Midrex HBI and DRI

HBI (Hot Briquetted Iron)

HBI is the product of reducing iron ore with natural gas. This is called the direct reduction process and is an environmentally-friendly production process; a DRI plant uses natural gas which is more environmentally sound than coke. The reduction process takes place in the reduction tower.  A tower is the heart of the plant. The direct
reduction process is a complex process, which, explained in simple terms, consists of the following steps:
1.  Raw material iron ore pellets: Iron ore pellets – the raw material – are fed into the reactor

2. Natural gas is converted into reducing gas: Natural gas is converted into reducing gas and then injected
Reducing gas circulates in a closed system and is recycled

3.  The direct reduction process: Hot-reducing gas flows through the iron ore, from the bottom to the top, according to the counterflow principle
The Oxygen content is reduced = “sponge iron” is produced

4. “Sponge iron” is pressed into briquettes (Hot Briquetted Iron)

DRI (Direct Reduced Iron)

Direct reduced iron (DRI), also called sponge iron, is produced from the direct reduction of iron ore (in the form of lumps, pellets, or fines) into iron by a reducing gas that either contains elemental carbon (produced from natural gas or coal) or hydrogen. When hydrogen is used as the reducing gas there are no greenhouse gases produced. Many ores are suitable for direct reduction. Direct reduction refers to solid-state processes that reduce iron oxides to metallic iron at temperatures below the melting point of iron. Reduced iron derives its name from these processes, one example being heating iron ore in a furnace at a high temperature of 800 to 1,200 °C (1,470 to 2,190 °F) in the presence of the reducing gas syngas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, or pure hydrogen.)