Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho

Kobe Steel, Ltd.

Midrex International B.v. Zurich Branch

Midrex International, B.v., Rotterdam, Zurich Branch

Shuzo Ito

Shoichi Kikuchi

Koji Tokuda

Isao Kobayashi

Akira Uragami

Osamu Tsuchiya

Yasuhiro Tanigaki

Osamu Tsuge

Takuya Negami

Yoshimichi Takenaka

Shinichi Inaba

Masataka Shimizu

Toshihide Matsumura

Kimio Sugiyama

Takashi Kujirai

Kazuo Kunii

Minoru Kitamura

Keisuke Honda

Masahiko Ohgami

Hideaki Fujimoto

Shinji Koyama

Takao Harada

David C Meissner

Hidetoshi Tanaka

Glenn E Hoffman

Tomio Suzuki

Tsuyoshi Mimura

Nobuyuki Nagai

Itsuo Miyahara

Takefumi Horiuchi

Yoshio Kawate

Shorin O

Kyle J Shoop

Jun Jimbo

Yasuhiko Igawa

Hideo Matsui

Akihide Hikosaka

Saburo Tsurutani

Takeo Yoshigae

Eiichi Ito

Robert F Edgar

Hidekazu Okamoto

James C Simmons

Tsuyoshi Yasui

Isamu Hirose

Kenichi Tochimori

Toshio Inoue

This method is for producing granular metallic iron in which the relation between the mass ratio (mass %) of the volatile matter content contained in a carbonaceous reducing agent and the average gas flow rate (m/s) of the ambient gas in a heating furnace fulfills expression (1). Mass ratio of volatile matter content&#x2264;&#x2212;4.62&#xd7;average gas flow rate+46.7 . . . (1)

Production method of granular metallic iron

A method for manufacturing granular metallic iron by reducing a raw material mixture including an iron oxide-containing material and a carbonaceous reducing agent, comprises: a step of charging the raw material mixture onto a hearth of a moving hearth-type thermal reduction furnace; a step of reducing the iron oxide in the raw material mixture by the carbonaceous reducing agent through the application of heat, thereby forming metallic iron, subsequently melting the metallic iron, and coalescing the molten metallic iron to granular metallic iron while separating the molten metallic iron from subgenerated slag; and a step of cooling the metallic iron to solidify; wherein the heat-reducing step includes a step of controlling the flow velocity of atmospheric gas in a predetermined zone of the furnace within a predetermined range. This method makes it possible to manufacture the granular metallic iron of high quality.

Method and apparatus for manufacturing granular metallic iron

A high purity of molten iron is produced efficiently at a higher productivity, by feeding a raw material mixture containing a carbonaceous reducing agent, an iron oxide-containing material and a CaO-containing material onto a hearth of a moving-hearth reducing furnace, heat-reducing the raw material mixture in the reducing furnace, and melting it in a melting furnace melting, wherein a blending amount of the CaO-containing material in the raw material mixture is adjusted in such a manner that another feeding of the CaO-containing material into the melting furnace makes a basicity of a slag generated in the melting furnace 1.1 or more an feeding amount of the CaO-containing material becomes 40 kg or less per ton of the molten iron obtained in the melting furnace.

Process for producing molten iron

A method of making metallic iron in which a compact, containing iron oxide such as iron ore or the like and a carbonaceous reductant such as coal or the like, is used as material, and the iron oxide is reduced through the application of heat, thereby making metallic iron. In the course of this reduction, a shell composed of metallic iron is generated and grown on the surface of the compact, and slag aggregates inside the shell. This reduction continues until substantially no iron oxide is present within the metallic iron shell. Subsequently, heating is further performed to melt the metallic iron and slag. Molten metallic iron and molten slag are separated one from the other, thereby obtaining metallic iron with a relatively high metallization ratio. Through the employment of an apparatus for making metallic iron of the present invention, the above-described method is efficiently carried out, and metallic iron having a high iron purity can be made continuously as well as productively not only from iron oxide having a high iron content but also from iron oxide having a relatively low iron content.

Method and apparatus for making metallic iron

Metallic iron nuggets made by reducing-melt of a material containing a carbonaceous reductant and a metal-oxide-containing material, the metallic iron nuggets comprising at least 94% by mass, hereinafter denoted as '%', of Fe and 1.0 to 4.5% of C, and having a diameter of 1 to 30 mm are disclosed.

Metallic iron nuggets

A hearth material is laid in the form of a layer on the hearth prior to supply of a mixture containing a carbonaceous reducing agent and iron oxides onto a hearth of a reduction melting furnace, thereby forming a renewable hearth capable of being renewed, and the metallic iron is produced while renewing a part or the whole of the renewable hearth, which has deteriorated during operation, with the hearth material.

