Review of Recent Research on Coke Gasification in a Blast Furnace with Elevated Hydrogen Levels and Determination of the Coke’s Postreactive Strength CSR. 1. Thermodynamic Analysis of Coke Gasification in the Presence of H2 and H2O

Today, blast furnaces tend to operate with large quantities of injected materials—hydrogen sources. In the 1960s, the introduction of such additives prompted close attention to the chemical processes in the blast furnace. In the last few decades, many researchers have studied the reaction of coke with atmospheres containing H₂ and H₂O. This sharp increase in interest may be attributed to the increasing presence of hydrogen in blast furnaces and to the availability of powerful methods such as X-ray phase analysis and electron microscopy and also software for digital image analysis and thermodynamic analysis. The thermodynamic laws and kinetics of blast furnace processes were studied. The results show that coke reacts with H₂O more intensely and with greater intensity than it reacts with CO₂. That affects the coke strength. Other research has addressed the influence of the H₂ and H₂O content on the porosity of the coke and its disintegration. Recently, thermodynamic analysis of the gasification of carbon from coke in a CO₂ + H₂O atmosphere (solution loss reaction of coke) by various research groups shows that increase in the H₂O content in the initial gas further stimulates gasification. Thermodynamic analysis of the reactions associated with the gasification of coke by CO₂ and H₂O and the reduction of iron oxides (the coupling reaction) indicates that higher hydrogen content in the gas may shift the gasification of carbon to lower temperatures.