DRI industry-widening horizons

摘要

The growth of the sponge iron or DRI Industry in India in its nascent form commenced towards the latter half of the 20th century. Until then, steel scrap formed a major chunk of our imports, next only to petroleum products. But India faced a severe foreign exchange crunch and the change in the dollar-rupee parity made scrap imports more difficult. Then the Indian Government imposed curtailment measures and the search for alternative input materials began. Since India is richly endowed with reserves of high-grade iron ore as well as non-coking coal and natural gas from Bombay High, direct reduced iron came under scrutiny.Direct reduced iron or sponge iron as its is often referred to, is the substitute for melting scrap in the steel making process. It is a manufactured high ferrous content charge material for iron and steel making. It is produced in lump or pellet form sized typically at 4 by 40 mm. It also comes in compacted and briquette form known as Hot Briquetted iron (HBI), which is made by hot compacting DRI at temperatures over 650 deg C into a pillow-shaped briquette measuring 110 X 50 X 30 mm.