Corex Process

The Corex Process is a smelting reduction process created by Siemens VAI as a more environmentally friendly alternative to the blast furnace. Presently, the majority of steel production is through the blast furnace which has to rely on ever decreasing amounts of coking coal. That is coal which has been cooked in order to remove impurities so that it is superior to coal. In addition, the Blast furnace requires a sinter plant too in order to prepare the iron ore for reduction. Unlike the Blast Furnace, smelting reduction processes are typical smaller and use coal and oxygen directly to reduce iron ore into a usable product. Smelting reduction processes come in two basic varieties, two-stage or single-stage. In a single-stage system the iron ore is both reduced and melted in the same container. Meanwhile in a two-stage process, like Corex, the ore is reduced in one shaft and melted and purified in another. Plants using the Corex process have been put use in areas such as South Africa, India, and China.