In order to properly understand the role of DRI or HBI in the production of high quality steel grades it is necessary to assess the VALUE of DRI, HBI or any other metallic commodity, taking into account product quality requirements, even when the major goal is merely scrap substitution, taking the analysis up to liquid steel. It is also important to take into consideration in the optimization scheme, three components in liquid steel cost: the metallic charge cost, the transformation cost and the productivity in the EAF. The VALUE of any metallic commodity, and therefore DRI or HBI VALUE, is defined essentially by the quality of the product to be produced, and is assessed depending on which residual specifications is required by the product to be processed. That is, if DRI or HBI are used in rebar production, with a high tolerance for residuals content, then the displaced scrap defines their VALUE. On the other hand, if they are used for the production of high quality steel grades, then their VALUE is determined by the opportunity of being able to produce those steel grades.
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