Patent ID: 8177880

Claim:
A method of reducing iron ore and other iron sources comprising: forming a furnace housing having a drying/preheat zone capable of providing a drying/preheat atmosphere for reducible material, a conversion zone capable of providing a reducing atmosphere for reducible material, and a fusion zone capable of providing an atmosphere to at least partially reduce iron material, the conversion zone being positioned between the drying/preheat zone and the fusion zone, providing a hearth capable of being movable within the furnace housing in a direction through the drying/preheat zone, then the conversion zone, and then the fusion zone, providing a separation barrier within at least a portion of the conversion zone, the fusion zone or both, separating the atmospheres of the conversion zone or the fusion zone where the separation barrier is located in a combustion region and a reducing region, with the reducing region adjacent the hearth and the combustion region adjacent the reducing region and spaced from the hearth, and moving the hearth containing iron bearing material and carbonaceous material in the furnace housing through the drying/preheat zone to dry and preheat the iron bearing material and carbonaceous material, then through the reducing region of the conversion zone to heat the iron bearing material and carbonaceous material to fluidize volatilizable material from the iron bearing material and carbonaceous material and at least partially reduce the iron bearing material, and then through the fusion zone to fuse the reduced iron bearing material to metallic iron material.