Optimizing DRI Production and

Automation

5 TH W O R L D D R I A N D P E L L E T
CONFERENCE

ROBERT MONTGOMERY
SALES MANAGER – MIDDLE EAST

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© 2017 Midrex Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 In todays Presentation

DRIpaxtm: The Next

Voestalpine Texas: Generation of Operator
Advanced HBI Production
Control

Midrex Adjustable
Carbon Technology

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Voestalpine Texas

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voestalpine Texas – First Product
First HBI produced on Sept. 9th 2016

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The Worlds Most Advanced Midrex Plant

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The Latest Environmental Standards

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Dedicated Deep Water Port

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 DRIpax™ -
DR Plant Process Optimization
Electricity
Savings

Metallization
Refractory and Electrode
Savings Carbon Savings
Controlled

Improved
Yield

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DRIpax™ Advanced • To
Process accurately
predict
Modeling product

Metallization

Carbon

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 Current Practice
Once the lab returns (without DRIpaxTM)
with new Met and C
results,
6+ hours could have Material Flow
passed!

Minimum Off-Spec
Product
1.2 Mtpy: 150 t/hr that’s 900
tons! 4 Hours
1.8 Mtpy: 225 t/hr that’s Operator
1,350 tons! Met & C Adjustments
are formed to Plant
Operation
6+ hrs
2 Hours later
Potential Off-Spec
Product

Samples are taken

and to the lab for Met
and Carbon analysis

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 DRIpaxTM Improvement
Once the lab returns
with new Met and C Material Flow
results,
the Met and Carbon are
verified. Plant
Adjustments
Off-Spec Product Loss is are made with the
Avoided! 4 Hours Pellet feed.

Met & C
are formed here Adjustments
are
Verified
2 Hours
More Consistent DRI feed

Samples are taken to

the lab for Met and
Carbon analysis

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 Comparison

Current Practice DRIpaxtm Improvement

(without DRIpax)

Pellets Enter the Shaft Furnace DRIpax Met and C

Pellets Enter the Shaft Furnace predictions are used
Plant Operators
Adjustments Adjustments
Make
are Verified are made
Adjustments
Reducing Met and C Reducing
Met and C Feedback is now
Pellets Pellets
Feedback is now available
In In
available to Operators
MIDREX® MIDREX®
to Operators
Shaft Furnace Shaft Furnace

DRI exits the Shaft Furnace DRI exits the Shaft Furnace
and samples are and samples are
taken to the lab taken to the lab

6 hours of Unknown Met and Carbon 6 hours of Predictable Met and Carbon

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 EAF Benefits with DRIpax
When DRI % When
Metallization DRI % Carbon
is controlled is controlled

Power Power

Electrode Electrode
Consumption Consumption

Power on Time Power on Time

Yield Refractory Costs

There is no risk to the Plant involved in implementing

DRIpax at your Plant
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DRIpax™ Installed at Qatar Steel DR2
MIDREX MEGAMOD
 100% CDRI or 70% HBI, 30% CDRI
 Shaft furnace
 Diameter: 6.65 m
 Reformer
 480 Tubes
 Diameter of tube: 250 mm
 Design capacity: 1.5 MTPA
 2016 Annual production: 1.762 MTPA
 Metallization: 94.56 %
 Carbon: 2.4 %

© 2017 Midrex Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.

DRIpax™ Expert System

Manual Operation

Expert System
 Preselect and condense relevant information Control
 Early detection of undesired process conditions
 Standardized control philosophy
 24/7 shift independent best-practice plant operation
 Control actions are small and frequent
 Stabilized product quality due to expert system control
24/7 shift independent best practice plant operation

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DRIpax™ Expert System Principles
 The current process conditions are continuously monitored
 Diagnoses and corrective actions to avoid or settle undesired process
conditions are generated
 Set-points are calculated to keep the process stable and run the plant
in best practice conditions
 Particular corrective actions can be switched from advisory to closed
loop mode to send set-points directly to the process control system
 A flexible system design allows for expandability and easy adjustment
of rules and diagnoses to particular plant requirements

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DRIpax™ Plant Process Optimization
Stable, high performance at a low conversion cost

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Qatar Steel DR Mod#2 Performance in 2016
o Design annual production - 1,500,000 tpy
o 2016 Actual annual production - 1,762,564 tons
o 262,564 extra tons – 18% Above Rated Capacity!
o Plant Availability - 99.4%
o 18% Above capacity despite Planned Major Shutdown

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ACTTM –Adjustable Carbon
Technology
1%Carbon

4.5%Carbon

2.5% Carbon

3.0% Carbon
 ACTTM – Adjustable Carbon
Technology

Higher
Higher Carbon
Temperature
DRI
DRI

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ACTTM – Adjustable Carbon Technology

ADJUSTABLE HIGH
DRI CARBON TEMPERATURE
DISCHARGE

RETROFIT
RELIABLE AND
FOR
SAFE OPERATION
EXISTING
PLANTS

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ACTTM – ADJUSTABLE DRI CARBON

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 ACTTM – Adjustable Carbon
Technology

“The Midrex ACT Program is the

Decoupling of the Relationship between
DRI Carbon Levels and DRI
Temperature inside the Shaft Furnace”
Dr. Vincent Chevrier

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ACTTM – Adjustable Carbon
Technology

CH4  C + 2H2 (Endothermic)

3Fe + CH4  Fe3C + 2H2 (Endothermic)

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 ACTTM – Adjustable Carbon
Technology

o 3Fe + CO + H2  Fe3C + H2O (exothermic)

o 3Fe + 2CO  Fe3C + CO2 (exothermic)

o CO + H2  C + H2O (exothermic)

o 2CO  C + CO2 (exothermic)

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 ACTTM – Adjustable Carbon
Technology

3Fe + CH4  Fe3C + 2H2 (endothermic)

CH4  C + 2H2 (endothermic)

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ACTTM – Adjustable Carbon Technology

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 ACTTM – How it Works

Mist is removed from

Uses Reformed gas from
Gas using Mist
the Reformed Gas Cooler
Eliminator
MIDREX
ACTTM

Membrane Unit
Reformed Gas is separates the Reformed
Compressed to ~ 14 barg Gas into CO-rich stream
and H2-rich stream

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ACTTM What does it mean for Midrex Clients?

30

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Midrex is built on Client Success
Midrex - New DRI Plant Projects since 2010
1. TSM, Pakistan 1.28 Mtpy
2. SULB, Bahrain 1.5 Mtpy
3. JSW Toranagallu, India 1.2 Mtpy
4. JSPL Angul, India 1.8 Mtpy
5. Lebedinsky GOK III, Russia 1.8 Mtpy
6. voestalpine Texas, USA 2.0 Mtpy
7. Tosyali Algerie, Algeria 2.5 Mtpy
8. AQS , Algeria 2.5 Mtpy
Total capacity 14.3 Mtpy

Tenova HyL - New DRI Plant Projects since 2010

1. Nucor LA, USA 2.5 Mtpy
Total capacity 2.5 Mtpy

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 Designed for Today,
Engineered for Tomorrow™

THANK YOU
Visit www.midrex.com for more technical
presentations and the 2016 World Direct Reduction
Statistics Booklet

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