Facility for producing reduced iron and method for producing reduced iron

US2025027178A1 · US · A1

Patent metadata
FieldValue
Publication numberUS-2025027178-A1
Application numberUS-202218714122-A
CountryUS
Kind codeA1
Filing dateNov 30, 2022
Priority dateNov 30, 2021
Publication dateJan 23, 2025
Grant date

How to read this patent

A practical reading order for non-experts. Skip the full description unless you need deep technical detail.

  1. Title

    What the patent document calls the invention.

  2. Abstract

    A short plain-language summary of the technical disclosure.

  3. Assignees and inventors

    Who owns or filed the patent and who is credited as inventor.

  4. Key dates

    Filing, priority, publication, and grant dates set the timeline.

  5. First independent claim

    The legal scope of protection — read this for what is actually claimed.

  6. CPC / IPC classifications

    Technology tags used to group this patent with similar filings.

  7. Citations and related patents

    Prior art links and similar publications in this corpus.

Abstract

Official abstract text for this publication.

A facility for producing reduced iron includes: a granulation apparatus that granulates raw material fine powder that contains iron and has a median diameter of 50 μm or less into granular powder in a fluidized bed formed by fluidizing medium particles that do not thermally decompose during fluidization; and a reduction apparatus that reduces at least the granular powder in the fluidized bed formed by fluidizing the granular powder.

First claim

Opening claim text (preview).

1 . A facility for producing reduced iron comprising: a granulation apparatus that granulates raw material fine powder that contains iron and has a median diameter of 50 μm or less into granular powder in a fluidized bed formed by fluidizing medium particles that do not thermally decompose during fluidization; and a reduction apparatus that reduces at least the granular powder in a fluidized bed formed by fluidizing the granular powder. 2 . The facility for producing reduced iron according to claim 1 , wherein the reduction apparatus includes one or more circulating fluidized bed reduction apparatuses for forming a circulating fluidized bed or one or more bubbling fluidized bed reduction apparatuses for forming a bubbling fluidized bed or combination thereof. 3 . The facility for producing reduced iron according to claim 1 , wherein the reduction apparatus includes a collecting device that collects dust including at least fine particles of partially unreduced iron ore. 4 . The facility for producing reduced iron according to claim 3 , wherein the reduction apparatus includes a feeding device that feeds the dust collected by the collecting device to a granulation vessel of the granulation apparatus. 5 . The facility for producing reduced iron according to claim 1 , wherein the medium particles included in the granulation apparatus include a carbide, an oxide, a nitride, or any combination thereof having a melting point of higher than 1,200° C. 6 . The facility for producing reduced iron according to claim 1 , wherein the granulation apparatus includes a mechanism for measuring a pressure loss in the fluidized bed. 7 . The facility for producing reduced iron according to claim 1 , wherein the granulation apparatus includes a granular powder separation device that separates the granular powder from the fluidized bed, and the granular powder separation device includes a mechanism of magnetic separation, dry sieving, pneumatic classification, or sedimentation classification, or any combination thereof. 8 . The facility for producing reduced iron according to claim 1 , wherein, in a granulation vessel in which the fluidized bed is formed, a maximum cross-sectional area of a horizontal cross section in a freeboard portion provided above the fluidized bed of the granulation vessel is larger than a cross-sectional area of a horizontal cross section in a region in which the fluidized bed is disposed. 9 . The facility for producing reduced iron according to claim 1 , wherein, in a granulation vessel in which the fluidized bed is formed, a maximum cross-sectional area of a horizontal cross section in a freeboard portion provided above the fluidized bed is larger than a cross-sectional area at which a gas superficial velocity in the freeboard portion becomes a terminal velocity of the raw material fine powder. 10 . The facility for producing reduced iron according to claim 1 , wherein the reduction apparatus includes a pipe for supplying the granular powder to an inside of the reduction apparatus, and the reduction apparatus and the granulation apparatus are connected to each other by the pipe. 11 . A method for producing reduced iron comprising: granulating raw material fine powder that contains iron and has a median diameter of 50 μm or less into granular powder in a fluidized bed formed by fluidizing medium particles that do not thermally decompose during fluidization; and reducing at least the granular powder in a fluidized bed formed by fluidizing the granular powder. 12 . The method for producing reduced iron according to claim 11 , wherein, in the reducing, one or more circulating fluidized bed reaction vessels, one or more bubbling fluidized bed reaction vessels, or one or more circulating fluidized bed reaction vessels and one or more bubbling fluidized bed reaction vessels are used. 13 . The method for producing reduced iron according to claim 11 , wherein, in the reducing, dust including at least fine particles of partially unreduced iron ore is collected. 14 . The method for producing reduced iron according to claim 13 , wherein the dust collected in the reducing is used in the granulating. 15 . The method for producing reduced iron according to claim 11 , wherein the medium particles used in the granulating include a carbide, an oxide, a nitride, or any combination thereof having a melting point of higher than 1,200° C. 16 . The method for producing reduced iron according to claim 11 , in the granulating, a pressure loss in the fluidized bed is measured. 17 . The method for producing reduced iron according to claim 11 , wherein, in the granulating, the granular powder is separated from the fluidized bed, and the separation of the granular powder is performed by magnetic separation, dry sieving, pneumatic classification, or sedimentation classification, or any combination thereof. 18 . The method for producing reduced iron according to claim 11 , wherein, in a granulation vessel in which the fluidized bed is formed, a maximum cross-sectional area of a horizontal cross section in a freeboard portion provided above the fluidized bed of the granulation vessel is larger than a cross-sectional area of a horizontal cross section in a region in which the fluidized bed is disposed. 19 . The method for producing reduced iron according to claim 11 , wherein a maximum cross-sectional area of a horizontal cross section in a freeboard portion provided above the fluidized bed formed in the granulating is larger than a cross-sectional area at which a gas superficial velocity in the freeboard portion becomes a terminal velocity of the raw material fine powder. 20 . The method for producing reduced iron according to claim 11 , wherein a granulation apparatus that granulates the raw material fine powder that contains iron and has a median diameter of 50 μm or less into the granular powder in the fluidized bed formed by fluidizing the medium particles that do not thermally decompose during fluidization and a reduction apparatus that reduces the granular powder are connected to each other, and the granular powder is supplied to the reduction apparatus via a pipe provided in the reduction apparatus.

Assignees

Inventors

Classifications

  • in multi-storied furnaces · CPC title

  • Arrangements of monitoring devices, of indicators, of alarm devices · CPC title

  • Arrangements of dust collectors · CPC title

  • Arrangements of air or gas supply devices · CPC title

  • Recycling of non-gaseous waste material · CPC title

Patent family

Related publications grouped by family.

External sources

Frequently asked questions

Answers are generated from the same data shown on this page.

What does patent US2025027178A1 cover?
A facility for producing reduced iron includes: a granulation apparatus that granulates raw material fine powder that contains iron and has a median diameter of 50 μm or less into granular powder in a fluidized bed formed by fluidizing medium particles that do not thermally decompose during fluidization; and a reduction apparatus that reduces at least the granular powder in the fluidized bed fo…
Who is the assignee on this patent?
Nippon Steel Corp
What technology area does this patent fall under?
Primary CPC classification C21B13/0033. Mapped technology areas include Chemistry & Metallurgy.
When was this patent published?
Publication date Thu Jan 23 2025 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (A1). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
What related patents are in patentsdb?
We list 8 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).