The present disclosure relates to an iron briquette produced by providing sponge iron pellets, providing carbon powder, producing a mixture of the sponge iron pellets and the carbon powder, and briquetting the mixture to provide an iron briquette comprising compressed sponge iron pellets and carbon powder located in interstitial spaces between the compressed sponge iron pellets, wherein the iron briquette comprises at least 0.2 wt % carbon powder, and wherein the sponge iron pellets comprise at least 0.5 wt % iron oxide and are essentially free of carbon. The disclosure further relates to a method for producing such an iron briquette.

Stabilized volatile briquettes and processes and apparatuses for making and using the same are provided. The stabilized volatile briquette includes a volatile material and a thermoplastic binder material such that the thermoplastic binder material binds the volatile material together to define a briquette that is stable. The process includes mixing a volatile waste material and a thermoplastic binder material to form a briquette mixture, shearing the briquette mixture, extruding the briquette mixture to form a thermoplastic briquette extrusion, and hardening the thermoplastic briquette extrusion to form a stabilized volatile briquette. The apparatus includes an extruder, a heating portion operably connected to the extruder, and a heated die operably connected to the heating portion such that the extruder, the heating portion, and the heated die are configured to gradually heat a thermoplastic binder material such that the thermoplastic binder material binds a provided volatile material together.

The invention relates to a process for producing carburized directly reduced iron sponge from iron oxide material. Firstly, direct reduction is carried out by means of a reduction gas consisting at least predominantly of H.sub.2 and the carbon content in the iron sponge is then increased by means of a carburizing gas which is fed in, after which used carburizing gas is at least partly taken off while largely avoiding mixing with the reduction gas. The plant for producing carburized directly reduced iron sponge from iron oxide material comprises a reduction zone for directly reducing introduced iron oxide material to directly reduced product by means of reduction gas consisting predominantly of H.sub.2 and a reduction gas feed conduit opening into the reduction zone. It also comprises a carburization zone having a carburizing gas feed conduit opening into the carburization zone and a carburization offgas conduit.

Methods and apparatus for the treatment of animal waste are disclosed, together with a treated animal waste and fertilizer and growth media products derived therefrom.

Method and system for producing direct reduced metal material, comprising the steps: a) charging metal material to be reduced into a furnace space (120); b) evacuating an existing atmosphere from the furnace space to achieve a gas pressure of less than 1 bar therein, c) providing heat and hydrogen gas into the furnace space, so that heated hydrogen gas heats the charged metal material to a temperature high enough so that metal oxides present in the metal material are reduced, in turn causing water vapour to be formed, which hydrogen gas provision is performed so that a pressure of more than 1 bar builds up inside the furnace space; and d) before evacuating the built up overpressure, condensing and collecting the water vapour formed in step c in a condenser (160) below the charged metal material. The invention is characterised in that it further comprises the step e) before evacuating the build up overpressure, providing a carbon-containing gas to the furnace space, so that the heated and reduced metal material is carburized by said carbon-containing gas.

Methods and apparatus for the treatment of animal waste are disclosed, together with a treated animal waste and fertilizer and growth media products derived therefrom.

The present invention relates to a process for the smelting of a metalliferous feedstock material. The process includes the steps of: (i) feeding an agglomerate comprising of a fine metalliferous feedstock material and a fine reductant to a reactor, the agglomerate forming a packed bed within the reactor; (ii) smelting the agglomerate by passing a hot reducing gas counter current through the packed bed to form a molten material comprising a partially reduced metalliferous constituent, an intermediate slag constituent and entrained unreacted reductant constituent; and (iii) channeling the molten material to flow into a vessel to form a metal product and a slag product.

Method for producing direct reduced metal material (142), comprising the steps: a) charging material into a closed furnace space (120); b) filling the furnace space with heated inert gas, heating the material; c) providing a reducing gas; d) providing heat so that metal oxides present in the material are reduced, in turn causing water vapour to be formed; e) condensing and collecting the water vapour a condenser (160); and f) evacuating remaining reducing gas from the furnace space. The method is characterised in that the reducing gas has a lower density than the inert gas at the same pressure, and in that, in step c), the reducing gas is provided while the inert gas is still present in the furnace space, whereby the provided reducing gas as a result pushes the inert gas downwards, until the material (is entirely contained in reducing gas. The invention also relates to a system.

The invention relates to a method for sealing a reduction assembly, wherein the reduction assembly has a product discharge device, wherein the product discharge device is supplied with sealing gas and wherein at least one compressor is provided for delivering prepared sealing gas to the product discharge device, wherein according to the invention, at least one nitrogen generator is provided for producing pure sealing gas, and wherein the sealing gas for supplying to the product discharge device is composed of pure sealing gas from the at least one nitrogen generator or composed of pure sealing gas from the at least one nitrogen generator and of prepared sealing gas from the at least one compressor. The invention also relates to a device with which the method according to the invention is carried out.

The present invention relates to reduction of a metal oxide material (5) and to a metal material production configuration (1) adapted for reduction of a metal oxide material (5) holding thermal energy into a reduced metal material (16).

The metal oxide material (5) is charged into an upper interior portion (UP) of a reduction facility (7). A hydrogen containing reducing agent (6) is introduced into the reduction facility (7) and is adapted to react with the metal oxide material (5) holding thermal energy for reducing the metal oxide material (5) by utilizing the thermal energy of the metal oxide material (5) to heat or further heat the introduced hydrogen containing reducing agent (6).

The reduction facility (7) of the metal material production configuration (1) is configured for providing a heat treatment process of the reduced metal material (16).

A control circuitry (50) is configured to adjust the temperature of the hydrogen containing reducing agent (6) and control the temperature of the introduced hydrogen containing reducing agent (6) for reaching at least one desired passivation parameter value (DPPV) of the reduced metal material (16).