ALTOFORNO

The largest BFs at present are about

80m in total height, with a furnace
body height of about 35m and a
maximum internal diameter of about
16m, and have an internal volume of
about 5,200m3. A furnace of this size
can produce approximately 10,000
tons of hot metal a day.
 CARICA
A total of about 1,600 kg/ton-hot metal of such iron-bearing materials as
sintered ore, lump ore and pellets, and about 380 kg/ton-hot metal of
coke as the reductant are charged in alternate layers from the top of the
BF.

It has recently become common practice to inject usually 90-120 kg/ton-

hot metal of pulverized coal as part of the reductant from the tuyeres in
the lower part of the furnace.

The final raw material in the ironmaking process is limestone used as

blast furnace flux . This flux can be pure high calcium limestone,
dolomitic limestone containing magnesia or a blend of the two types of
limestone.

Approximately 1,000 Nm3/ton-hot metal of hot blast is also blown

through the tuyeres after preheating to 1,150-1,250 C at the hot stoves.
 REACTIONS IN BF

1) 3 Fe2O3 + CO = CO2 + 2 Fe3O4 Begins at 450 C

2) Fe3O4 + CO = CO2 + 3 FeO Begins at 600 C
3) FeO + CO = CO2 + Fe Begins at 700 C
4) FeO + C = CO +Fe

The coke is ignited by hot blast and immediately reacts to generate

heat as follows:
C + O2 = CO2 + Heat

Since the reaction takes place in the presence of excess carbon at a

high temperature the carbon dioxide is reduced to carbon monoxide as
follows:
CO2+ C = 2CO

The product of this reaction, carbon monoxide, is necessary to reduce

the iron ore as seen in the previous iron oxide reactions.
The limestone descends in the blast furnace and remains a solid while
going through its first reaction as follows:

CaCO3 = CaO + CO2

This reaction requires energy and starts at about 870 C.

The CaO formed from this reaction is used to remove sulfur from the iron
which is necessary before the hot metal becomes steel.
This sulfur removing reaction is:

FeS + CaO + C = CaS + FeO + CO

The CaS becomes part of the slag. The slag is also formed from any
remaining Silica (SiO2), Alumina (Al2O3), Magnesia (MgO) or Calcia
(CaO) that entered with the iron ore, pellets, sinter or coke.

The liquid slag then trickles through the coke bed to the bottom of the
furnace where it floats on top of the liquid iron since it is less dense.
In summary, the blast furnace is a counter-current realtor where solids
descend and gases ascend.

A typical hot metal chemistry follows:

Iron (Fe) = 93.5 - 95.0%

Silicon (Si) = 0.30 - 0.90%
Sulfur (S) = 0.025 - 0.050%
Manganese (Mn) = 0.55 - 0.75%
Phosphorus (P) = 0.03 - 0.09%
Titanium (Ti) = 0.02 - 0.06%
Carbon (C) = 4.1 - 4.4%
 Process: Iron Ore → Steel
Coke
Iron Ore Limestone

BLAST FURNACE
heat generation
gas C+O 2  CO 2
refractory
vessel reduction of iron ore to metal
layers of coke CO 2 +C  2CO
and iron ore 3CO+ Fe 2 O 3  2Fe +3CO 2
air purification
slag
Molten iron CaCO 3  CaO+CO 2
CaO + SiO 2 +Al2 O 3  slag
 Direct-reduced iron (DRI)
DRI is obtained when fine ore and lump ore are reduced in a solid
state at the relatively low temperature of about 1,000 C using
reformed natural gas.
The methods now used include:
• FIOR, FINMET and CIRCORED processes and IRON CARBIDE
process, all of which reduce fine ore in a fluidized bed;
• the HYL-I process, and HYL-II process, which use a retort bed,
• the Midrex process and the HYL-III process, which use a countercurrent
shaft furnace to reduce pellets and lump ore, and others.
Of these, the Midrex, HYL-I and HYL-III processes have been successfully
industrialized in large scale production. The Midrex and HYL-III processes
are now most commonly used for direct reduction
Production of DRI totaled 31 million tons in 1995.
Reforming natural gas has a H2/CO ratio of 1.6, the temperature is 900 C. Part of the
exhaust gas is mixed with natural gas and reformed, and the remainder is used as the
fuel for the reformer furnace. Higher furnace temperatures result in higher productivity,
because the metal is reduced by an endothermic reaction. However, an excessive
furnace temperature will cause the pellets and lump ore to melt during reduction and
agglomeration. The maximum reduction rate is about 95%, and the carbon content is
limited to about 2.5%.
Plant locations have been confined to places where natural gas is
available.

