According to embodiments, disclosed is a method and system to maintain the soft and sparse slag characteristic favorable for an electric arc to efficiently transfer the energy to molten iron with the power input per furnace area higher than 600 KW/m2 while keeping FeO amount less than 5% in the slag and carbon amount higher than 2.5% in the product hot metal at a DRI melting furnace.

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) channelling the molten material to flow into a vessel to form a metal product and a slag product.

A direct reduction process comprises providing a shaft furnace of a direct reduction plant to reduce iron oxide with reducing gas; providing a direct reduced iron melting furnace; and coupling a discharge chute between a discharge exit of the direct reduced shaft furnace and an inlet of the direct reduced iron melting furnace; wherein direct reduced iron and the reducing gas from the shaft furnace flow through the discharge chute and the reducing gas controls the melting furnace atmosphere to reducing environment.

A method for producing liquid pig iron (1), includes reducing iron-oxide-containing feed materials (2) to form a partially reduced first iron product (3) in a first reduction system (4), introducing the partially reduced first iron product (3), a first oxygen-containing gas (9, 9a), and a first carbon carrier (10) into a melter gasifier (11), introducing a second gaseous and/or liquid carbon carrier (13) and a second oxygen-containing gas (9b) into a mixing region (18) within the melter gasifier (11) above the fixed bed of the melter gasifier, mixing the second gaseous and/or liquid carbon carrier (13) with the second oxygen-containing gas (9b) in the mixing region (18), wherein the combustion air ratio is set in the range of 0.2 to 0.4, preferably between 0.3 and 0.35, in order to achieve partial oxidation of the second gaseous or liquid carbon carrier (13) within the mixing region (18), and mixing the gas resulting from the partial oxidation from the mixing region (18) with the gas in the remaining volume within the melter gasifier (11).

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.

A system for energy optimization in a plant (3) for producing direct-reduced metal ores (3). The plant (3) has at least one reduction unit (12), a device for separating gas mixtures (7, 7a, 7b) having an associated compressing device (4, 4a, 4b), and a gas-heating device (10) upstream of the reduction unit (12). Part of the process gases (2, 2a, 2b) is fed by a feed line from a smelting reduction plant to the plant for producing direct-reduced metal ores (3). A turbine (8, 8a, 8b) is fit between the device for separating gas mixtures (7, 7a, 7b) and the gas-heating device (10) upstream of the reduction unit (12) such that a pressure drop between the device for separating gas mixtures (7, 7a, 7b) and the reduction unit (12) is converted into forms of energy that can be used to operate additional components (4, 4a, 4b, 15, 15a, 15b) of the plant (3), in particular electrical energy and/or mechanical energy. Energy consumption of the plant (3) is reduced.

According to embodiments, disclosed is a method and system to maintain the soft and sparse slag characteristic favorable for an electric arc to efficiently transfer the energy to molten iron with the power input per furnace area higher than 600 KW/m2 while keeping FeO amount less than 5% in the slag and carbon amount higher than 2.5% in the product hot metal at a DRI melting furnace.

According to embodiments, disclosed is a method and system to maintain the soft and sparse slag characteristic favorable for an electric arc to efficiently transfer the energy to molten iron with the power input per furnace area higher than 600 KW/m2 while keeping FeO amount less than 5% in the slag and carbon amount higher than 2.5% in the product hot metal at a DRI melting furnace.