Investment DRI project is a good choice
Anonymous
At present, everyone knows that China's steel is overcapacity. However, the international steel market price is higher than the domestic market, although foreign anti-dumping, countervailing voice is strong, but the steel products exports is still going strong. However, the current export steel products price is lower. The average of China's steel product exports is $ 600 / ton, while steel imports average price is $ 1,000 / ton, actually 60% of the gap. Just from the import and export steel products, we will clearly see that the China's exports steel products technological content, added value, is lower than the imported steel. How to improve the competitiveness of steel products? I believe that, we must adjust the export structure, making the steel at competitive prices.
Developing short process steel promotes the upgrading of steel products. CISA consultant Wu Jianchang recently published "Our scrap consumer demand trends and countermeasures", except to take measures to strengthen the protection of the role of iron ore resources, active using scrap, develop alternative direct reduced iron and other advanced technology, to ensure effective measures for sustainable development of China's steel industry. Currently, large-scale iron and steel companies in the world in many countries adopt advanced short process steel, the main material including metal scrap, direct reduced iron (also known as sponge iron) and cast iron (or steel with hot metal). Among these, the scrap is a renewable resource reusable; DRI is a non-blast furnace iron-making technology, without the use of coke, for the world's scarce resources - coking coal plays a protective role. It is not difficult to see, short process steel in line with the requirements of resource-efficient economy; short process to produce high-quality steel can produce privileged steel. With the rapid development of China's economy, we need the high-quality steel, for example, the specific requirements for some of the modern large venue construction, petroleum, petrochemical, power and other industry. And the development of short process steel is inseparable from reduced iron, therefore, we must speed up the production of direct reduced iron.
Developing excellent steel preferred DRI. EAF require a lot of scrap, because of the complexity of scrap source, steel composition is more complex. Steel contend sulfur, phosphorus and other harmful elements. The harmful elements in DRI are low, and DRI have the stable performance characteristics. After furnace smelt, DRI can make the molten steel which contained sulfur, phosphorus and other harmful elements significantly reduced, greatly improve the purity of steel. The only modern coal-based DRI production enterprises DRI plant in Tianjin Pipe has proved that: Using Brazilian ore pellet produce direct reduced iron, the metallization ratio stabilized at 92-94% and the sulfur content is less than 0.015%. Industry sources said the DRI is the concentrate material in short steelmaking process.
In the “Eleventh Five-Year" period, our country will promote the revitalization of the equipment manufacturing industry, the modern construction equipment manufacturing and high-tech industrial base, to continue to strengthen the energy, the important raw materials and other basic industries , the water, and the communications and other infrastructure . The innovation and development of equipment manufacturing will increase the demand for Premium steel, and Premium steel and is inseparable for DRI. In addition, some large machinery equipment manufacturing enterprises, such as 1st heavy machinery, 2nd heavy machinery is equipped with electric stove, recently, the heavy machinery plant in Tianjin is building a 50-ton electric furnace by self. EAF also requires direct reduced iron. In summary, the iron and steel industry, or the equipment manufacturing industry, as long as the steel-making process with short production Premium steel products, they will prefer to have direct reduced iron.
Reduced iron market has a great potential. Reduced iron raw metal is the steel product material. In recent years, with the increasing requirement of world steel industry technological progress and environmental protect, more and more people aware DRI. Its value has increased in international and domestic markets, not only the price rose sharply, and the international market strictly controls exports. Moreover, even the production of direct reduced iron raw material - pellets is very tight. World reduced iron production, global direct reduced iron production exceeded 10 million tons in the mid-eighties of the last century, to the early nineties, it exceeded 20 million tons in 1995 to reach 30 million tons level, only after a lapse five years, to 2000 it topped 40 million tons, reaching 43.78 million tons. In recent years, mini-mills began to involve high-level steel production, which strict the purity of the metal, so it needs more direct reduced iron. According to statistics, China's DRI production capacity is only 600,000 tons, while the actual production is only 350-400 thousand tons, and the production is 450 thousand tons in 2006. China's largest and most modern enterprises DRI – Tianjin Pipe DRI plant, due to the impact of imported pellets, the production is only 220,000 tons in 2006, compared with 2005 decrease 60,000 tons, compared with the production capacity in 2004, decrease of 102,000 tons, the production fell 22% of national output in 2006. DRI imports also showed a decreasing trend, the reason is the general control of foreign direct reduced iron export. With so little reduced iron, how our country match with the rapid development of short steelmaking process? Direct reduced iron large market potential is obvious.
