Patent ID: 8764875

Claim:
A method for co-production of pig iron and high quality syngas from iron oxides, carbon-bearing materials, and hydrogen-containing compounds with combined microwave and plasma/electric arc heating, comprising: forming a mixture of iron oxide particles, carbon containing particles and hydrogen-containing compounds including H2O and hydrocarbons in a form of solid particles, liquid or gas; said iron oxide and carbon containing particles in said mixture being set to be in a ratio that enables said carbon bearing particles to remove oxygen completely from said iron oxide in reducing said iron oxide to form metallic iron having a carbon content in a range between 2.06 to 6.67% by weight; charging said mixture as a feedstock in a 0.5″ to 12″ deep layer into an air tight chamber provided with microwave irradiation ports, plasma and/or electric arcs, a feedstock charging port, a pig iron solid material discharging port, and a syngas exporting port; heating said mixture by applying microwave energy of a predetermined wavelength to said mixture in a microwave heating zone in said chamber until said mixture is rendered electrically conductive by at least a partial reduction of said iron oxide and formation of metallic iron while releasing reaction exhaust gases comprised of hydrocarbons, CO, CO2 and steam causing said mixture which has become electrically conductive and exhaust gases to move into an adjacent plasma and/or electric arcing zone within said air tight chamber; further heating said electrically conductive mixture with added carbon particles by applying plasma and/or electric arcing in said arcing zone until achieving substantially complete reduction of iron oxides and formation of molten pig iron and slag; creating in-situ reforming, thermal cracking and partial oxidation of substantially all of said reaction exhaust gases in said plasma and/or electric arcing zone by sufficient heating and plasma gas agitation, with metallic iron acting as a catalyst and reacting carbon particles with remaining CO2, to form a syngas almost entirely comprised of a mixture of H2 and CO; transporting said molten pig iron and slag into an adjacent cooling zone to form solid pig iron and slag; exporting said syngas out of said arcing zone and removing impurities therefrom to create a high quality syngas; and discharging said solid pig iron and slag through said solid material discharging port.