Ironmaking technology changes ore to pig iron in ten minutes

摘要

An ironmaking technology in which iron ore fines and pulverized coal are converted into iron nuggets of the same quality as blast furnace pig iron has been under development for several years at Kobe Steel, Japan. A demonstration facility has recently been completed in Minnesota. Called the ITmk3 (pronounced "Eye-Tee Mark Three") process, it produces 20 percent less carbon dioxide than blast furnace operations. In addition, the process requires much less time: reduction, melting, and slag removal take only about ten minutes. In comparison, blast furnace steel-making requires eight hours, while direct reduction needs six hours.