Direct reduced iron
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Direct reduced iron is produced from iron ore powder through heating and chemical reduction by natural gas.
While this is in general a more expensive process than reducing the ore in a blast furnace, there are several factors which can make it economical:
- Direct reduced iron is richer in iron than pig iron, 97% pure iron as opposed to about 93% for molten pig iron, and an excellent feedstock for the electric furnaces used by mini mills, allowing them to use lower grades of scrap for the rest of the charge.
- The direct reduction process uses powdered ore, avoiding the sintering process otherwise necessary to use this ore in a blast furnace.
- The direct reduction process can use natural gas contaminated with inert gases, avoiding the need to remove these gases for other use.
- Supplies of powdered ore and raw natural gas are both available in areas such as Northern Australia, avoiding transport costs for the gas.
India is the world’s largest producer of direct reduced iron, a vital constituent of the steel industry.[1]
- It is also used as a food additive to increase iron.
