Iron ore reduction

Charcoal was an important industrial raw material in the United States for iron ore reduction until it was replaced by coal in the early 1880s. Charcoal production increased, however, because of the demand for the by-products acetic acid, methanol, and acetone. In 1920, nearly 100 by-product recovery plants were in operation in the United States, but the last plant ceased operation in 1969. 

Industrial reactors for iron ore reduction to solid iron... 

Fluid Iron Ore Reduction (FIOR) is a process for reducing ore to iron with a reducing gas in a fluid bed. For thermodynamic efficiency, iron ore reduction requires counter current flow of ore and reducing gas. This is achieved in FIOR in a multiple bed reactor. Precautions are necessary to prevent significant back mixing of solids between beds, since this would destroy counter current staging. 

Huebler,J.,Iron Ore Reduction Proc.Symp.Chicago,Pergamon Press,Oxford (1962). 

A voluminous literature exists on the kinetics of gaseous reduction of solids in connection with industrial applications. In particular, that of iron oxides has been comprehensively reviewed by Manning and Philbrook [1] As these authors evaluate the situation Although the science of iron ore reduction is nearly a hundred years old, it is still best characterized by uncertainty, by inconsistent experimental data and by conflicting theories . This evaluation seems to us quite adequate (except, perhaps, that a case could be made for replacing a hundred years by three thousand years ), and the statement is applicable to reductions of other solids. 

In Fig. 4-4, a schematic of an iron ore reduction plant is shown using hydrogen generated by a nuclear reforming process. The hydrogen is heated up to 900 °C and then routed into the blast furnace to act as a reduction gas [45]. 

Table 4-2 Balance of direct iron ore reduction plant, from [56]...

Fractions with high calorific values can be used in cupola or blast fiunaces in production or processing of iron. Cupola furnaces are used mainly to melt scrap metal with coke. In blast furnaces, metallic iron is melted in iron ore reduction. For this purpose, along with the coke highly sulfurous heavy oil or coal is injected and gasified with the hot blast. Plastic material can substitute the heavy oil to a certain extent [19]. Use of plastics in blast furnaces require prior comminution to a diameter of max. 5 mm, since this granulate is introduced into the lower section of the blast furnace out of a pressurized container at 0.4—0.5 MPa through a lance. 

Eds] Edstroem, J.O., Some Chemical Reactions Involved in Pelletizing and Iron Ore Reduction , (in Swedish), Jemkontorets Ann., 142, 401-466 (1958) (Crys. Stmcture, Experimental, Interface Phenomena, Kinetics, Morphology, Phase Diagram, Theory, 40)... 

Metallurgical and inorganic chemical industries waste gas scrubbing Reduction of iron ore Reduction of gold roasting Biomass pyrolysis... 

Synthesis gas or shortly syngas is a term used for a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Synthesis gas is an important building block for a number of petrochemicals as well as an important feedstock for liquid fuels via the Fischer Tropsch route or as reducing gas for iron ore reduction (Fig. 1). 

Feeding and withdrawing solids from high-pressure units is not a trivial problem. For instance, if one wishes to withdraw hot reduced iron from an iron ore reduction unit operating at high pressure and temperature without withdrawing too much process gas and without plugging the withdrawal line, the operation is a difficult one. 

The hematite iron ore reduction is possible wifli carbon in the form of self-reducing mixtures, processed at 1673 and 1773 K (1400 and 1500°C) and using 10 minutes as a processing time in a laboratory rotary kiln. 

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