Tag Archives: ironmaking

Metso Outotec to develop hydrogen-based DRI pilot plant in Germany

9th December 2022Environmental, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Steel and iron oreCircored, circulating fluidised bed, direct reduced iron, Frankfurt, Germany, hydrogen, ironmaking, Metso Outotec, Parizat Pandey, steelmakingDaniel Gleeson

Metso Outotec says it will convert its existing 700 mm circulating fluidised bed (CFB) pilot plant in Frankfurt, Germany, for hydrogen-based direct reduction of fine ore as it looks to further drive down carbon emissions associated with the iron-making part of steel production.

The company will apply its Planet Positive Circored™ technology as part of this process, with the pilot plant able able to be used for the reduction of high-grade iron fines concentrate and to confirm the design basis for an industrial-scale Circored plant.

Commissioning of the plant is expected to take place by December 2023.

Parizat Pandey, Director, Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) at Metso Outotec, said: “The investment enables us to pilot the reduction of low-grade iron concentrate fines in larger quantities than what we do today, and, subsequently, perform downstream fines DRI electric smelting tests for hot metal production.

“The Circored processing route used in the process offers the lowest possible carbon footprint in the iron-making segment of an integrated steel plant.”

Once operational, the 700 mm pilot plant will be able to continuously produce 150-200 kg/h of direct reduced iron, using 100% hydrogen as the sole reducing agent, Metso Outotec claims. The pilot plant will have an integrated pre-heating and reduction section, followed by a gas cleaning and recirculation facility.

The investment includes installation of electric heaters in the process, making it an almost zero-carbon-emission plant, according to the company. Further, the data obtained from the use of electric heaters will be used to scale up the design of industrial heaters capable to running on renewable energy.

The Circored process is based on the fluidised bed knowledge and experience developed and applied by Metso Outotec over decades in hundreds of plants for different applications. The process applies a two-stage reactor configuration with a CFB followed by a bubbling fluidised bed downstream. The typical plant capacity is 1.25 Mt/y per line. Two or more lines can be combined using joint facilities and utility areas. In standalone plants, the produced DRI is briquetted to hot briquetted iron to enable further handling and safe transport.

If a Circored plant is integrated into an existing steelmaking facility, energy efficiency can be further increased by direct hot feeding of the DRI to an electric arc furnace, according to Metso Outotec.

Kobe Steel demonstrates new, cleaner steel production technology

16th February 2021Environmental, Mineral processing, Power supply for mines, Steel and iron ore, Sustainable miningblast furnace, CO2 emissions, direct reduced iron, hot briquetted iron, Iron ore, ironmaking, Japan, Kakogawa Works, Kobe Steel, KOBELCO Group, Midrex, natural gas, steelmakingDaniel Gleeson

Kobe Steel says it has successfully demonstrated technology that can significantly reduce CO2 emissions from blast furnace operations, combining the technologies of Midrex in the engineering business and the blast furnace operation technology in the iron and steel business.

This achievement is a result of the integrated efforts of the Kobe Steel Group (also known as the KOBELCO Group) leveraging its diverse businesses, it said. The demonstration test was conducted for a month at a large blast furnace (4,844 cu.m) of the Kakogawa Works in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, in October 2020.

The quantity of CO2 emissions from the blast furnace is determined by the reducing agent rate (RAR), or the quantity of carbon fuel used in blast furnace ironmaking. In the demonstration test, it was verified that RAR could be stably reduced from 518 kg per tonne of hot metal (thm) to 415 kg/thm by charging a large amount of hot briquetted iron produced by the MIDREX® Process. The results indicate that this technology can reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 20% compared with the conventional method, the company said.

In addition, the world’s lowest level of coke rate (239 kg/thm) has been achieved in the demonstration test of this technology, the company claimed.

Kobe Steel sees this as a promising solution that could become readily available soon at a lower additional cost compared with other CO2-reduction measures.

The MIDREX Process uses natural gas as the reductant and pellets made of iron ore as the source of iron to make direct reduced iron through the reduction process in the shaft furnace. In comparison with the blast furnace method, the MIDREX Process can reduce CO2 emissions by 20-40%.

The company said: “We will keep improving this CO2-reduction solution technology while further reducing CO2 emissions and achieving lower costs for CO2 reduction. Beyond our own efforts to reduce emissions from our facilities, we will strive to contribute to the acceleration of CO2 reduction through introducing this solution to blast furnaces around the world.

“In addition, we believe that the success of the demonstration test on an actual blast furnace has made a significant step forward in providing low CO2 steel products to customers. As moving forward with our environmental efforts on the scale of the whole supply chain, we will establish production and sales systems and define the terms and conditions for sales so that we can provide customers with low CO2 steel products that offer new added value.”

SRG Global wins Whyalla Steelworks refractory contract

30th May 2019Comminution of minerals, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mining services, Steel and iron oreDavid Macgeorge, GFG Liberty OneSteel, ironmaking, METS, mining services, pellet plant, refractory, South Australia, SRG Global, steel, Whayalla SteelworksDaniel Gleeson

SRG Global says it has finalised a long-term contract with GFG Liberty OneSteel to provide refractory services throughout the Whyalla Steelworks site in South Australia.

The services incorporate the pellet plant, ironmaking, steelmaking and steel products assets, according to SRG Global, with the contract for an initial four-year term with options for a further two-year extension.

The engineering-led specialist construction, maintenance and mining services group said works under this contract are expected to generate revenue of around A$45 million ($31 million) over the six-year term, or some $30 million over the initial four-year term.

“The contract is clear evidence of the benefits that are being delivered through the creation of SRG Global, an engineering-led specialist construction, maintenance and mining services group operating across the entire asset life cycle,” SRG said.

Last year, Global Construction Services and SRG carried out a merger to create SRG Global.

The award of this refractory services contract at Whyalla Steelworks will complement existing works being undertaken by SRG Global’s Mining Services division, which has been operating in the region since 2012, the company added.

SRG Global Managing Director, David Macgeorge, said the contract highlighted the company’s depth of experience in complex asset services and is “further evidence of the diverse capabilities we offer as a combined entity”.

He added: “The contract award is significant in that it aligns with SRG Global’s long-term strategy of securing a greater proportion of recurring revenue contracts in the asset services sector. It is also a considerable achievement in leveraging our refractory services expertise to significantly bolster work in hand.”