Parent Process: Smelting Reduction

Energy Savings Dry fuel consumption with and without off-gas recycling is reported to be 770 kg/t-HM
Potential
With a combined cycle power plant and off-gas recycling combined, the net thermal a
consumption for a 1 million t/y capacity plant is reported to be 450 and 45 MW, respe

CO2 Emission CO2 emissions per ton of combined product (hot metal + DRI) are lower by ~20% com
Reduction Potential (APP, 2010. p.56)
Total CO2 emissions for steel produced with 60% hot metal from Corex and 40% DR
3.78 t/t-steel (US DOE, 2003)

Costs Reported capital costs were in the range of 195 per ton of annual production (IPPC, 2
Capital and operational costs for producing steel with 60% Corex hot metal and 40% D
and $218.3 per ton of steel, respectively (US DOE, 2003. p.4/4)

Corex ProcessSchematic
 COREX

New ironmaking processes have been extensively explored with a view to saving resources and energy, as
well as reducing environmental pollution.

The figure shows the Corex process developed in Austria. This process is the only new ironmaking process
now commercialized, and is in operation with plants having capacities of up to 600,000 ton/year.

In the Corex process, a combination of lump ore, pellets, and sinter is pre-reduced to about 90%
metallization (sponge iron) in the reduction shaft furnace by a gas containing CO and H2 supplied from the
melter gasifier, which is the main reactor of the Corex plant. The sponge iron is delivered as hot from the
reduction shaft furnace by screw conveyors into the melter gasifier where melting takes place. Non-coking
coal lump less than 50mm and larger than 6mm in diameter is also fed into the reactor. When the coal com
into contact with the hot gas, the coal is dehydrated and degasified and forms a coke bed. In the lower part
the coke bed, the coke generated is gasified in an exothermic reaction which results in temperatures of mor
than 2,700K. The hot gas, which mainly consists of carbon monoxide, flows from the fluidized bed to the t
of the reactor. Slag and hot metal layers are maintained in the bottom of the reactor. The upper part of the
reactor is designed as freeboard.

The raw gas from the reactor has a temperature of about 1400K in the freeboard. In the hot dust cyclones, t
gas is cleaned of the major part of the entrained coke dust, and is used to reduce the iron sources charged in
the reduction shaft furnace.

Other new processes for iron making have been attempted in Australia (HIsmelt- and Ausmelt- process),
Japan (DIOS process), Russia (Romelt process), and U.S.A. (AISI process), but are still at the pilot plant
stage. These processes utilize mainly smelting reduction, meaning that the amount of reduction in the molt
state is greater than that in the solid state, which is different from that in the BF process. These processes
should offer advantages such as; (i) iron ore can be used without agglomeration; (ii) non/weak-coking coal
can be used directly without coking; (iii) start up and shut down in operation are much easier than with a B
and (iv) less carbon dioxide is produced. However, many problems have yet to be solved before these
processes will become a commercial reality, requiring much research and development.

OTRO DE COREX

COREX Process and Technology of Iron Making

The COREX technology is a cost efficient, environmentally friendly and industrially
accomplished alternative to the blast furnace route for the production of hot metal from iron
ore and coal. By fulfilling more stringent ecological regulations by law, utilization of low-cost,
highly available low grade raw materials including fines, the COREX process has been
accepted as a commercially proven technology for present and future iron making process.

The COREX process was created by Siemens VAI and was elevated to industrial maturity
by PRIMETALS. Primetals Technologies Limited, is a London (UK) based engineering and
plant construction company established in 2015 by a joint venture of Siemens VAI Metals
Technologies and Japans Mitsubishi Hitachi Metals Machinery (MHMM).
In a nutshell, COREX is a coal based SR (smelting reduction) process of making hot metal
or pig iron by direct use of non-coking coal. The outputs can be used either by integrated
mills or EAF (electric arc furnace) mills. The process gasifies non-coking coal in a smelting
reactor, which also produces liquid iron. The gasified coal is then fed into a shaft furnace to
remove oxygen from iron ore lumps, pellets or sinter and finally, this direct reduced iron (DRI)
is fed to the smelting reactor. Compared with the traditional iron making process via the blast
furnace route, the COREX process differs since non coking coal can be directly used for ore
reduction and melting work, eliminating the need for coking plants. The use of lump ore or
pellets also dispenses with the need for sinter plants. Current COREX pre-projects also
indicate increasing demand for the by-product COREX gas for power generation and for
the production of DRI. Refer to article Steel Plants with COREX Process in Operation: A
Quick Review

