According to the analysis of the current situation of China's iron powder recovery industry, direct recovery refers to the process of converting iron oxides into metallic iron in the solid state without condensation or slagging. Here is an overview and current analysis of China's restored iron powder industry. Direct recovery products are collectively referred to as direct recovery iron, which is also known as "DRI" due to its sponge like structure; Sponge iron;, In order to improve the antioxidant capacity and bulk density of products, DRI hot extrusion formed products are called hot briquettes (HBIs), while DRI cold extrusion formed products are called DRI briquettes.

Direct recovery of vanadium iron powder is a technology that has completed large-scale industrial consumption, and there are several 10 direct recovery methods that have completed industrial consumption. In 2008, the world's production of DRI/HBI was approximately 68.45 million tons, which is approximately 7.23% of the world's production of 930 million tons of pig iron. Direct recovery iron, due to its purity, stable quality, and excellent metallurgical characteristics, has become an indispensable raw material for the consumption of high-quality and pure steel. It is one of the most scarce commodities in the world steel market, and direct recovery is an indispensable component of global steel consumption.

The tunnel kiln method for direct recovery of iron consumption is one of the oldest ironmaking methods, while in other regions of the world, the tunnel kiln method is only used for one recovery process of powder metallurgy recovery of iron powder consumption. Except for China, there have been no reports of using tunnel kilns to consume directly recovered iron for steelmaking. The tunnel kiln method has low technological content, is suitable for small-scale consumption, has small investment, and meets the investment needs of private enterprises. Recently, it has been widely developed in China. There are over 200 tunnel kilns that have been built or are currently being built in China, with a designed annual production capacity exceeding 4 million tons. So far, the trend of building DRI tunnel kilns has continued unabated. Through multimedia searches, it has been found that several 10 units plan to establish tunnel kilns with a production capacity of 50000 to 300000 tons/a to directly restore iron plants.

The market survey and analysis report on the recovery of iron powder industry shows that the use of tank method for tunnel kiln recovery has low thermal efficiency and high energy consumption, with recovery coal of 450-650 kg/t (DRI); 450-550kg/t (DRI) of coal for heating; Long consumption cycle (48-76 hours); Severe pollution (high levels of solid waste such as recovered coal ash and waste recovery tanks, as well as high levels of dust); Unstable production and quality; The difficulty in expanding single machine consumption and other issues cannot become the leading method for China to directly restore railway development.

Direct recovery is the foundation of the short process (compact process) of steel consumption. Short process is the direction of the steel industry due to its characteristics such as no use of coking coal, low energy consumption, low investment per unit capacity, short establishment cycle, and small impact on the environment, and is highly praised by the steel industry. DRI/HBI is one of the most popular products in the international steel market. In recent years, the price of DRI in the international market has occasionally increased (with the highest quotation of DRI/HBI imported from China reaching 586 US dollars/t). From the perspective of the international market, direct recovery of iron has broad prospects for development. ferrovanadium 

China's steel reserves are lacking, and the production of scrap steel is far from meeting the demand for steel consumption. The shortage of scrap steel is an important factor affecting the development of electric furnace steel in China; At the same time, the main energy source consumed by China's steel industry is coke. The shortage of global coking coal resources and the skyrocketing prices have seriously disrupted and threatened the sustainable development of China's steel industry. Conducting direct recovery is beneficial for improving the energy structure of China's steel consumption, breaking free from the constraints of coking coal resources, and is an important way to reduce the negative impact of steel consumption on the environment. The estimated market capacity of China's DRI can reach 15 to 20 million tons/a.

In 2007, China's DRI production was only over 600000 tons, accounting for 1.0% of the world's total DRI production of 67.22 million tons. Moreover, about 40% of the products' quality does not meet the standards requested by the country for direct restoration of iron H90; TFe<90%, bulk density<2.0kg/cm3, unstable quality, unpopular in steelmaking consumption, forced to sell at low prices, which not only results in poor economic benefits for DRI consuming enterprises, but more importantly, the use of low-quality DRI in electric furnaces significantly increases the energy consumption of steelmaking.

China has built 10 DRI consumer factories, with the exception of the rotary kiln method in 5 cities, including Kazuo, Tianjin Steel Pipe, Miyun, Luzhong, and Fuyun Jinshan. All other factories are tunnel kiln methods. In recent years, due to the good consumption efficiency of mines, starting from the perspective of beneficial consumption organizations, the rotary kilns in Miyun and Luzhong have ceased production. Therefore, the tunnel kiln method occupies an important position in China's DRI consumption. The development of China's national economy requires a significant reduction in energy consumption per unit of national economic output value, starting from the fundamental principle of maintaining the environment. The consumption of directly recovered iron for steelmaking using tunnel kiln method is not suitable; Energy conservation and emission reduction; The development direction and how to deal with energy consumption and environmental protection issues of tunnel kilns are serious issues for the survival and development of tunnel kiln methods.