Process for producing metals and metal alloys in a smelt reduction vessel

A process for producing metals and metal alloys by reducing metal oxides and/or ores, including partly prereduced ores and metal oxide-containing slags, in a smelt reduction vessel, said smelt reduction vessel comprising a wall, said wall having a waste gas outlet, said smelt reduction vessel containing a molten metal bath, said method comprising the steps of:

• (a) supplying metal oxides and/or ores to said vessel in fine-grained form to form metals and/or metal alloys,
• (b) supplying a coreactant selected from the group consisting of carbonaceous fuels oxidizing gases, and slag forming agents, and mixtures thereof directed into the molten metal bath below and/or from above the bath surface,
• (c) forming metals and/or metal alloys and a waste gas from said metal oxides and/or ores and coreactants introduced into said molten metal bath, said waste gases comprising a material selected from the group consisting of a gas, a solid, a liquid and mixtures thereof,
• (d) imparting rotational motion to the waste gases, oxidizing gases, liquid and solids in a space above the bath surface about said vertical axis of the vessel thereby forcing liquid and solids outwardly toward said vessel wall, said rotational motion imparted by injecting at least a part of said oxidizing gases into said smelt reduction vessel towards said molten bath on an angle which is oblique in relationship to the vertical axis of said vessel,
• (e) discharging said waste gases formed in the vessel through the outlet, wherein the dust loading rate from the molten metal bath through the outlet is reduced to less than about 10 g/Nm.sup.3.