Daido Steel Co., Ltd. has developed a new non-electric scrap melting process which uses carbon powder and oxygen. The experimental furnace is called a reactor. It has a melting rate of 0.5t/h. Test melting of direct reduced iron (DRI) was performed in the reactor with emphasis on the expansion o f ferro-material sources.
This paper describes the optimum operational conditions of DRI melting in the reactor with regard to thermal efficiency and iron yield. Results of the experiment are as follows:
(1) In the case of a DRI mixing ratio up to 30%, the thermal efficiency of melting is comparable to that of scrap melting.
(2) The iron oxide contained in DRI is reduced to iron during the melting period. The metal yield from DRI mixing heats is accordingly the same as that of scrap heats.
