Abstract: The invention relates to a shaft furnace (1), in particular a direct-reduction shaft furnace, having a bed (2) of lumpy material, in particular lumpy material containing iron oxide and/or iron sponge, having worm conveyors (3) which penetrate through the shell of the shaft furnace for discharging the lumpy material from the shaft furnace (1), which conveyors are arranged above the base area of the shaft furnace (1) and are mounted in the shell of the shaft furnace.

Abstract: A method for producing a sponge metal from metal ore or iron ore which comprises reacting said metal ore or iron ore in a reduction zone with a CO— and H2-containing, reducing feed gas source which has been compressed, and after said reaction, withdrawing the remaining feed gas as an export gas from the reduction zone, wherein the CO— and H2-containing feed gas is introduced into the reduction zone form at least to gas sources, whereby upon a breakdown of one of the feed gas sources, at least a portion of the export gas recovered from the reduction zone is compressed, subjected to CO2 elimination recycled to the reduction zone together with the reducing feed gas.

Abstract: With a method for producing liquid metal from charging substances containing ore and of fluxes, the ore is directly reduced to sponge metal in at least one reduction zone (5, 7, 8), the sponge metal is melted along with fluxes in a melt-down gasifying zone (11) under the supply of carbon carriers and an oxygen-containing gas. A CO- and H2-containing process gas serving as a reducing gas is produced, fed into the reduction zone (5, 7, 8), reacted there, and subsequently withdrawn, wherein slagforming fluxes, in particular calcium carbonate, dolomite etc., gas are calcined by the process gas in a calcining zone (26′) that is separate from the reduction zone (5, 7, 8) and melt-down zone (11). To be able to employ slagforming fluxes of any desired grain and without disturbances of the reduction process, the calcining zone (26′) is connected in parallel to the reduction zone (5, 7, 8) with respect to the material flow and the calcined fluxes are fed into the melter gasifier (10) directly.

Abstract: A method for producing a hot CO- and H2-containing reducing gas utilized for the reduction of lumpy metal ore, in particular iron ore, which comprises forming the reducing gas in a gasification zone by the gasification of carbon carriers, in particular coal, taking place in the presence of a supply of oxygen and subsequently cooling the reducing gas down to a reducing-gas temperature favorable to the reduction process, wherein H2O and/or CO2 is added to a reducing gas which has been subjectged to a cooling operation that does not effect an addition of H2O/CO2 in order to prevent the Boudouard and heterogeneous water-gas reaction and a resultant heating of the reducing gas, wherein the reducing gas is converted to a reducing gas that is thermodynamically more stable at the reducing-gas temperature.