Blast furnace plant (1) and shutdown process for such a blast furnace plant (1). The blast furnace plant comprises a blast furnace (2) and a gas cleaning section (6) for cleaning gas from the blast furnace. Clean gas is released via a clean gas vent line (11) downstream of the gas cleaning section.

Blast furnace plant (1) and shutdown process for such a blast furnace plant (1). The blast furnace plant comprises a blast furnace (2) and a gas cleaning section (6) for cleaning gas from the blast furnace. Clean gas is released via a clean gas vent line (11) downstream of the gas cleaning section.

According to a certain viewpoint of the present invention, there is provided a blast furnace operation method comprising blowing a high-concentration hydrogen-containing gas containing 80 mol % or more of hydrogen gas from a tuyere under: a condition in which a blowing temperature of the high-concentration hydrogen-containing gas is room temperature or higher and 300° C. or lower and a gas volume of the hydrogen gas in the high-concentration hydrogen-containing gas is 200 Nm.sup.3/t or more and 500 Nm.sup.3/t or less; a condition in which the blowing temperature of the high-concentration hydrogen-containing gas is higher than 300° C. and 600° C. or lower and the gas volume of the hydrogen gas in the high-concentration hydrogen-containing gas is 145 Nm.sup.3/t or more; a condition in which the blowing temperature of the high-concentration hydrogen-containing gas is higher than 600° C. and 900° C. or lower and the gas volume of the high-concentration hydrogen-containing gas is 125 Nm.sup.3/t or more, or the like.

According to a certain viewpoint of the present invention, there is provided a blast furnace operation method comprising blowing a high-concentration hydrogen-containing gas containing 80 mol % or more of hydrogen gas from a tuyere under: a condition in which a blowing temperature of the high-concentration hydrogen-containing gas is room temperature or higher and 300° C. or lower and a gas volume of the hydrogen gas in the high-concentration hydrogen-containing gas is 200 Nm.sup.3/t or more and 500 Nm.sup.3/t or less; a condition in which the blowing temperature of the high-concentration hydrogen-containing gas is higher than 300° C. and 600° C. or lower and the gas volume of the hydrogen gas in the high-concentration hydrogen-containing gas is 145 Nm.sup.3/t or more; a condition in which the blowing temperature of the high-concentration hydrogen-containing gas is higher than 600° C. and 900° C. or lower and the gas volume of the high-concentration hydrogen-containing gas is 125 Nm.sup.3/t or more, or the like.

A method for operating a blast furnace with which, even in the case where there is an increase in the powder ratio of coke to be charged into the blast furnace, it is possible to achieve the stabilization of blast furnace operation. The method includes blowing air through a tuyere disposed in a lower part of the blast furnace, successively measuring a particle size distribution of coke transported to the blast furnace, and adjusting at least one of a blast volume and a coke ratio in accordance with an index derived from the particle size distribution.

A method for operating a blast furnace with which, even in the case where there is an increase in the powder ratio of coke to be charged into the blast furnace, it is possible to achieve the stabilization of blast furnace operation. The method includes blowing air through a tuyere disposed in a lower part of the blast furnace, successively measuring a particle size distribution of coke transported to the blast furnace, and adjusting at least one of a blast volume and a coke ratio in accordance with an index derived from the particle size distribution.

Provided is a method of operating a blast furnace, having generating a regenerative methane gas from a by-product gas discharged from the blast furnace, and blowing a blast gas and a reducing agent into the blast furnace from a tuyere of the blast furnace in which the blast gas is oxygen gas and the regenerative methane gas is used as at least part of the reducing agent.

Disclosed is a blast furnace apparatus includes: a rotating chute; a plurality of tuyeres; a profile measurement device configured to measure surface profiles of a burden charged into the blast furnace through the rotating chute; and a blowing amount controller configured to control a blowing amount of at least one of hot blast or pulverized coal in each of the plurality of tuyeres, in which the profile measurement device includes: a radio wave distance meter installed on the blast furnace top and configured to measure the distance to the surface of the burden charged; and an arithmetic unit configured to derive the surface profiles of the burden on a basis of distance data for the entire blast furnace related to distances to the surface of the burden obtained by scanning a detection wave of the radio wave distance meter in the blast furnace in a circumferential direction.

Disclosed is a blast furnace apparatus includes: a rotating chute; a plurality of tuyeres; a profile measurement device configured to measure surface profiles of a burden charged into the blast furnace through the rotating chute; and a blowing amount controller configured to control a blowing amount of at least one of hot blast or pulverized coal in each of the plurality of tuyeres, in which the profile measurement device includes: a radio wave distance meter installed on the blast furnace top and configured to measure the distance to the surface of the burden charged; and an arithmetic unit configured to derive the surface profiles of the burden on a basis of distance data for the entire blast furnace related to distances to the surface of the burden obtained by scanning a detection wave of the radio wave distance meter in the blast furnace in a circumferential direction.

The use of pellets comprising one or more thermoplastic material(s) of more than 40%, based on the total dry weight of the pellets and one or more cellulosic material(s) of more than 20%, based on the total dry weight of the pellets, as a reducing agent in a process for making pig iron in a blast furnace. The pellets can be provided in unground form, as a partial replacement of coke through the top of the blast furnace, or can be provided as reducing agent in the raceway in an amount of higher than 10 kg/ton iron.