Analysis of prospects of thermal conversion of peat raw materials and their use in ferrous metallurgy

The article discusses the current state and prospects for the use of alternative carboncontaining materials as feedstock for coke production for the purpose of partial or complete substitution of coal in metallurgical processes and the desirable properties of alternative fuels that contribute to such substitution. Partial substitution of coking coal with low-grade fuels of low degree of metamorphism is identified as a promising approach for effective reduction of coal coke consumption and expansion of raw material bases of low-grade fuels. Actual, for expansion of energetic and technological properties of carbon-containing components for the purpose of increase of efficiency and quality of metallurgical processes is the study of questions of use of products of thermal processing of peat raw materials. The achieved level of technologies of thermal conversion of peat raw materials and the main ways of technology development in the field of thermal processing of peat raw materials were analyzed, taking into account the accumulated earlier experience. On the basis of the conducted experiments, it can be concluded that coke obtained from peat raw materials is characterized by high reactivity. Interest in the use of peat raw material for coke production is due to its availability and much lower price compared to commonly used hard coking coals. The analysis of existing peat bases and prospects of their development was considered, which allowed to outline the possible location of combined production complexes. Initial peat raw materials are converted into pelletized materials by extrusion through premechanothermal processing before they can be used in the production of iron and steel.