Method and apparatus for producing reduced metal

A method for producing reduced iron, comprising:

• a feedstock-feeding step of feeding a feedstock containing a carbonaceous reductant and an iron oxide-containing material into a rotary hearth furnace having flow rate-controlling partitions arranged therein for controlling the flow of furnace gas,
• a heating/reducing step of heating the feedstock to reduce iron oxide contained in the feedstock into iron,
• a melting step of melting the reduced iron,
• a cooling step of cooling the molten reduced iron, and
• a discharging step of discharging the cooled reduced iron,
• these steps being performed in that order in the direction that a hearth is moved,
• wherein the furnace gas in the melting step flows in the direction of the movement of the hearth from the melting step to the cooling step using the flow rate-controlling partitions, whereby the pressure of the furnace gas in the melting step is maintained higher than that of the furnace gas in other steps.

A method for producing reduced iron, comprising:

• a feedstock-feeding step of feeding a feedstock containing a carbonaceous reductant and an iron oxide-containing material into a rotary hearth furnace having flow rate-controlling partitions arranged therein for controlling flow of furnace gas therepast,
• a heating/reducing step of heating the feedstock to reduce iron oxide contained in the feedstock into iron,
• a melting step of melting the reduced iron,
• a cooling step of cooling the molten reduced iron, and
• a discharging step of discharging the cooled reduced iron,
• these steps being performed in that order in the direction that a hearth is moved,
• wherein the furnace gas in the melting step flows in the direction of the movement of the hearth from the melting step to the cooling step using the flow rate-controlling partitions,
• wherein the pressure of the furnace gas in the cooling step is maintained higher than that of the gas in the feeding step, and
• wherein, due to the higher pressure of the furnace gas in the cooling step, the furnace gas in the cooling step flows in the direction of the movement of the hearth by using the flow rate-controlling partitions, but oxidizing gas is prevented by the flow rate-controlling partitions from flowing from the discharging step to the cooling step.