Experimental Study on the Reduction of Biomass Embedded Self-Reducing Pellets (SRP) Under H <sub>2</sub> Involved Conditions

Using biomass embedded self-reducing pellets (SRP) in the Hydrogen direct reduction (H-DR) process, which uses 100% H2 to produce direct reduced iron (DRI), is considered to be the solution to the problem that low/zero carbon content in the DRI product of H-DR. In this study, reduction of biomass embedded SRP by N2/H2/CO was conducted at different temperatures using Thermogravimetric/Differential Thermal Analyzer (TG/DTA), relative mass loss and heat flow change were studied. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to characterize the microstructure, porosity, as well as remaining biomass of the reduction product. Results show that: the reduction of iron ore by biomass starts at about 400 °C; H2 has a better reducing ability than CO when reducing SRP and the reduction can be also improved by increasing reduction temperature; the addition of biomass could ensure the carbon content and porosity of the reduction product; besides, 12% is regarded as the optimal biomass content in the pellets. This study demonstrated the feasibility of reducing biomass embedded SRP under H2 involved conditions and is aimed to solve the carbon problem of H-DR.