Oxyfuel combustion is emerging as a practical near-term decarboniяation option for energy-intensive sectors, with industry experts highlighting its ability to cut carbon emissions by up to 40% while preparing industrial sites for future carbon capture deployment.
Speaking at a technology roundtable during the EIGA Winter Summit 2026 in Antwerp, representatives from SIAD, SOL and Linde said replacing conventional air combustion with high-purity oxygen can deliver immediate efficiency gains across aluminum, steel, glass and precious metals processing.
Rather than being an experimental solution, panelists described oxyfuel as a mature technology already operating at commercial scale. Linde’s Director for Metals and Glass, Joachim von Scheele, noted that installations range from small industrial systems to large-scale furnaces approaching 100 megawatts, demonstrating its flexibility across different plant sizes and production profiles.
The core advantage lies in removing nitrogen from the combustion process. Traditional burners waste significant energy heating nitrogen present in air, which does not contribute to production. By switching to oxygen, furnaces achieve higher flame temperatures, improved heat transfer and substantially lower fuel demand.
Lower Fuel Use and Easier Carbon Capture
Beyond direct fuel savings, speakers stressed that oxyfuel creates a flue gas stream that is far more concentrated in CO2. This smaller exhaust volume reduces fan power requirements and simplifies downstream capture, making the technology a natural stepping stone toward full carbon capture integration.
According to von Scheele, the combination of efficiency improvements and CO2-rich exhaust streams positions oxyfuel as an enabling technology for both CCS retrofits and future hydrogen fuel switching strategies.
In the aluminum sector, SOL’s Product Manager Gabriele Bertolissi highlighted the role of oxyfuel in supporting circular economy objectives.
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The technology allows producers to process lower-quality and contaminated scrap that would otherwise be landfilled or exported, while simultaneously reducing overall fuel consumption and emissions.
Steel and precious metals recyclers are also adopting the technology. SIAD’s Anselmo Recanati pointed to growing demand driven by electronic waste recovery and secondary raw material processing, where higher productivity and lower natural gas use improve both environmental and economic performance.
However, panelists acknowledged that regulatory frameworks and limited awareness continue to slow uptake. Von Scheele added that European permitting systems often focus on emission concentrations rather than absolute volumes, creating misleading signals for cleaner combustion technologies.
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