with the energy beets if that happens or even with the ethanol plant,” Ova said. “Or farmers could start growing switch grass if that is what makes the most sense at that time.”

Sun reporter Keith Norman can be reached at 701-952-8452 or by email at knorman@jamestownsun.com

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