OPERATION OF A BLAST FURNACE WITH SUPERHOT REDUCING GAS.

Reforming natural gas with air or CO//2 in a plasma medium have shown that it is possible to obtain a reducing gas of excellent quality. Trials made it possible to realize a coke replacement of 530 kg/MTHM, i. e. 75%. The residual coke rate of 180 kg/MTHM did not appear to be a metallurgical limit. The blast furnace process was not affected except that the response time of the silicon content of the pig iron to a corrective action on the injection temperature becomes short.