Back in 2023, World Metals, China’s most authoritative media organisation covering major innovations in steel production procedures, named CISDI’s low carbon breakthrough, the C-H reducing, reusing and recycling blast furnace, in a Top 10 Tech Breaking News article.

The invention, a global first, meant the conventional gas-fueled energy system for blast furnaces could become a thing of the past, and play a big part in the transformation from procedure-based carbon recycling to flow-based.

World Metals’ evaluation was based on an exacting round of online and offline and panel appraisals by leading experts.

CISDI’s 3R low-carbon tech is now in operation at a North China plant - Hebei Zongheng Steel - and is setting an important milestone in reducing carbon in the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace process.

It is fuelling two of the plant’s blast furnaces, a historic first which marks the industrialisation of large BF smelting’s carbon slump process.

In response to Zongheng Steel’s gas conditions, CISDI put forward a new smelting solution - blowing carbon monoxide and hydrogen into the two 2,300 cubic metre furnaces. This method takes advantage of the available CO- and H₂-rich gas to intensify the coupled C-H reducing effect - the ultimate utilisation of energy.

Each furnace’s fuel ratio has been reduced by 20 to 30kg per tonne of hot metal, which is calculated by coke ratio’s decrease by 5 to 8kg/t.

Its average gas replacement ratio ranges from 0.35 to 0.6kg per cubic metre, which is equivalent to a carbon reduction of around 10 per cent compared with China’s conventional furnaces of the same level of volume.

It will bring about an annual carbon emissions reduction of 400,000 tonnes and help save production costs by US$1.40 to 4.19 per tonne of hot metal.

These standout performance and economic results have been achieved since May 2023 and, says CISDI, they speak to the world of what the C-H 3R low-carbon blast furnace can achieve.

A global first - the transformative large, low-carbon blast furnace project, invented and implemented by CISDI in Northern China

The onsite decarbonising system for CISDI’s 3R low-carbon blast furnace

CISDI engineers are pictured providing solutions during the 3R low-carbon furnace’s commissioning

CISDI’s technical assistance service team instruct the customer in how to operate, record and maintain production security