International Steel Mills
July 23, 2019
CRU: Why China is Using Less Scrap in its Blast Furnaces
Written by Tim Triplett
By CRU Analyst Jordan Permain
Ironmakers are continuously seeking ways to increase production efficiency and reduce costs but, particularly when profitability is good, productivity is a focus area. To achieve this, ironmakers can increase their usage of metallics in the blast furnace (BF), and benefits include not only increased productivity but also a lower coke requirement, as the iron in metallics is already “reduced.” This article explores the fundamental impacts and limitations of charging metallics into the BF and why Chinese ironmakers have decreased the rate of scrap charging in the past year.