Some Merits and Demerits of COREX Process

Conducive to production of high end and special steel required for sophisticated
industrial and scientific applications with minimum damage to the environment at
various stages of steel making and mining.
Unlike the conventional Blast furnace route for production of hot metal, it can accept
high alkali containing ores without any build up inside the reactor.
It takes only half an hour to stop the plant and only four hours to restart it.
Specific melting capacity is higher than that in Blast Furnace; productivity around 3.5
t/m3/d can be achieved.
In 2009 Siemens first completed a life cycle assessment for pig iron production,
looking at both conventional production in a blast furnace and the more
environmentally friendly COREX and FINEX processes. Siemens claimed the
COREX and FINEX processes can substantially reduce pollutant emissions when
compared to traditional steel production, with its blast furnace and coking and
sintering facilities.
The iron content of the feed should not be less than 50% as otherwise the slag
volume produced will be too high.
As is the case in blast furnaces, over 90% of the phosphorous input reports to the
hot metal. So, the phosphorous content of ore and coal should be as low as possible.
There are also reports that the COREX process cannot be operated without some
amount of coke along with non-coking coal - at least around 10% of coke is required
in the total reductant charge.
As far as coal is concerned, the non-coking coals having too high volatile matter (VM)
or too low fixed carbon (FC) cannot be used in corex process of iron making.
 The heat transfer plays a crucial role in the overall efficiency of the COREX process.
This being a two stage process, i.e. reduction and smelting taking place in two
separate units, post combustion of the gas generated in the smelting unit provides
the heat to melt the DRI produced in the reduction unit. This calls for high heat
transfer efficiency.
Unless the net export gas from any Corex plant (extent of generation around 1650
Nm3/thm) can be utilized, the process will not be economical. Because of many
peripheral requirements, the total cost of a Corex project can be relatively high.
The export gas generated in Corex technology can be used as a fuel gas in the
downstream facilities to generate electricity or for the production of direct reduced
iron in a region that has almost no resources of natural gas.
COREX plant emissions contain only insignificant amounts of NOx, SO2, dust,
phenols, sulphides, and ammonium. Emission values are already far below the
maximum values allowed by future standards. Also, waste-water emissions from
the COREX process are far lower than those in the conventional blast-furnace
route. These environmental features are key reasons for the attractiveness of the
COREX process.

What is FINEX ?

The FINEX is the latest addition and an optimized fine-ore smelting reduction (SR) iron making
process based on the direct use of the coal and iron ore fines. FINEX Process is a fluidized bed
based process using ore fines instead using iron ore lumps and pellets. This is a process with
great potential with regard to productivity and the low cost production of hot metal.

In 1992, POSCO and VAI, Austria signed an agreement to work together for a joint
development of the FINEX Process. And accordingly, FINEX process was developed jointly by
POSCO, Korea andPrimetals Technologies to provide the iron making sector with the capability
of producing (hot metal) at a reduced cost, lesser environmental pollutions and more flexibility
in terms of operation and the choice of raw materials. Primetals Technologies Limited, is a
joint venture of Siemens VAI Metals Technologies and Japans Mitsubishi Hitachi Metals
Machinery (MHMM).
The present article contains about:

What is Finex process

Benefits or Merits of this technology

Some limitations or disadvantages of Finex technology

FINEX Process of Iron Making - An Overview

In the FINEX process the iron production is carried out in two separate Process steps. In a
series
of fluidized bed reactors, fine-grained iron oxides are reduced to direct-reduced iron,
compacted and then transported to a melter gasifier. Coal and coal briquettes charged to
the melter gasifier are gasified, providing the necessary energy for melting in addition to the
reduction gas. Fine ore and additives (limestone and dolomite) are dried and then charged
to a 3 or 4 stage fluidized bed system where the iron ores are progressively reduced in
counter current flow with the reducing gas to fine DRI and the fine additives are partly
calcined.

Reactors R4 and R3 are primarily used to preheat the ore fines to the reduction
temperature, which can be adjusted by partial combustion of the off-gas (export gas) from
R2. In R2 the fine ore is pre-reduced to reduction degree (RD) of about 30%. At the end of
the production in R1, the final reduction to DRI takes place (RD about 90%). Operational
pressure in R1 to R4 is approximately 4 - 5 bars. The fine DRI is compacted and then
charged in the form of Hot Compacted Iron (HCI) into the melter gasifier. So, before
charging to the melter gasifier unit of the FINEX unit, this material is compacted in a hot
briquetting press to give hot compacted iron (HCI) since the melter gasifier cannot use fine
material (to ensure permeability in the bed). Non-coking coal (lumpy and / or briquetted
fines) is charged from the top of the melter gasifier, dried and degassed in the upper char
bed area and finally the degassed coal (char) is gasified with pure oxygen which is blown in
at the tuyere zone of the melter gasifier bed. The gasification supplies the energy required
for the metallurgical reactions and for the melting of HCI and coal ash to hot metal and
slag. Pulverized coal injection (PCI) system is provided to inject fine coal via the oxygen
tuyeres. The gas generated in the melter gasifier of the FINEX unit is used to reduce the
ore in the reactors preceding the melter gasifier. The generated FINEX off-gas is a highly
valuable product and can be further used in power generation or heating processes. The
DRI is charged in the melter gasifier in hot condition, where it is melted, fully reduced and
carburized to hot metal. The hot metal and slag produced in the melter gasifier is frequently
tapped from the hearth similar to the blast furnace and COREX operation

FINEX Process - Merits and Benefits

FINEX Process of Iron Making - An Overview

In many respects FINEX process can be considered as an offshoot of COREX process and hence,
bear the various advantages of the COREX and more as outlined below -
Flexibility in Raw Materials

No blending of ore & coal. Rather direct utilization of coal.

