A coupled material-energy‑carbon flow method for quantifying changes in energy consumption and CO2 emissions of iron and steel sites

Key Points

• This method reveals substantial variations in energy consumption across steel production sites, directly linking them to CO2 emissions.
• The metric indicates a notable reduction of 20% in emissions for optimized processes compared to traditional methods.
• Observational analysis focused on integrated material-energy-carbon flows highlights the efficiency of resource use in industry.
• This approach supports sustainability initiatives, but further field studies are needed to validate across varying conditions.