Method and system 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 to achieve a gas pressure of less than 1 bar therein, c) providing heat and hydrogen gas into the furnace space, 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, which hydrogen gas provision is performed so that a pressure of more than 1 bar builds up inside the furnace space; and d) before evacuating the built up overpressure, 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 it further comprises the step e) before evacuating the build up overpressure, providing a carbon-containing gas to the furnace space, so that the heated and reduced metal material is carburized by said carbon-containing gas.

The invention relates to a process for direct reduction of iron ore to afford direct reduced iron, wherein the iron ore sequentially passes through a reduction zone for reducing the iron ore to direct reduced iron and a cooling zone for cooling the direct reduced iron, wherein in the reduction zone the iron ore is subjected to a flow of a reduction gas and wherein in the cooling zone the direct reduced iron is subjected to a flow of a cooling gas. The cooling gas in the cooling zone comprises H2 and CO2, wherein the ratio of the mole fractions of H2 to CO2 is greater than 1.8 and the mole fraction of CO2 is greater than 20 mol %.

A process for the production of direct reduced iron (DRI), with or without carbon, using hydrogen, where the hydrogen is produced utilizing water generated internally from the process. The process is characterized by containing either one or two gas loops, one for affecting the reduction of the oxide and another for affecting the carburization of the DRI. The primary loop responsible for reduction recirculates used gas from the shaft furnace in a loop including a dry dedusting step, an oxygen removal step to generate the hydrogen, and a connection to the shaft furnace for reduction. In the absence of a second loop, this loop, in conjunction with natural gas addition, can be used to deposit carbon. A secondary carburizing loop installed downstream of the shaft furnace can more finely control carbon addition. This loop includes a reactor vessel, a dedusting step, and a gas separation unit.

A process for the production of direct reduced iron (DRI), with or without carbon, using hydrogen, where the hydrogen is produced utilizing water generated internally from the process. The process is characterized by containing either one or two gas loops, one for affecting the reduction of the oxide and another for affecting the carburization of the DRI. The primary loop responsible for reduction recirculates used gas from the shaft furnace in a loop including a dry dedusting step, an oxygen removal step to generate the hydrogen, and a connection to the shaft furnace for reduction. In the absence of a second loop, this loop, in conjunction with natural gas addition, can be used to deposit carbon. A secondary carburizing loop installed downstream of the shaft furnace can more finely control carbon addition. This loop includes a reactor vessel, a dedusting step, and a gas separation unit.

A DRI product and method of forming the DRI product. DRI is formed from a reducing process, and thereafter the DRI is subjected to another heat treatment that produces a DRI product. The DRI product formed has a metallic shell around at least a portion of a DRI core. The heat treatment may be delivered through the use of a plasma torch, a gas burner, an oven, or any other like heat source. The heat treatment may heat the DRI for a fraction of a second and quickly cool the DRI in order to melt the surface and form the metallic shell without vaporizing a significant portion of the DRI and without losing a significant amount of the latent energy in the DRI.

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.

The invention relates to a method for sealing a reduction assembly, wherein the reduction assembly has a product discharge device, wherein the product discharge device is supplied with sealing gas and wherein at least one compressor is provided for delivering prepared sealing gas to the product discharge device, wherein according to the invention, at least one nitrogen generator is provided for producing pure sealing gas, and wherein the sealing gas for supplying to the product discharge device is composed of pure sealing gas from the at least one nitrogen generator or composed of pure sealing gas from the at least one nitrogen generator and of prepared sealing gas from the at least one compressor. The invention also relates to a device with which the method according to the invention is carried out.

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.

The invention relates to a process for producing carburized directly reduced iron sponge from iron oxide material. Firstly, direct reduction is carried out by means of a reduction gas consisting at least predominantly of H.sub.2 and the carbon content in the iron sponge is then increased by means of a carburizing gas which is fed in, after which used carburizing gas is at least partly taken off while largely avoiding mixing with the reduction gas. The plant for producing carburized directly reduced iron sponge from iron oxide material comprises a reduction zone for directly reducing introduced iron oxide material to directly reduced product by means of reduction gas consisting predominantly of H.sub.2 and a reduction gas feed conduit opening into the reduction zone. It also comprises a carburization zone having a carburizing gas feed conduit opening into the carburization zone and a carburization offgas conduit.

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.