Direct Reduced Iron

Direct Reduced Iron (DRI)

Direct reduction of iron is the removal of oxygen from iron ore or other iron-bearing materials in the solid state, i.e. without melting, as in the blast furnace. The reducing agents are carbon monoxide and hydrogen, coming from reformed natural gas, syngas, or coal. Iron ore is used mostly in pellet and/or lumpy form.

What is Direct Reduced Iron (DRI)

Direct reduced iron (DRI) also known as sponge iron, is a product of direct reduction of iron ore in various forms such as lumps, pellets, or fines. About 5% of global steel is produced from sponge iron (DRI), and this trend is increasing. Through the direct reduction of iron ore, oxygen is expelled from the iron to make metallic iron. Sponge iron is an essential raw material for making iron and steel products, and it suitably replaces scrap and blast furnaces.

The History of Sponge Iron

The earliest methods of sponge iron production relate to the Middle East, Egypt, and Europe to achieve iron. In China, they had applied the bloomery method and the blast furnaces to obtain sponge iron. Although, in the traditional method the furnace temperature is low and about 1,100 °C, just a small quantity gets produced each round in the blast furnace.

Comparing to the traditional technique, the direct reduced iron method is more fuel-efficient in steel production. Moreover, DRI plants should not be a part of an integrated steel plant, unlike the blast furnaces. Additionally, direct reduced iron plants are more economically efficient as they require less initial capital in contrast with integrated steel plants. Hence, in mini steel plants, producers profoundly prefer to use direct reduced iron instead of the blast furnace. Direct reduced iron is extremely suitable for developing countries with limited high-grade coking coal supplies.

The direct Reduction Process

The direct reduction process aims to drive off the oxygen from all forms of the iron ore without melting it. It means the process’s temperature must stay below the iron melting point (1,538 °C). The furnace heat is typically in the critical point in the range of 800–1200 °C. The process includes two methods, gas-based and coal-based. Depending on the dominant sources of the countries in gas or coal, producers chose one of the methods.

Four various procedures of direct reduced iron exist but generally, the pellet, lumps, or fines of the iron ore, in the rotary kiln, confront the gaseous reductants which are a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Through some other chemical processes, the oxygen is removed, metallization happens and the final sponge iron turns out.

The quality of the sponge iron relates to the amount of oxygen exploited from the iron ore and the purity of the primary iron ore which is regularly around 67%. The purity of the iron (Fe) in the final direct reduced iron is about 84 to 95%. It means sponge iron is a proper raw material for steel.

Sponge Iron Grades and Specification

Sponge iron can have various specifications, and typically they contain slag or Gangue. However, the impurity is insignificant and does not damage production processes. Several grades of sponge iron include:

GRADE – A (FeM – 81% Min)

GRADE – B (FeM – 78 To 80 %)

GRADE – C (Fem – < 78%)

Gemini Productions provides high-grade sponge iron with consistent quality. For

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