Direct smelting plant and process

摘要

Disclosed is a direct smelting plant and a direct smelting process for producing molten metal from a metalliferous feed material, such as ores, partly reduced ores, and metal-containing waste streams. The direct smelting process includes the steps of pretreating metalliferous feed material in a pretreatment unit (3) and producing pretreated feed material having a temperature of at least 200°C; storing pretreated metalliferous feed material having a temperature of at least 200°C under pressure in a hot feed material storage means (61); transferring pretreated metalliferous feed material having a temperature of at least 200°C under pressure in a hot feed material transfer line (11) to a solids delivery means of a direct smelting vessel (5), and; delivering pretreated metalliferous feed material into the direct smelting vessel and smelting metalliferous feed material to molten metal in the vessel.