According to Italian plantmaker Danieli, the facility, located in Egypt, already has produced more than 110,000 tons in less than one month of operation. It’s now making 262 tons per hour, a rate equal to 2.1 million tons per year, Danieli said.  

That rate is more than 10 percent above the guaranteed production rate of 1.9 million tons per year, Danieli added.

The plant made its first batch of DRI on 22 November 2015 and passed its hot test on 2 December 2015. The plant was then ramped up to full productivity, which allowed the performance test to start on 15 December, only 13 days after completion of the hot test, Danieli said.

Danieli said the DRI produced so far has shown a metalization greater than 94 percent and carbon content greater than 3 percent. 

Danieli said the results are achievable only with the ENERGIRON technology that is incorporated into the plant. Energiron is a trademark of Danieli and strategic alliance partner Tenova HYL. The two established the alliance in February 2006 to design and build gas-based direct reduction plants.

“One of the most peculiar characteristics of the ENERGIRON is the raw material yield. The ERM plant showed an impressive ratio of 1.37 tons of oxide per ton of DRI and is able to process oxide pellets or lumps screened at 3.2 mm, minimizing the rejected portion,” Danieli said in a statement.