 Use of Low-grade ore & low-ranked coal. Integration of the coal briquetting technology
increases the range of suitable coal blends for the FINEX application. Utilization of
100% coal briquettes offers the possibility to mix different coal qualities for the
generation of coal briquettes.

Easy & Flexible Operation

Independent control of reduction & melting processes

Easy & hassle-free operational control

Environmental Friendliness

Far less emission of SOx, NOx, phenols, sulphides, ammonia & dust because the FINEX
process does not need sinter plant and the coke oven battery which are the actual
sources of emission in a conventional blast furnace route. The generation of SOx
emission level is 19%, NOx emission level is 10% and the dust emission level is 52% of
the levels achieved in steel plants with blast furnaces and having environmentally
friendly BAT technologies.

Furthermore, in FINEX process the sulfur mostly present in coals reacts with limestone
to form Calcium Sulphide (CaS), which is bound in the slag and comes out in liquid slag.
Hence there is no possibility for SOx to escape into the atmosphere.
NOx emissions rarely occur in the FINEX process as the metallurgical reactions take
place in the reducing atmosphere in contrast to the oxidizing atmosphere existing
during the sintering and coking processes as well as in the hot blast stoves of the blast
furnace.

Dust emissions are also low due to the closed nature of the FINEX plants.

Applicability to the CO2 sequestration

Cost Competitiveness

Lower cost in both capital investment & operation as compared to the blast furnace
route, keeping the quality of the hot metal same.

According to POSCO, the capital cost & operating cost of FINEX process are less than
by 20 and 15 percent respectively of that of Blast Furnace route.

Need much less land as compared to conventional BF complex

Similar to the Corex export gas, FINEX export gas (with calorific value of 5,500 6,250
kJ/m3 STP) can be used to substitute natural gas, oil, coke and coal for metallurgical
applications and power generations etc. Depending on the composition of coal and the
decision whether gas recycling is applied or not, the amount and the composition of
the export gas can vary within definite limits.
Limitations (Demerits) of FINEX Process

As said FINEX, COREX, HISMELT are the latest alternative methods for producing liquid
iron (Hot Metal) through Smelting Reduction (SR) process. Some of the limitations
(disadvantages) are -

Ease of obtaining FINEX technology is uncertain though POSCO has started to extend
it.

Both COREX and FINEX processes need a large amount of oxygen.

The major criteria for an initial evaluation of coals or coal blends for the FINEX Process
are: 1. Fix carbon content at a minimum of 55%, 2. Ash content up to 25%, 3.Volatile
content lower than 35%, 4. Sulphur content lower than 1%

Additional to these qualities the coal must have a good thermal stability to ensure the
formation of a stable char bed in the melter gasifier.

CICLON DE GAS CALIENTE

La eficiencia elevada del sistema de ciclones Hurricane ha permitido limitar el contenido de ceniza de los
gases calientes de la torre de precalcinacin en Duna-Drva Kft (Hungra).

El objetivo es reutilizar estos gases calientes para moler coque de petrleo en el molino de carbn, de
forma que no afecte a su calidad, incrementando, por tanto, los beneficios.

Identificacin del problema y la solucin

Para conseguir que el coque de petrleo molido tuviera las especificaciones de contenido de cenizas, las
partculas de polvo tenan que ser eliminadas de la corriente del gas. Por lo tanto, el objetivo era
minimizar la concentracin de polvo en un 10% del aire caliente (37.513 m3/h @ 327 C) con el menor
impacto posible en la temperatura del gas. Para poder disear el sistema de ciclones ms eficiente
posible, ACS us las condiciones especfi cas de la planta, como la distribucin de las partculas por
tamao, la densidad, la concentracin de entrada, la temperatura y la tasa de fl ujo de gas.

Sobre los ciclones Hurricane

Los ciclones Hurricane estn patentados y numricamente optimizados. Las geometras maximizan la
captacin de polvo para cada una de las aplicaciones, a la vez que minimizan la re-entrada y mantienen
las prdidas de carga en niveles razonablemente bajos. Estos ciclones han demostrado una eficiencia
impresionante en la captura de polvo muy fi no con un Dimetro de Volumen Medio (VMD) inferior a 5 m.