Rynek surowców komplementarnych żelaza i stali na początku XXI wieku

Abstract

Iron and steel complementary raw materials market at the beginning of the 21st century.A b s t r a c t. The equipment and processes of steel production require the use of a variety of raw materials, of which only the two most abundant groups are discussed herein: reducers and alloying additives. In the 20th century, the basic reducer was coke, initially produced in independent coking plants to serve many purposes. Its properties were not optimized for blast furnace processes. Currently, metallurgy uses about 80% of the coke produced, i.e. over 500 million tonnes per year, and coking plants have been integrated with iron and steel mills for several decades. The coke market is disappearing in favour of metallurgical coal, the chemical and physical parameters of which have been standardized. In view of the strict quality requirements and intensive use, the resources of metallurgical coal will be exhausted relatively quickly, and many smelters are already replacing coking coal with cheaper and more abundant gas-coking coal and ultra-pure hard coal dust. On a global scale, in 2015, coke accounted for 2/3 of the mass of reducing agents in the charge, and non-coked forms of coal – the remainder.