A mass and energy estimation for the hydrogen utilization in the iron-making process

The possibility of using hydrogen to lower CO₂ emissions in the iron-making process was confirmed by the heat and mass balances in the blast furnace operation. The mass and heat balances for hydrogen utilization in the blast furnace were estimated by using the basic concept of RIST operating diagram. In this study, the RIST operating diagram was modified to be suitable for representing the operation with respect to hydrogen, where the RIST operating diagram is a graphical representation of heat and mass balance in blast furnace operation. RIST operating diagram was applied here to some individual parameters of interest such as H₂ injection in blast furnace process to reduce coke (carbon consumption). It was observed that the point W moved to the right in the RIST operating diagram under the condition of increasing hydrogen injection at tuyere, which originates from the contribution of gas composition (O/H₂) equilibrated with Fe/FeO at a certain temperature. Point P also moved downward due to heat requirement with respect to hydrogen utilization, by which the new RIST operating diagram for hydrogen utilization was able to be constructed. Under the condition of hydrogen injection, the expected overall carbon consumption in the blast furnace decreased due to the contribution of hydrogen.