Fundamentals and Prospects of the Development of Reduction Steelmaking

Abstract

The laws of direct iron reduction by solid carbon are revealed. They open up fresh opportunities for the development of high-tech processes and the manufacture of high-purity and high-quality metal products at a substantial decrease in the gas yield and gas release to atmosphere. The existing (traditional and new) metallurgical technologies are based on the use of hot reducing gases (HRGs) according to the generally accepted scientific basis of an autocatalytic-adsorption mechanism. The use of the HRG potential at a level of 0.4–0.42 corresponds to HRG consumption of 2500–3000 m³/t per unit metal. The gas release to atmosphere is significant for such high HRG consumption, which complicates the worldwide ecological problem.