Patent ID: 8097065

Claim:
A method of reducing iron ore and other iron oxide sources comprising: providing 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, a fusion zone capable of providing an atmosphere to at least partially reduce metallic iron material, and a cooling zone capable of providing a cooling atmosphere for reduced material containing metallic 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, then the fusion zone, and then the cooling zone, providing a hood within at least a portion of the fusion zone separating the atmosphere of the fusion zone into an upper region and a lower region, with the lower region adjacent the hearth and the upper region adjacent the lower region and spaced from the hearth, injecting a gaseous reductant into the lower region adjacent the hearth, and moving the hearth containing iron oxide bearing material and carbonaceous material in the furnace housing through the drying/preheat zone to dry and preheat the iron oxide bearing material and carbonaceous material, then through the conversion zone to heat the iron oxide bearing material and carbonaceous material to at least partially reduce the iron oxide bearing material, then through the lower region of the fusion zone in the presence of the injected gaseous reductant to fuse the reduced iron oxide bearing material to metallic iron material, and then through the cooling zone to cool the metallic iron material.