The contract to build the world’s largest multiple product direct reduced iron (DRI) plant has been won by the US-based Midrex Technologies and its partner Paul Wurth S A Technologies.
The contract has been awarded by Tosyali Holding, a Turkish steelmaker with 16 production facilities dotted throughout Turkey as well as in Algeria – where the new DRI plant will be based – and Montenegro in Europe.
The new plant, which will be located in Bethious (Oran) in Algeria, will produce 2.5Mt of DRI and will be capable of varying its production to produce hot direct reduced iron (HDRI) and/or cold direct reduced iron (CDRI) simultaneously and without the need to stop production.
The new plant is claimed to be the largest single DRI plant to produce multiple DRI products. HDRI will be fed via an Aumund hot transport conveyor to a new EAF meltshop close to the Midrex DRI plant while CDRI can be produced for additional on-site use.
Overall the new facility will provide Tosyali Algeria with greater production flexibility and enable it to produce high quality, low impurity steels as well as decrease demand for imported scrap.
Charging hot DRI to an EAF reduces electricity consumption and increases productivity. “Less energy is required in the EAF to heat the DRI to melting temperature, resulting in a shorter overall melting cycle,” says Midrex.