CIVS Blast Furnace Paper Featured in Iron & Steel Technology

CIVS project “On the Influence of Hot Reducing Gas Injection on Blast Furnace Performance” was featured in the April Issue of Iron & Steel Technology. The technical paper was published in the category of Coke and Ironmaking.

Authors of the paper include CIVS Graduate Research Assistant Mohammadhossein Alimohammadi, CIVS Associate Director for Research Ty Okosun, Lucas Melton and Cody Hollingshead from Cleveland-Cliffs Burns Harbor, and CIVS Director Chenn Zhou.

The steel industry is crucial for the economy but significantly contributes to energy consumption and carbon emissions, impacting global warming. To reduce its carbon footprint and achieve carbon neutrality, nations and manufacturers are developing low-carbon steelmaking technologies. Natural gas injection in blast furnaces can reduce the steelmaking industry’s carbon footprint. However, excessive injection can freeze the furnace and lower flame temperatures. This study explores how externally superheated reducing gas, generated by plasma torches or chemical processes such as pyrolysis, can overcome these limitations by providing more sensible heat to the furnace using computational fluid dynamics. The goal is to increase natural gas flow and achieve decarbonization through electrification.