Green Steel, achievable???? Future of Australian hard coking coal mines?? 1538 degrees C is the magic number, pig iron melts to form steel. 1150 C iron ore forms a 'bloom' with most of the oxygen and contaminates removed. These are two separate processes. Combustion temperature: Acetylene/O2 3480 C Natural gas 1960 C Hydrogen 2254 C Coal Bituminous 2172 C Coal Anthracite 2180 C Coal Anthracite/O2 3500 C
Recent news articles discussing the use of green hydrogen to smelt the ore raised the question of how hot is hydrogen, not hot enough to produce steel but hot enough to produce the bloom. The occurrence of iron ore and natural gas in the Pilbarra begs the question, why wasn't it done at the beginning?? Where will the hydrogen come from?? Hydrogen can be produced from natural gas with significant CO and CO2 released, BHP's brickett plant in Port Headland never got going properly and was scrapped. The Midrex process uses natural gas. Uses of DRI - Midrex Technologies, Inc.
I think hard coking coal is still required. Happy to be corrected. I don't know enough. gurnz1
