Steel trading - Import export

Rising demand for HBI to overcome problems associated with DRI during shipping and handling is driving the global Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) market. Compaction process of HBI is less porous and reactive than DRI; therefore, it does not create self-heating issues. This, in turn, is anticipated to propel the demand for global hot briquetted iron (HBI) market during the forecast period. Additionally, most manufacturers of steel across the globe are shifting their modes of production of steel from traditional blast furnace technology to electric furnace process due to increasing environmental pollution. These factors are expected to increase the demand of global hot briquetted iron (HBI) market significantly during the forecast period. High production cost and lack of consumer awareness are likely to hamper the global hot briquetted iron (HBI) market during the forecast period.

Process: Direct reduction processes can be divided roughly into two categories: gas-based, and coal-based. In both cases, the objective of the process is to drive off the oxygen contained in various forms of iron ore (sized ore, concentrates, pellets, mill scale, furnace dust, etc.), in order to convert the ore to metallic iron, without melting it (below 1200 °C). The direct reduction process is comparatively energy efficient. Steel made using DRI requires significantly less fuel, in that a traditional blast furnace is not needed. DRI is most commonly made into steel using electric arc furnaces to take advantage of the heat produced by the DRI product. Benefits: In modern times, direct reduction processes have been developed to specifically overcome the difficulties of conventional blast furnaces. DRI is successfully manufactured in various parts of the world and enables production of specialized iron and steel based products in a decentralized manner.