Maximization of non-coking coal in coal blend is eloquent interest among researchers incoke making throughout the world. To maximize the non-coking coals in coal blend with thescarce and expensive coking coals is an essential practice in the iron and steel industry.The fundamental aspect of the coal blending theory of low value coals to produce goodquality of metallurgical coke in non-recovery coke making process was investigated in thisstudy by using the composite coking potential technique. The implementation of thetechnique has yielded use of up to 25% pulverized coal injection, 20% raw petroleum cokeas a component of coal blend. Results show that the coal blend having composite cokingpotential value of \hbox{$\geqslant $}⩾4.8 is desired to achieve the targeted coke strengthafter reaction of \hbox{$\geqslant $}⩾65.

The beneficial effect of B on the hot ductility of 20CrMnTi steel with 0.05% Sn wasinvestigated. The results show that there is a trough in the hot ductility-temperaturecurve. With the increase in the B content, the trough shifts to a lower temperature andbecomes shallow, and the hot brittle range becomes narrow. In addition, B greatlyenhancing the hot ductility was due mainly to its suppressing the Sn segregation,retarding the austenite/ferrite deformation, accelerating the onset of dynamicrecrystallization (DRX) and promoting the intragranular nucleation of ferrite. Moreover,in the present case, adding 92 ppm B can nucleation of ferrite. Moreover, in the presentcase, adding 92 ppm B can obtain the best effect in improving the hot ductility of20CrMnTi steel with 0.05% Sn.

The influence of TiO2 addition to LF refining slag on Ti-stabilized stainlesssteel was evaluated using a vacuum induction furnace at 1873 K. The effect ofCaO-SiO2-MgO-Al2O3 basic slags with different TiO2 contents on the titanium loss,aluminum loss and total oxygen content in the steel was studied. It was observed that theoxidation rate of Ti first decreases and then increases with the increase in the contentof TiO2 in slag andreaches the minimum when 8%TiO2 is added to the slag. However, the change in theoxidation rate of Al shows the opposite tendency. The total oxygen in the molten steelremains unchanged with time when 8%TiO2 is added to the slag, and the total oxygen of theothers increases monotonically with time. The activities of TiO2 and Al2O3 from the calculation of the ionand molecule coexistence theory (IMCT) in the initial slag present the same changetendency, and both first increase and then decrease with the gradual increase inTiO2 in the slagand reach the maximum when 8%TiO2 is added to the slag. The results of a kinetic analysisshowed that the rate-determining step of the oxidation of Ti in the steel is the masstransfer on the slag side, and the rate-determining step of the oxidation of Al in thesteel is the mass transfer on the metal side.

The influence of LF refining slag composition on desulfurization and inclusionmodification was investigated through industrial experiments and thermodynamic analysis.The results show that the sulfide capacity decreases with the decrease in(%CaO)/(%SiO2)and (%CaO)/(%Al2O3) of the slag. The theoretical sulfur distributions agreewell with the analysis results when the sulfide capacity is calculated by Zhang’s model,but the theoretical sulfur distributions are higher than the analysis results when thesulfide capacity is calculated by the KTH model. During the LF refining process,inclusions are transformed from Al2O3 inclusions into CaO-MgO-Al2O3 system inclusions. Higher slagbasicity results in higher CaO and MgO and lower Al2O3 content inclusions in moltensteel at the end of the LF process.

Accretion on the lining of the blast furnace results in a harmful effect on burdendescent, which also has a negative effect on energy balance. This eventually leads toincreased CO2emission. We examined which blast furnace zones were significantly affected by thethickness of the accretion layer and how this affects the blast furnace gas streamrelations. Using a heat transfer model, the samples taken from the accretion andstatistical analysis of the typical operating parameters of the blast furnace, amathematical model was created in order to determine the thickness of blast furnace shaftaccretion and its effect on gas utilization.

Freckle defects were found in electro-slag remelting (ESR) ingots, which severely limitthe development of the larger-diameter ingots. The macrostructure and the composition ofthe freckles in a low-alloy structure steel ESR ingot were investigated to clarify thefreckle formation mechanism. The results shows that the freckles in the ingot were causedby the upward solute-rich liquid flow in the mushy zone, and the composition of thefreckles corresponds to that of the liquid, with a liquid fraction of 0.36 to 0.43. Therelative Rayleigh number (Ra), a freckle criterion considering the effect of atilted solidification front, was adopted to evaluate the freckle formation tendency in theindustrial-scale ESR ingots based on the results of the experiments, kinetic simulationand thermophysical property calculation. The calculated results of Ra are in good agreementwith the actual distribution of the freckles in the ingot.

The Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS) was established in 2002 to contribute to thecompetitiveness of the European Coal and Steel sectors by supporting collaborativeresearch, pilot and demonstration projects. A Monitoring and Assessment exercise of theRFCS programme covering the period 2003–2011 was carried out by an Expert Committeecomprising four coal and six steel experts appointed by the European Commission. Theassessment exercise involved the analysis of the 198 projects completed during thisperiod, with special emphasis on the benefits for beneficiaries, Sectors and Society.Based on actual fact and figures provided by the project partners, it was established that1 euro spent in the project budget delivered a benefit of about 2 euros for the projectpartners. Extrapolated at the level of the coal and steel sectors with very conservativeassumptions, the potential benefit of the projects was estimated at about 700 M€/year. Tocapture this potential benefit, additional efforts and budget must be spent at the companylevel for implementing the relevant technological solutions.