Abstract:

The use of hydrogen in metallurgical processes holds significant promise for enhancing sustainability and reducing environmental impact. Based on the literature, the direct reduction of iron ore can be characterized by the reduction degree and reduction swelling index (RSI), which significantly depend on parameters such as temperature, pressure, type of reducing agent, porosity and material chemistry. This thesis enabled the assessment of the influence of temperature, reducing atmosphere and material chemistry on the reduction degree and RSI. Three types of iron ore pellets were reduced and studied for their reduction degree and RSI at different temperatures. The effect of a reducing atmosphere consisting of 80 % nitrogen and 20 % hydrogen was studied and compared with the reduction in a hydrogen atmosphere under the same conditions. The high iron-rich metallurgical dust was also studied using hydrogen-based reduction. The results showed a possibility of the use of metallurgical dust during the direct reduction process, thereby reducing waste and conserving resources.