A DIRECT SMELTING PROCESS AND APPARATUS

摘要

A process for direct smelting a metalliferous feed material is disclosed. Char and fuel gas are produced by pre-treating coal with an oxygen-containing gas. The fuel gas is used to heat an oxygen-containing gas and/or to produce an oxygen-containing gas in an oxygen plant. Metalliferous feed material, char, and the oxygen-containing gas are injected into a direct smelting vessel, and the metalliferous feed material is smelted to molten metal in the direct smelting vessel using the char as a source of energy and as a reductant.