Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) is a premium ore-based metallic (OBM) raw material made by removing chemically-bound oxygen from iron oxide pellets and lump ores without melting.
Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) is high in iron content and low in copper and other undesirable metals – tramp elements – and nitrogen content. It is used to make a broad range of steel products. Its physical and chemical characteristics make it desirable for use in the electric arc furnace (EAF), blast furnace (BF), and basic oxygen furnace (BOF).
MIDREX® Plants can be designed to switch from one DRI form to another with no disruption of product flow – cold DRI (CDRI) to hot briquetted iron (HBI), CDRI to hot DRI (HDRI), or HDRI to HBI. Products can be produced simultaneously in any combination.
The ever-increasing call for the iron and steel industry to significantly reduce its carbon dioxide emissions is driving a surge in interest in direct reduction. The environmental benefit of natural gas-based DRI plants is well documented versus the coke-based production of metallic iron via the blast furnace. Now, the prospect of using 100% green hydrogen as the reducing gas for DRI production is regarded as the key to decarbonizing steelmaking.