Technical and economic evolution of ironmaking in Germany over the last 50 years

Abstract

Ironmaking in Germany has a long tradition, from the factories constructed near the coal mines and the iron ore mines in the second half of the 19th century to the remaining six active locations of integrated iron and steelworks today. This paper describes the main five periods of blast furnace technology and operation mode developments from 1945 on. This includes the decrease of reductant consumption achieved by several measures like improvement of the charge materials (iron ore burden and coke), the injection of auxiliary reducing agents and the main plant technology improvements. This demonstrates that during this period of time the blast furnace process has gained considerable economical ground.