Investment DRI production is the choice of the market. Recently, I interviewed a steel plant in Tianjin, heard a conversation about the steel manufacturers and material suppliers. "You do alloy business?" "Yes." "Is there any raw material production plant?" "No." Obviously, steel producers prefer material base suppliers,. In this way, steel producers can ensure the materials supply in time and the relative stability of the materials. With the consolidation and restructuring of the iron and steel enterprises, the large, extra large steel enterprises material procurement will take the manner of large materials producers Supplying. The steel distribution companies will have to change their management thinking, implement the joint restructuring or investment material production enterprises, and increasing market competitiveness. Otherwise, the trading business of steel producers weak or no entity backed, its sales and marketing channels will gradually shrink. Therefore, investing in domestic and international DRI production markets will be a good choice for a certain economic strength steel plant.
DRI production needs across two threshold: environmental protection and technology. Due to the factors of raw materials, production processes and other implications, coal-based DRI production can easily cause environmental pollution. Dust, heavy pollution and the environment pollution, is widely recognized by people for such enterprises, the enterprises must cross the threshold in the reduced iron production. Tianjin Pipe DRI plant is the former Ministry of Metallurgical Industry "Nine Five" major scientific and technological projects, key equipment and technology imported from the United Kingdom David company, designed to produce direct reduced iron (DRI) 300 thousand tons. According to the characteristics of China's abundant coal resources, China used coal-based direct reduction process (DRC). On the environment, the plant has accumulated a wealth experience. In environmental management, their main approach is: identify the sources of pollution, to engage in the transformation of the right medicine; focus on pollution area, perseverance engages in transformation, recycling waste discharge standards; greening and beautifying the environment, clean production, cycle production. Today’s Tianjin Pipe DRI plant, blue sky, red plants, green grass, pigeons flying, employees very happy.
Industry sources said the DRI production appears to be simple, in fact, technology is not simple. A few direct reduced iron plant in our country all through its difficult course. Invest in DRI production must be psychologically prepared at first, but also make site visits before construction, equipment selection, technology selection is important. Tianjin Pipe DRI plant put into operation since 1998, the implementation of large-scale transformation is 110 items, some of which are 1st time renovation projects at home and abroad, making coal-based direct reduction iron (DRC) technology more complete, and suitable for the production of coal-based reduced iron. In the case of an adequate supply of raw materials, reduced iron plant annual 332,000 tons at 2004, exceeding the design capacity, double kiln operating rate averaged to 98.3%, the best monthly job rate is 99.64%, the metallization rate remained stable over 92 %.
Related Links: DRI and its production
Coke is an important raw material for steelmaking, while coking coal is the world's scarce resources. According to the current estimate of the high-quality annual output coke, After 40 years, China's coking coal resources will be depleted. Meanwhile, coking is the industry of high energy consumption, high pollution and high resource. For this ，research and exploration iron industry always research the technology and production in the using of non-coke blast furnace iron making. Nowadays, modernization direct reduction and smelting reduction process is the main non-blast furnace iron process
The products which adopt direct reduction technology are reduction resulting solid metal iron below the melting point (abbreviation DRI). Because direct reduction has not through smelting, formed porous structure in the deoxygenating process, its shape like a sponge, also known as sponges iron. Sponge iron is electric steelmaking concentrate material with the advantage of low content harmful impurities, stable performance. DRI to EAF produce high quality steel billets.
Fusion reduction is equivalent to the blast furnace, with a non-coking coal as the main fuel, and molten hot metal is equivalent to blast furnace liquid iron which is suitable for BOF or EAF.
Just for direct reduction process, fuel is different, the process is divided into coal-based and gas-based (natural gas) direct reduction, coal-based reduced iron production accounted for only 10.2% in the world reduction, the rest are gas-based reduction.