Experiment on direct liquid-phase reduction of iron and production of steel by carbon-hydrogen mixture

High cost of steel production, introduction of new capacities and restrictive duties, as well as emissions taxes lead to high competition between steel producers, which necessitates the creation of new technical solutions for steel production with greater efficiency of natural resources. One of the main areas is the development and use of extra-blast furnace methods of iron reduction, for example, reduction of iron with a carbon-hydrogen mixture or pure hydrogen, which eliminate the consumption of metallurgical coke and reduce the energy intensity of steel production. With an increase in the temperature of the processes, the rates of chemical reactions also increase, including the reduction of iron from oxides, in this regard, liquid-phase processes provide the maximum rates of reduction reactions. Theoretical assumptions indicate that the use of a carbon-hydrogen mixture in bubbling reactors of liquid-phase reduction can provide a twofold reduction in the energy consumption of steel. However, the possibility of liquid-phase reduction of iron with a carbon-hydrogen mixture has not been experimentally proven, therefore, for further development of this technology, an experimental study of the process is required. Thus, an experiment on heating, melting and purging of metallurgical concentrate with a carbon-hydrogen mixture was carried out in the laboratory of the National Research University «MPEI». According to the results of melting, a sample was obtained, which was studied by the metallographic method. Microscopic analysis showed that the resulting alloy is comparable in composition and hardness to tool steel U12.

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