Method for producing metallic iron

A method for producing an iron oxide pellet including the steps of adding water to a raw material mixture comprising iron oxide which serves as a primary component, a carbonaceous material in an amount sufficient for reducing the iron oxide, an organic binder in an amount sufficient for binding the iron oxide and the carbonaceous material, and an inorganic coagulant in an amount of not less than 0.05 mass % and less than 1 mass %; pelletizing the resultant mixture to thereby obtain a green pellet; and drying the green pellet until the moisture content is reduced to equal to or less than 1.0 mass %. The thus-produced iron oxide pellet is charged in a reducing furnace for reduction to thereby obtain a reduced iron pellet.

Method of producing iron oxide pellets

Method and device for producing molten iron

The present invention is directed to a method of producing granular metallic iron, including: heating a formed raw material comprising a carbonaceous reductant and a substance containing iron oxide in a reduction melting furnace to subject the iron oxide contained in the formed raw material to solid-state reduction; and carburizing reduced iron resulting from the solid-state reduction with carbon contained in the carbonaceous in the formed raw material and causing resulting molten metallic iron to coalesce into the granular metallic iron, wherein an atmospheric gas present in proximity to the formed raw material in the carburizing and melting step has a reduction degree of not less than 0.5. The present invention is also directed to a method of producing metallic iron, including forming a deposit layer containing slag produced in the reduction melting process on hearth refractories, thereby protecting the hearth refractories while producing the metallic iron. The present invention is further directed to a device for supplying an auxiliary raw material to a hearth of a moving hearth type reduction melting furnace adapted to produce metallic iron, the device including a supply duct vertically connecting with a ceiling portion of the furnace.

Method of producing metallic iron

The present invention provides a method of producing metallic iron nuggets with a high yield and good productivity, and more particularly a method which can produce metallic iron nuggets which have a high Fe purity and are excellent in transporting and handling due to a large grain diameter with a high yield and good productivity, when they are produced by reducing and melting raw material containing iron oxide such as iron ore and carbonaceous reducing agent such as coke. The method of producing metallic iron nuggets comprises steps of: heating raw material containing carbonaceous reducing agent and iron oxide-containing material in a reducing/melting furnace, reducing iron oxide in the raw material, and then heating and melting the metallic iron produced by the reduction and simultaneously making it coalesce while separating the metallic iron nuggets from slag components characterized in that the fixed carbon content ratio as the carbonaceous reducing agent is at least 73% and the volatile matter content in the raw material is not more than 3.9% are used, and the mixing content of carbonaceous reducing agent is restrained to be not more than 45% in relation to the iron oxide components, which is contained in the iron oxide-containing material of the raw material.

Method of producing iron nuggets

A method of manufacturing a molten metal iron by charging a starting material at least comprising a carbonaceous reducing material and an iron oxide-containing material into a rotary hearth furnace, reducing under heating the charged starting material into a solid reducing iron, carburizing the metal iron in the solid reduced iron with the carbon ingredient in the carbonaceous reducing material, thereby melting the metal iron, separating the slag ingredient contained in the starting material by the melting, and discharging the molten metal alloy in the molten state as it is to the outside of the rotary hearth furnace for recovery, wherein a downward inclined surface is disposed at an angle 3 to 30&deg; relative to the horizontal plane on the upper surface of a hearth of the rotary hearth furnace on which the starting material is placed, and the molten metal iron is discharged at the discharging position for the molten metal iron from the lowest portion of the inclined surface.

Method of manufacturing molten metal iron

Metallic iron containing slag

The present invention is an apparatus and method for the direct reduction of iron oxide utilizing a rotary hearth furnace to form a high purity carbon-containing iron metal button. The hearth layer may be a refractory or a vitreous hearth layer of iron oxide, carbon, and silica compounds. Additionally, coating materials may be introduced onto the refractory or vitreous hearth layer before iron oxide ore and carbon materials are added, with the coating materials preventing attack of the molten iron on the hearth layer. The coating materials may include compounds of carbon, iron oxide, silicon oxide, magnesium oxide, and/or aluminum oxide. The coating materials may be placed as a solid or a slurry on the hearth layer and heated, which provides a protective layer onto which the iron oxide ores and carbon materials are placed. The iron oxide is reduced and forms molten globules of high purity iron and residual carbon, which remain separate from the hearth layer. An improved apparatus includes a cooling plate that is placed in close proximity with the refractory or vitreous hearth layer, cooling the molten globules to form iron metal buttons that are removed from the hearth layer. The improvements due to the present apparatus and method of operation provide high purity iron and carbon solid buttons, which are separate from slag particulates, and discharged without significant loss of iron product to the interior surfaces of the furnace.

Iron production method of operation in a rotary hearth furnace and improved furnace apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Shuzo Ito