A process for producing direct reduced iron with a hydrogen rich gas, utilizing a non-fired reducing gas heater such as an electric heater to heat the reducing gas to the temperatures sufficient for iron reduction, includes: providing a shaft furnace to reduce iron oxide with the hydrogen rich reducing gas; removing steam and particulates from the shaft furnace top gas with a scrubber; processing all or a portion of the scrubbed top gas in a gas separation unit such as a membrane and a PSA gas separation unit to create a hydrogen rich stream to be recycled back to the shaft furnace as the reducing agent, so that the hydrogen consumption can be reduced when non-fired reducing gas heater is applied.

Improvements to the gasifier furnace design and process method to facilitate continuous production of mainly H.sub.2, CO and granulated solid from molten liquid or the liquid slag in the presence of carbonaceous material. It is a method of quenching molten liquid and cooling post quenched hot granulated solid which is done within a long horizontal reaction chamber space of the furnace in the presence of C and H.sub.2O. A moving layer of continuously gas cooled granulated solid protects the moving floor underneath by substantially reducing the possibility of heat transfer from the horizontal reaction chamber to such moving floor and its parts and preventing direct contact between the post quenched hot solid granulates and such moving floor. Such moving floor having plurality of gas passages and is disposed above a plenum that receives gas from outside source and uniformly distributes the gas to pass through all the gas passages.

The present disclosure provides a facility to produce direct reduced iron, which makes it possible to perform reforming and reduction and adjust the carbon amount in a product within a wide range without requiring an externally heating reformer and without causing the metal dusting problem in a circulating gas preheater and the problem of sintering each other or fusion between reduced iron, in a furnace. The facility to produce the direct reduced iron according to the present invention is equipped with a water content control device for controlling the water content in a gas discharged from a shaft-type reduction furnace, a first gas mixing device for mixing the gas from which a portion of water has been removed with an oxygen-containing gas and a hydrocarbon-containing gas to produce a mixed gas, and an auto-thermal reformer for reforming the mixed gas with its energy. The facility is also equipped with a cooling gas loop for circulating a cooling gas, wherein the cooling gas has a hydrocarbon concentration of 50% or more, and the cooling gas loop is equipped with a cooling gas after-cooler having a flow rate control function and capable of controlling the temperature of the cooling gas.

A method of and system for electrolytic production of reactive metals is presented. The method includes providing a molten oxide electrolytic cell including a container, an anode, and a current collector and disposing a molten oxide electrolyte within the container and in ion conducting contact with the anode and the current collector. The electrolyte includes a mixture of at least one alkaline earth oxide and at least one rare earth oxide. The method also includes providing a metal oxide feedstock including at least one target metal species into the molten oxide electrolyte and applying a current between the anode and the current collector, thereby reducing the target metal species to form at least one molten target metal in the container.

This invention relates to magnetite-based sintered iron ore wherein a magnetite ore powder, which is not currently utilized owing to its low reducibility index among iron ore materials serving as a main material in iron-making processes, is improved so as to have a high reducibility index, and to a method of manufacturing the same.

An apparatus for direct reduction of iron ore in a solid state including a pre-heating furnace for pre-heating iron ore fragments and biomass in briquettes of these materials to a temperature in the range of 400-900° C.; and a reduction assembly for briquettes from the pre-heating furnace. The reduction assembly includes a reaction chamber, a source of electromagnetic energy in the form of microwave energy, a wave guide for transferring microwave energy to the chamber for heating and reducing iron ore in briquettes from the pre-heating furnace, with biomass acting as a reductant, a source of an inert gas, pipework for supplying the inert gas to the chamber to maintain the chamber under anoxic conditions, and an outlet for discharging an offgas and any retained particulates that are generated in the chamber.

Electrorefining cells and methods for electrorefining ferrous molten metal (e.g. steels), that includes impurities (e.g., carbon), are described. Liquid metal is provided in ladle with a molten electrolyte on top of it to form a metal-electrolyte interface. An electrode connection is put into contact with the metal for electronic conduction therewith, while a counter electrode is put into contact with the electrolyte for forming an electrolyte-counter electrode interface. Both the electrode connection and the counter electrode remain in the solid form in, and inert to, the metal and the electrolyte, respectively. The electrode connection and the counter electrode are made of an electronically conductive material. Therefore, during electrorefining operations, an electromotive force can be supplied between the electrode connection and the counter electrode so as to induce electrochemical reactions to occur at both the metal-electrolyte interface and the electrolyte-counter electrode connection, producing a ferrous molten metal depleted of the impurities.

Method for producing direct reduced metal material, comprising the steps: a) charging metal material (142) to be reduced into a furnace space (120); b) providing heat and a reducing gas into the furnace space (120), so that heated reducing gas heats the charged metal material (142) to a temperature high enough so that metal oxides present in the charged metal material (142) are reduced, in turn causing water vapour to be formed; and c) condensing and collecting the water vapour formed in step c in a condenser (280); The method is characterised in that, in step a), the metal material (142) is charged onto a gas-permeable floor (151), in that the reducing gas is circulated in a closed loop upwards through said floor (151), through the charged metal material (142), and further via said condenser (280) and a gas forced circulation device (250), and in that the method further comprises the step d) supplying additional reducing gas to achieve and/or maintain a predetermined pressure in said furnace space (120). The invention also relates to a system.

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.

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.