TECHNOLOGY & PRODUCTS
Hot Direct Reduced Iron (HDRI)
Direct reduced iron charged hot for increased efficiency
Midrex is the world’s leader in Hot Direct Reduced Iron (HDRI) technology, with its plants around the world producing approximately 13 million tonnes of HDRI each year, accounting for over 75 percent of the global market.
What is HDRI?
Hot direct reduced iron (HDRI) is a discharge and handling configuration within the MIDREXTM Process. HDRI is direct reduced iron that is transferred from the shaft furnace to steelmaking while still hot, allowing its sensible heat to be used during the melting process.
Efficiency benefits through hot charging
After discharge from the MIDREX™ Shaft Furnace, the material is conveyed while hot to an adjacent steelmaking facility. Instead of being cooled and passivated, HDRI is charged hot into the melt shop. Retaining sensible heat reduces the energy required for melting and can support higher productivity in electric arc furnace (EAF) and submerged arc furnaces steelmaking.
Operational considerations
HDRI is typically selected in projects where ironmaking and steelmaking facilities are designed together from the outset, and where retaining heat from the reduction step is a priority. This allows for reduced energy consumption and increased efficiency.
Because HDRI is not cooled or passivated, it must be handled in a controlled way and transferred over short distances. Once the material leaves the shaft furnace, timing, layout, and operating discipline become much more important.
Midrex Hot Transport
In EAF steelmaking, hot transport/hot charging is an effective means of lowering the cost per ton of liquid steel by reducing power and electrode consumption, as well as increasing EAF productivity. MIDREX Shaft Furnaces can be equipped with one of three systems to transfer HDRI to a steelwork’s meltshop: HOTLINK™, Hot Transport Conveyor (HTC) and Hot Transport Vessel (HTV).
Hotlink™
Distances <40m
Jindal Shadeed, Oman
Hot Transport Conveyor
Distances <200m
Hadeed Mod E, Saudi Arabia
Hot Transport Vessels
Distances > 100m
Lion HBI, Malaysia
Multiple iron product forms
The MIDREX™ Process allows iron to be produced in multiple forms, so producers can align the product form with layout, logistics, and operating priorities.
MIDREX™ plants are often configured to produce more than one iron product form, or to switch between forms as operating needs evolve. This flexibility is typically used to manage practical considerations such as layout constraints, material handling, and the balance between energy recovery and logistics.
World DRI Statistics
Examine the latest annual data, production figures and global trends in direct reduction.