Aspects of the Economical Use of Energy at the Production of Pig Iron.

To calculate permissible prices for iron raw materials, which take into consideration the fuel demand which in turn depends on the grade of the iron raw materials affected by their smelting process, an equation usable for calculating prices in metallurgical engineering is recommended. The very problem of optimizing the employment of fuels is to minimize the specific coke rate by applying substitutional fuels on a lignite basis. After fully exploring all the possibilities of applying lignite dust as a heating material the specific coke rate can be further reduced by the additional use of reduction gas. This combined employment of substitutional fuels is regarded as the most favorable possibility for blast-furnace operation. To guarantee a minimized total expenditure the suitability of gasification of lignite directly at the blast-furnace as a procedure of generating reduction gas should be investigated by corresponding tests as quickly as possible.