A method of reduction of a metal oxide material and a metal material production configuration adapted for manufacture of reduced metal material, a metal oxide material production unit produces a metal oxide material holding thermal energy, a direct reduction facility is configured for introduction of a reducing agent adapted to react with the metal oxide material. The method includes the steps of; charging the metal oxide material, holding thermal energy; introducing the reducing agent; reducing the metal oxide material to reduced metal material by utilizing the thermal energy of the metal oxide material to heat or further heat the introduced reducing agent for achieving a chemical reaction; and discharging the reduced metal material from the direct reduction facility.

A direct reduction facility and a data program configured to execute an automatic or semi-automatic manufacture of reduced metal material ready to be transported to a metal production site.

A direct reduction method/system, including: adding variable amounts of natural gas, hydrogen, and a carbon-free oxidizing gas to a feed gas stream upstream of a reformer; reforming the feed gas stream in the reformer to form a reformed gas stream, and delivering the reformed gas stream to a shaft furnace, where the reformed gas stream is used to reduce a metallic ore material to a direct reduced metallic material. The feed gas stream includes a top gas stream recycled from the shaft furnace. Optionally, the carbon-free oxidizing gas includes steam and the method further includes controlling a steam flow rate of the steam to maintain a maximum k-factor value of the feed gas stream of 0.74 or lower. Optionally, the variable amount of hydrogen is selected to replace 20-90% of the natural gas by fuel value. The variable amount of hydrogen is selected based upon an available supply of hydrogen.

In one aspect, the invention relates to a system for producing direct reduced iron wherein a portion of the top gas from a first module for reducing iron oxide by a direct reduction process is utilized as fuel in the thermal equipment of a second module for reducing iron oxide by a direct reduction process, wherein the second module comprises a process gas heating unit. In various aspects, the thermal equipment of the second module is a reducing gas heater and/or a steam boiler. In a further aspect, the top gas from multiple instances of the first module can be utilized collectively as fuel in the thermal equipment of the second module. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention.

A method for manufacturing Direct Reduced Iron wherein iron ore is reduced in a DRI shaft by a reducing gas including hydrogen obtained by extraction from coke oven gas through a hydrogen separation unit, the remaining part of such coke oven gas being at least partly injected in the transition section of said DRI shaft to set the carbon amount of said Direct Reduced Iron from 0.5 to 3 wt. % and a DRI manufacturing equipment including a DRI shaft (1) and a hydrogen separation unit (5), wherein said hydrogen separation unit (5) inlet is connected to a coke oven gas supply (6) and includes a first outlet connected to the DRI shaft to inject hydrogen separated from said coke oven gas and a second outlet connected to the transition section of said DRI shaft (1) to inject at least part of the remaining part of such coke oven gas.

A method for manufacturing Direct Reduced Iron wherein iron ore is reduced in a DRI shaft by a reducing gas including hydrogen obtained by thermal cracking of methane inside a plasma torch, the reducing gas further including top gas coming from the DRI shaft and a DRI manufacturing equipment including a DRI shaft (1) and a plasma torch (40), wherein the plasma torch is connected on one side to a methane supply (41) and, on the other side, to the DRI shaft (1), the DRI shaft being provided with a recycling loop allowing to inject its top gas back in the DRI shaft.

A system for the production of sponge iron, the system including a direct reduction shaft including a first inlet for introduction of iron ore into the shaft, a first outlet for removing sponge iron from the shaft, a reduction gas source, connected through a gas line with the shaft, a first compressor in said gas line, and a primary circuit for conducting at least a part of the top gas therethrough. The primary circuit is connected in one end with shaft and in another end with said gas line downstream said first compressor. The system also includes a secondary circuit for conducting at least a portion of gas removed from gas conducted through the primary circuit, said secondary circuit being connected in one end to the primary circuit and in another end to said gas line upstream said first compressor. The system further includes means therein for reducing the pressure of said portion of gas conducted through the secondary circuit, and a first valve for controlling a flow of said portion of gas into the secondary circuit.

To provide a method for producing agglomerated ore, with which reduced iron can be efficiently produced by hydrogen reduction, without the need for preheating raw material and raising the temperature of reducing gas. A method for producing agglomerated ore, the method including sintering a sintering raw material containing an iron-containing raw material and a condensation material in a sintering machine to form a sinter cake, and obtaining agglomerated ore by crushing the sinter cake, in which iron oxide contained in the sinter cake is reduced by distributing a reducing gas through the sinter cake on the sintering machine, to make a degree of reduction of iron oxide contained in the agglomerated ore after crushing 50% or more.

The present disclosure provides a pre-reduced pellet preparation device and method based on grate-rotary kiln. The pre-reduced pellet preparation device comprises a grate-rotary kiln pellet oxidation system and a hydrogen-based shaft furnace reduction system. In the pre-reduced pellet preparation method, a roasting process and a reduction process for an iron-containing green pellet are organically combined, and a pellet cooling process after roasting and a heating process before pellet reduction are eliminated; physical heat of a roasted pellet is used to satisfy heat required in the heating and reduction processes; the technical problems of a low hydrogen utilization rate and high energy consumption of pellets in oxidative roasting and direct reduction processes in traditional direct reduction processes are solved; a reduced pellet having a certain metallization rate is obtained; the prepared pre-reduced pellet is used as blast furnace burden, such that blast furnace fuel consumption and carbon emission can be significantly reduced; the method is a new, low-carbon, and green pre-reduced pellet preparation process.

An improved direct smelting system and process using a smelt reduction vessel (SRV), and optionally, a cyclone converter furnace (CCF). The improved system and process utilizes a fast quench system in which hot process offgas containing molten material is quench-cooled from greater than 1400? C. (2552? F.) to no more than 600? C. (1112? F.) in a time-of-flight of no greater than 1 second. The quenching occurs using water spray injection and vaporization to cool, stress and break solid slag into slag pieces small enough to remove from the quenching system. The improved system eliminates plant availability problems associated with (i) accretion formation in the offgas train as hot process offgas cools down in a conventional (slow) manner to allow for steam-raising for power generation or other heat recovery purposes, and (ii) trigger mechanisms causing slag foaming events in the SRV that propagate up the offgas train.

The present disclosure relates to a method for producing steel in an integrated metallurgical plant comprising at least one direct reduction reactor for directly reducing iron ore to give sponge iron, at least one electric furnace for melting the sponge iron to give pig iron or crude steel, at least one blast furnace for smelting iron ore to give pig iron, and at least one converter for refining pig iron to give crude steel. In accordance with the invention, the process gas discharged from the direct reduction reactor is admixed at least partly to the hot blast air and/or at least partly to an optional charging material, said air and/or said material being blown into the blast furnace.