A direct reduction process producing DRI from iron oxide particles by reduction at a about 750? C. with a reducing gas mainly H.sub.2 and CO, that also includes CO.sub.2, H.sub.20, and methane, a the reduction reactor and the top gas effluent from the reduction reaction after cooling/scrubbing is split. The resulting first top gas portion with a first hydrocarbon-containing make-up gas passes through a catalytic reformer yielding an improved hot reducing gas first effluent. The second top gas portion passes through a CO.sub.2 removal unit and then with the second hydrocarbon-containing make-up gas passes through a heater yielding a hot CO.sub.2-lean recycle reducing gas second effluent. The first and second effluents are fed to the reducing zone of the reduction reactor as the reducing gas reactant. The flow rate of at least the second of the two make-up gases is regulated to control the carbon content of the DRI produced.

An ironmaking method includes ore beneficiating a high combined water content iron ore including a loss of ignition of 3 to 12 mass % into a goethite-rich part including at least a loss of ignition of 4 mass % or more and an iron content of 55 mass % or more; agglomerating the goethite-rich part into first fired pellets in a pellet induration furnace; and the first fired pellets into a shaft furnace while the first fired pellets have a surface temperature of 600? C. or higher, and directly reducing the first fired pellets using a reducing gas containing 60 volume % or more of hydrogen.

A method is disclosed for generating slag having desired characteristics.

A suspension roasting system includes a feeding bin, a Venturi dryer, a first cyclone preheater, a second cyclone preheater, a pre-oxidation suspension roasting furnace, a thermal separation cyclone cylinder, a suspension and reduction roasting furnace, a collecting bin, a grinding machine, a magnetic ore separator and a draught fan. A suspension roasting method includes: crushing iron and manganese ores; conveying the ores to the Venturi dryer; starting the draught fan and enabling combustion gas in the Venturi dryer to be mixed with dust ores to remove water; enabling obtained solid materials to enter the pre-oxidation suspension roasting furnace after being preheated by the first and second cyclone preheaters; enabling obtained gas to enter the suspension and reduction roasting furnace through the thermal separation cyclone cylinder; performing suspension and reduction roasting; enabling obtained reducing slag powder to enter the collecting bin through cooling cyclone cylinders; and performing grinding and magnetic separation.

A method for producing direct reduction iron includes reducing an iron oxide raw material by a reducing gas containing hydrogen gas to generate direct reduction iron; removing water from an exhaust gas in the reducing and thus hydrogen gas is separated from the exhaust gas; carbonizing and cooling the direct reduction iron using a cooling gas containing carbon as an element, and separating hydrogen gas and methane gas from an exhaust gas in the carbonizing and cooling, wherein the cooling gas is methane gas, wherein the reducing gas further contains the hydrogen gas separated in the removing and the hydrogen gas separated in the separating, and wherein the cooling gas further contains the methane gas separated in the separating.

A method for reducing carbon footprint in operating a metallurgical plant for producing pig iron, including: pre-heating iron ore fines in a first electric pre-heater to obtain pre-heated iron ore fines partially reducing the pre-heated iron ore fines in one or more fluidized bed reactors in the presence of a hot reducing gas to obtain partially reduced iron; feeding the partially reduced iron to a submerged arc furnace; further reducing and melting the partially reduced iron within the submerged arc furnace in the presence of a carbonaceous material to obtain molten pig iron; where the hot reducing gas includes hydrogen, syngas, off-gas of the submerged arc furnace, other off-gases from the metallurgical plant, or mixtures of two or more thereof, where the syngas is produced from natural gas or biomethane, blast furnace gas, off-gas of the submerged arc furnace, other off-gases from the metallurgical plant, or mixtures of two or more thereof in the presence of air or oxygen enriched air, steam or carbon dioxide in one or more reforming reactors, where the hot reducing gas has a temperature above 550 C., and where the partially reduced iron has a metallization degree of 55 to 75%.

An alternative approach to producing iron from iron concentrates produced from low grade iron ore without going through pelletization and induration. Such a method may include providing iron ore concentrate in a small particle form, passing the iron ore concentrate through a moving bed conveyor reduction furnace with at least one of hydrogen or natural gas, wherein the concentrate is present in a layer that is no more than about 5 cm thick, the hydrogen gas or natural gas reducing the concentrate so as to remove oxygen therefrom, converting the iron ore concentrate to iron that has a composition similar to direct reduced iron (DRI) or sponge iron product, having about 90-95% iron, up to about 10% oxygen, with other trace impurities. Energy consumption is reduced by 30-50% and CO.sub.2 emissions are reduced by 60-95%, depending on whether natural gas or hydrogen is used.

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.

A facility for producing reduced iron includes: a granulation apparatus that granulates raw material fine powder that contains iron and has a median diameter of 50 m or less into granular powder in a fluidized bed formed by fluidizing medium particles that do not thermally decompose during fluidization; and a reduction apparatus that reduces at least the granular powder in the fluidized bed formed by fluidizing the granular powder.

The invention provides a method of reducing ferrous metal fines derived from waste or from ferrous ore, including feeding a fine ferrous material with a particle size distribution of between 10 microns to less than 6 mm and a reductant into an indirectly heated vibratory bed furnace, and contacting the fine ferrous material with the reductant in the indirectly heated vibratory bed furnace at a temperature of up to 1350 C. to produce a hot direct reduced ferrous metal.