Furthermore, the large specific area of the active surface of spongy DRI
makes it sensitive to re oxidation and ignition when it comes into contact
with air and water, especially sea water.

Handling and transportation were therefore difficult and potentially

hazardous, making large-volume export unprofitable. As a result, the
production of DRI has failed to reach expectations.

To overcome this difficulty, a hot-briquetting facility to minimize the specific

area by compaction was developed and industrialized, and has been
installed in the lower part of the countercurrent shaft furnaces since 1984.

According to the statistics of the International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI),
the world's DRI production more than tripled from 9.1millon tons in 1984 to
31millon tons in 1995. During this period, the world's hot metal production
leveled off at approximately 500 million tons. Consequently, the ratio of
DRI production to world hot metal production has increased from 2% to
6%.
Canada Mexico Trinidad and Tobago Argentina
Peru Venezuela Egypt Libya South Africa Iran
Qatar Saudi Arabia India

Questi paesi nel 2012 hanno prodotto l’ 82% di tutto il DRI

DRI e’ usato per ora (10-15%) nella carica dei forni elettrici,
costa 110-135$/ton
The DRI is intrinsically more energy efficient than the blast
furnace because it operates at a lower temperature, and there are
several other factors which make it economical:
(1)DRI has about the same iron content as Pig Iron, typically 90–
94% total iron, so it is an excellent feedstock for the electric
furnaces
(2)Hot-briquetted iron (HBI) is a compacted form of DRI
designed for ease of shipping, handling, and storage.
(3) The direct reduction process can use natural gas contaminated
with inert gases, avoiding the need to remove these gases for
other use.
(4) In most cases the DRI plant is located near natural gas source
as it is more cost effective to ship the ore rather than the gas.
After they have been obtained by reduction, the iron pellets can re-oxidize very
rapidly. This re-oxidation occurs if they are heated by air above a certain
temperature or if they come into contact with water, including the ambient
humidity. The porous structure of the product helps to boost the oxidation.

In contact with water, the DRI changes into Fe2O3 by absorbing the O2 from the
water and liberating the hydrogen. The water is the oxidizing agent.

The reaction is exothermic and the hydrogen evolved represents a risk of explosion.

The ignition temperature is about 125°C.

When the temperature in the hold is sufficiently high and the hydrogen content is
above its lower explosive limit of about 4% an explosion may occur in the hold of
the vessel.

The heat given off by the reaction itself can, in turn, stimulate the re-oxidation of the
dry pellets and thus set up a chain reaction throughout the cargo which can lead to
temperatures, in the open air, of more than 1000°C, high enough to affect the
strength of steel.
Problems

DRI is highly susceptible to oxidation and rusting if left

unprotected, and is normally quickly processed further to steel.
The bulk iron can also catch fire since it is pyrophoric.

Sponge iron is not useful by itself, but can be processed to create

wrought iron.

At least two serious casualties involving

ships loaded with DRI, both resulting in
loss of the vessels and one with loss of
lives, have occurred in the last decade; the
Ythan (2004) and the deliberate sinking
by the French authorities of the
Adamandas (2003) which was deliberately
with cargo and bunkers onboard