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Direct reduction swelling behavior of pellets in hydrogen-based shaft furnaces under typical atmospheres

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Abstract

Hydrogen-based shaft furnace process is gaining more and more attention due to its low carbon emission, and the reduction behavior of iron bearing burdens significantly affects its operation. In this work, the effects of reduction degree, temperature, and atmosphere on the swelling behavior of pellet has been studied thoroughly under typical hydrogen metallurgy conditions. The results show that the pellets swelled rapidly in the early reduction stage, then reached a maximum reduction swelling index (RSI) at approximately 40% reduction degree. The crystalline transformation of the iron oxides during the reduction process was the main reason of pellets swelling. The RSI increased significantly with increasing temperature in the range of 850–1050°C, the maximum RSI increased from 6.66% to 25.0% in the gas composition of 100% H2. With the temperature increased, the pellets suffered more thermal stress resulting in an increase of the volume. The maximum RSI decreased from 19.78% to 17.35% with the volume proportion of H2 in the atmosphere increased from 55% to 100% at the temperature of 950°C. The metallic iron tended to precipitate in a lamellar structure rather than whiskers. Consequently, the inside of the pellets became regular, so the RSI decreased. Overall, controlling a reasonable temperature and increasing the H2 proportion is an effective way to decrease the RSI of pellets.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51904063), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2018M640259), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. N2025023), the Key research and development project of Hebei Province (No. 21314001D), and the Plan of Xingliao Talents, China (No. XLYC1902118).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110819, China

    Zichuan Zhao & Jue Tang

  2. Institute for Frontier Technologies of Low-carbon Steelmaking, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110819, China

    Jue Tang

  3. Liaoning Province Engineering Research Center for Technologies of Low-Carbon Steelmaking, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110819, China

    Jue Tang

  4. State Key Laboratory of Rolling and Automation, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110819, China

    Mansheng Chu

  5. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China

    Mansheng Chu

  6. HBIS Group Co., Ltd, Shijiazhuang, 050000, China

    Xindong Wang

  7. Xuanhua Iron and Steel Group Co., Ltd, Shijiazhuang, 075100, China

    Aijun Zheng & Yang Li

  8. Iron and Steel Research Institute of HBIS Group Co., Ltd, Shijiazhuang, 050000, China

    Xiaoai Wang

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  1. Zichuan Zhao
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  2. Jue Tang
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  3. Mansheng Chu
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  4. Xindong Wang
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  7. Yang Li
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Correspondence to Jue Tang.

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Zhao, Z., Tang, J., Chu, M. et al. Direct reduction swelling behavior of pellets in hydrogen-based shaft furnaces under typical atmospheres. Int J Miner Metall Mater 29, 1891–1900 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-022-2494-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-022-2494-4

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