A process for the production of sponge iron and a system for the production of sponge iron. The process includes the steps of: producing electrolytic hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis of water; producing methanol by reacting the electrolytic hydrogen with carbon dioxide; storing the methanol; reforming the methanol using water and/or oxygen to provide carbon dioxide and released hydrogen; providing the released hydrogen as a component portion of a reducing gas to a direct reduction shaft; and reducing iron ore in the direct reduction shaft using the reducing gas to produce the sponge iron.

Provided is a steelmaking line contributing to the realization of a method that achieves energy saving and CO.sub.2 emission reduction when producing reduced iron from iron oxide. The steelmaking line comprises: a blast furnace configured to reduce iron oxide; a reducing furnace configured to reduce iron oxide; a methane synthesizer configured to synthesize methane from blast furnace gas and/or furnace top gas, and hydrogen gas; a blower configured to blow the methane gas synthesized by the methane synthesizer into the blast furnace; a heat-reformer configured to heat or heat-reform the blast furnace gas and/or the furnace top gas, and the methane gas synthesized by the methane synthesizer, to generate reducing gas; a reducing gas blower configured to blow the reducing gas into the reducing furnace; and a supply path configured to supply the furnace top gas to the methane synthesizer and/or the heat-reformer.

In a process and apparatus for the reduction of metal oxides to form metalized material by contact with hot reducing gas, which is produced at least partially by catalytic reformation of a mixture of—a gas containing carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) and/or steam (H.sub.2O) with—gaseous hydrocarbons, the fuel gas for burners which provide the heat for the endothermal reformation processes which take place during the reformation is obtained at least partially from a partial quantity of the top gas produced during the reduction of metal oxides to form metalized material, wherein this partial quantity of the top gas, before it is used as a component of the fuel gas, is firstly subjected to dedusting and then to a CO conversion reaction, and the conversion gas obtained during the CO conversion reaction is subjected to CO.sub.2 removal after cooling.

Provision of a gas production apparatus that can stably produce a product gas with carbon monoxide as its main component from a separated gas including carbon dioxide as a main component.

The gas production apparatus 1 consists of the following: a separation and capture section 5, which separates and captures separated gas containing mainly of carbon dioxide from the exhaust gas taken from the line of the exhaust gas equipment; a reaction section 4 including at least a reactor, which is connected to downstream of the separation and capture section 5, contains a reducing agent that generates carbon monoxide through a reduction reaction of carbon dioxide brought into contact with the separated gas, and is capable of separating at least some of oxygen atoms separated from carbon dioxide; a pressure regulating section 7 connected to downstream of the reactor 4 to regulate the pressure of the separated gas supplied to the reactor; and the flow regulating section 6 connected on the upstream of the separation and capture section 5 and regulates the flow rate of the separated gas supplied to the reactor.

System and method for producing steel is provided that efficiently reduce carbon dioxide emissions. A steel production system includes: a first gas generating section configured to obtain a first gas by converting carbon monoxide, to carbon dioxide, in a gas containing the carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide; a reducing gas supply section 3 configured to supply a reducing gas containing a reducing substance to reduce a reducing agent, the reducing agent containing metal oxide to reduce carbon dioxide and being oxidized by contact with the carbon dioxide; and a reaction section 4 including a plurality of reactors 4a and 4b, respectively connected to at least one of the first gas generating section and the reducing gas supply section 3, and the reducing agent arranged in the reactors 4a and 4b, the reaction section being capable of switching between the first gas and the reducing gas to be supplied to each of the reactors 4a and 4b, wherein a second gas is configured to be supplied to a blast furnace, the second gas being obtained by contacting the first gas supplied to the reactors 4a and 4b with the reducing agent to convert the carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide and the second gas having the carbon monoxide as a main component.

A method and a device for reducing iron-oxide-containing feedstocks, in which a reducing gas is fed to a reducing unit (1) containing the iron-oxide-containing feedstocks. The reducing gas is generated by introducing a process gas having reduction potential into a heating appliance (3) for heating the process gas, which is withdrawn as reducing gas therefrom. In the heating appliance (3), heat energy is transferred to the process gas. The heat energy is formed by combustion of a fuel gas containing organic substances, including coke oven gas with addition of technically pure oxygen. The flames of the combustion have an adiabatic flame temperature of above 1000° C., wherein, in the combustion of the fuel gas, at least some of the organic substances present in the fuel gas are cracked.

A method and apparatus for producing direct reduced iron using a pre-treated make-up gas as a reducing agent in a direct reduced iron reactor are provided. The method involves pre-treating a stream of make-up gas containing heavy hydrocarbons by subjecting the stream to low temperature adiabatic reforming at a temperature between 300° C. and 600° C., prior to using the stream of make-up gas as a reducing agent for producing direct reduced iron. The method also involves adjusting the humidity content of the stream of make-up gas after the low temperature adiabatic reforming by bypassing the stream to selectively split it into a first part of the stream of make-up gas and a second part of the stream of make-up gas, subjecting the first part to water separation, and then mixing the first part with the second part to obtain a reducing stream to be sent to direct reduced iron production.

A method of operating a metallurgic plant for producing iron products includes the following steps, wherein the metallurgic plant includes a direct reduction plant and an ironmaking plant, the metallurgic plant: feeding an iron ore charge into the direct reduction plant to produce direct reduced iron products, operating the ironmaking plant to produce pig iron, wherein biochar is introduced into the ironmaking plant as reducing agent, and whereby the ironmaking plant generates offgas containing CO and CO2, and treating offgas from the ironmaking plant in a hydrogen enrichment unit to form a hydrogen-rich stream and a CO2-rich stream. The hydrogen-rich stream is fed directly or indirectly to the direct reduction plant. The CO2-rich stream is converted to be valorized in the direct reduction plant.

A corresponding metallurgic plant is also related.

The present invention provides a reduction system and method that can be operated with any proportion of gaseous hydrogen-containing gases and gaseous hydrocarbon-containing gases having the possibility of continuing its operation, ensuring an high process availability and negligible loss of production, when the gaseous hydrogen-containing gas for any reason is not available and allow the substitution of the gaseous hydrogen-containing gas with a gaseous hydrocarbon-containing gas with minor adjustments in the plant operation. The reduction system of the invention is designed to be implemented in new and already built direct reduction plants to operate efficiently and has lower capital and operation costs.

A method of direct reduction of iron (DRI) is disclosed, the method comprising generating metallic iron by removing oxygen from iron ore using a reducing gaseous mixture with excess carbon monoxide that produces an excess CO.sub.2 by-product is provided. CO.sub.2 by-product is optionally sequestered. A system for carrying out the method is also disclosed.