The invention relates to a method for the direct reduction of oxidic iron carrier particles to a reduction product in a fluidized bed through which a reduction gas containing 30-100 mol % hydrogen H.sub.2 flows in crossflow. At least 90% by mass of oxidic iron carrier particles introduced into the fluidized bed have a particle size of less than or equal to 200 micrometers. The superficial velocity U of the reduction gas flowing through the fluidized bed is set between 0.05 m/s and 1 m/s such that, for the particle size d equal to d.sub.30 of the oxidic iron carrier particles introduced into the fluidized bed, it is above the theoretical suspension velocity U.sub.t and is less than or equal to U.sub.max.

A method for operating a metallurgical furnace and a simplified way of providing synthesis gas for a metallurgical furnace, includes the following steps performing a combustion process outside the metallurgical furnace by combusting a carbon-containing material with an oxygen-rich gas to produce an offgas, which offgas is a CO.sub.2 containing gas; and combining the offgas, while having an elevated combustion-induced temperature due to the combustion process, with a hydrocarbon-containing fuel gas to obtain a first gas mixture having a temperature above a reforming temperature necessary for a reforming process, preferably a dry reforming process; the first gas mixture undergoing the reforming process, thereby producing a synthesis gas containing CO and H.sub.2, the reforming process being performed non-catalytically; and feeding the synthesis gas into the metallurgical furnace.

A method for operating a blast furnace, including collecting a blast furnace gas from the blast furnace, the blast furnace gas being a CO.sub.2 containing gas, combining the blast furnace gas with a fuel gas to obtain a gas mixture, the fuel gas being a hydrocarbon containing gas, subjecting the gas mixture to a reforming process, thereby producing a synthesis gas containing CO and H.sub.2; and feeding at least a portion of the synthesis gas and an oxygen-rich gas into the blast furnace, where the blast furnace gas is combined with the fuel gas while containing substantially the same amount of CO.sub.2 as when exiting the blast furnace and wherein the blast furnace gas is combined with the fuel gas in an over-stoichiometric ratio, so that the synthesis gas contains a surplus portion of the blast furnace gas.

The present disclosure relates, according to some embodiments to a method for steel production, the method comprising forming a hydrogen and a carbon from a natural gas using thermal plasma electrolysis; reducing iron ore fines with the H.sub.2 to form an iron briquette; melting the briquette iron from the furnace to form a melted iron and melted non-metallic slag; separating the non-metallic slag from the melted iron in the furnace; combining the carbon and the melted iron in a furnace to form a carbon black and iron mixture; and alloying the melted iron with the carbon black to form a steel.

A method for direct reduction of metal oxide-containing starting materials to produce metallized material by contact with hot reduction gas in a reduction unit (1), wherein the product of the direct reduction is discharged from the reduction unit (1) by means of a product discharge device (3) which is flushed with seal gas and from which vent gas is drawn and subsequently de-dusted. The vent gas is de-dusted dry and the content of at least one gaseous constituent is reduced by catalytic conversion or combustion. Also, a device for carrying out the method is disclosed.

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.

In a thermochemical method, a syngas comprising oxygen is combusted in a furnace, thereby producing a hot exhaust gas. The exhaust gas is subsequently discharged into the surroundings while the inner energy of the exhaust gas is at least partly used to carry out a reformation reaction. For this purpose, steam together with a hydrocarbon-containing fuel and an oxygen-containing gas are supplied to a reformer and converted into syngas in an endothermic reaction using inner energy of the exhaust gas. The heat of the exhaust gas is used in particular to evaporate water and supply same to the reformer in a superheated state. The syngas is then supplied to the furnace as fuel. The invention prevents undesired constituents of the furnace atmosphere, in particular sulfur compounds, from being supplied to the reformer.

Method 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 (120) so as to achieve an underpressure inside the furnace space (120); c) providing, in a main heating step, heat and hydrogen gas to the furnace space (120), 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; and d) condensing and collecting the water vapour formed in step c in a condenser (160) below the charged metal material, characterised in that steps c and d are performed at least until a hydrogen atmosphere overpressure has been reached inside the furnace space (120), and in that no hydrogen gas is evacuated from the furnace space (120) until said overpressure has been reached. The invention also relates to a system.

A modular direct reduction system for producing direct reduced iron (DRI) includes a reformer system which receives a flow of feed gas and which discharges a flow of reducing gas, the reformer system including a plurality of separate reformer modules connected together and wherein each reformer module includes a reformer vessel including an internal chamber, a reactor tube extending through the internal chamber of the reformer vessel and containing a catalyst configured to react with the feed gas received by the reactor tube to form the reducing gas, and a burner to burn a fuel gas to heat the reactor tube, and a furnace system connected to the reformer system and including a furnace having a first inlet which receives an iron ore, a second inlet which receives the reducing gas from the reformer system to form the DRI, and an outlet which discharges the DRI.

Method 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 (120) so as to achieve an underpressure inside the furnace space (120); c) providing, in a main heating step, heat and hydrogen gas to the furnace space (120), 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; and d) 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 said hydrogen gas in step c is provided without recirculation of the hydrogen gas, and in that the method further comprises the subse 15 quently performed step of removing the reduced metal material from the furnace space (120), and storing and/or transporting the reduced metal material under an inert atmosphere.