First, amine-based post-combustion capture with a 95% capture rate was considered as the benchmark, as it is currently commercially available. A second, novel configuration integrated the Midrex process with pressurized chemical looping—direct reduced iron (PCL-DRI) production. The amine capture configuration is most sensitive to the cost of steam generation, while PCL-DRI is more sensitive to the cost of electricity and the makeup oxygen carrier. An iron-based natural ore is recommended for PCL-DRI due to the low cost and availability. Based on the lower costs compared to amine-based post-combustion capture, PCL-DRI is an attractive means of eliminating CO2 emissions from DRI production.

The replacement of the blast furnace—basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) steelmaking route with the direct reduced iron—electric arc furnace (DRI-EAF) route reduces the direct CO2 emissions from steelmaking by up to 68%; however, the DRI shaft furnace is one of the largest remaining point source emitters in steelmaking. The capital and operating expenses of two potential nearly carbon-neutral DRI process configurations were investigated as a modification to a standard Midrex DRI facility.

To overcome the limitations of the above two processes, and to achieve a more efficient direct reduction process of iron ore, the possibility of combining these two methods was investigated. The experiments focused on performing an initial direct reduction using ore-coal composite pellets followed by a second stage gas reduction. It was assumed that the initial reduction of the carbon composite pellets would enhance the efficiency of the subsequent reduction by gas and the total reduction efficiency. The porosity, as well as the carbon efficiency for direct reduction, were measured to determine the optimal conditions for the initial reduction, such as the size ratio of ore and coal particles. Thereafter, further reduction by the reducing gas was carried out to verify the effect of the preliminary reduction. The reduction kinetics of the reducing gas was also discussed.

Recently, direct reduced iron (DRI) has been highlighted as a promising iron source for electric arc furnace (EAF)-based steelmaking. The two typical production methods for DRI are gas-based reduction and reduction using carbon composite pellets. While the gas-based reduction is strongly dependent on the reliable supply of hydrocarbon fuel, reduction using ore-coal composite pellets has relatively low productivity due to solid–solid reactions.

Direct reduced iron has a relatively stable composition, low content of harmful impurities and relatively uniform particle size. As a high-quality raw material in modern metallurgy, direct reduced iron plays a vital role in metallurgy. In recent years, the application of direct reduced iron in the smelting of high-quality steel in electric furnaces, blast furnaces and other smelting furnaces is relatively common, which can effectively improve the production efficiency and reduce the coke ratio, and has positive significance for improving the overall efficiency of modern metallurgy. In addition, direct reduced iron can also be used in LD converter coolant and flat furnace effective metal raw materials, can also play a positive role.

Directly reduced iron added to the electric arc furnace proportion varies, if the proportion of direct reduction of iron is less than 30%, can be used cans of material loading. The bottom of the basket is filled with light scrap, followed by heavy scrap and direct-reduced iron, to avoid too much lumping of direct-reduced iron. However, when the arc heats the thicker layers of direct reduced iron, the molten metal fills the spaces between the direct reduced iron and condenses, causing the charge to sinter into a single piece, making it difficult to add the charge as a whole to the molten pool and extending the melting cycle. When more than 30% of the charge is added in batches, due to the slow heat transfer of the direct-reduced iron, the relevant technical indicators are poor, and should be fed into the furnace by means of continuous charging.

Under the background of the rapid development of the world's iron and steel technology, the pace of innovative technology methods is also accelerating, as a kind of efficient blast furnace steelmaking technology, direct reduction iron technology effectively improves the quality of iron and steel products. The article proposes four direct reduction iron production technologies.

Based on the conditions in these aggregates, a test series to experimentally simulate the first few seconds after charging DRI was defined. DRI samples with different carbon contents and hot briquetted iron (HBI) were immersed in high- and low-carbon melts as well as high- and low-iron oxide slags. The reacted samples were quenched in liquid nitrogen. The specimens were qualitatively evaluated by investigating their surfaces and cross sections.

Since the European Union defined ambitious CO2 emission targets, low-carbon-emission alternatives to the widespread integrated blast furnace (BF)—basic oxygen furnace (BOF) steelmaking strategy—are demanded. Direct reduction (DR) with natural gas as the reducing agent, already an industrially applied technology, is such an alternative. Consequently, the melting behavior of its intermediate product, i.e., direct reduced iron (DRI), in either an electric arc furnace (EAF) or a submerged arc furnace (SAF), is of great interest. Based on the conditions in these aggregates, a test series to experimentally simulate the first few seconds after charging DRI was defined.

The tests were carried out on an experimental stand designed and built by the authors of this paper. The stand reproduces on a scale of 1:2 a drum made up of a double-axis horizontal mixer. The stand had the possibility to change the value of the attack angle of the mixing blades, corresponding to the following values: 30, 45, and 60 degrees. The results of the tests established the dependence between the type of material and the wear rate of the blades as well as the influence exerted by the angle of attack on the wear of the mixing blades. It was shown that when the inclination angle of the blade relative to the shaft axis increases, the cumulative mass loss decreases, with values between 43% and 55.83%, as a function of the quality of blade material.