produced directly in a blast furnace. The high-tech growth strategy was introduced at HyIS 2021: Hydrogen Iron & Steel Making 2021, the world's first international forum that presented the green steelmaking method to POSCO's global peers last October in Seoul. POSCO plans to explore ways to commercialize the technology by 2030 for a gradual yet full replacement of current fossil-fuel steelmaking facilities with the new, green models.The FINEX Process combines coking plant, sinter plant and blast furnace into a single iron making unit where non-coking coal can be used directly as a reducing agent and energy source, 100% fine ore can be directly charged to the process without sintering or pelletizing and pure oxygen can be used instead of nitrogen-rich hot blast. The FINEX Process was jointly developed by POSCO in Korea and Primetals Technologies in Austria. Starting in December 1992, POSCO and Primetals Technologies signed a cooperation agreement for the joint development of the FINEX Process. Following initial laboratory, bench scale and pilot plant tests, the FINEX F-0.6M Demonstration Plant, with a nominal capacity of 2,000 tonnes per day, was built in Pohang in Korea, and started up in May 2003. On the basis of successful results and optimization of equipment and process parameters over the past few years, POSCO developed their own independently designed program in February 2017. Designed to carry out overseas FINEX projects without relying on Primetals Technologies or other external resources, the program can be used to calculate core equipment specifications and raw material conditions. In particular, the development of the FINEX Process Design Program, one of the subprograms, has made it possible for the “heat & mass balance” to be automatically calculated when raw & fuel material conditions change. POSCO claims that FINEX, along with COREX smelting process developed by Primetals, is the only commercial proven alternative steelmaking process to the blast furnace route. FINEX is based on the direct use of iron ore fines and non-coking coal while eliminating the coke-making and sintering processes, which are most critical to the conventional blast furnace process. Combining these two decisive advantages leads to lower production costs and the reduction of environmental emissions in comparison with the conventional blast furnace route.
produced directly in a blast furnace. The high-tech growth strategy was introduced at HyIS 2021: Hydrogen Iron & Steel Making 2021, the world's first international forum that presented the green steelmaking method to POSCO's global peers last October in Seoul. POSCO plans to explore ways to commercialize the technology by 2030 for a gradual yet full replacement of current fossil-fuel steelmaking facilities with the new, green models.The FINEX Process combines coking plant, sinter plant and blast furnace into a single iron making unit where non-coking coal can be used directly as a reducing agent and energy source, 100% fine ore can be directly charged to the process without sintering or pelletizing and pure oxygen can be used instead of nitrogen-rich hot blast. The FINEX Process was jointly developed by POSCO in Korea and Primetals Technologies in Austria. Starting in December 1992, POSCO and Primetals Technologies signed a cooperation agreement for the joint development of the FINEX Process. Following initial laboratory, bench scale and pilot plant tests, the FINEX F-0.6M Demonstration Plant, with a nominal capacity of 2,000 tonnes per day, was built in Pohang in Korea, and started up in May 2003. On the basis of successful results and optimization of equipment and process parameters over the past few years, POSCO developed their own independently designed program in February 2017. Designed to carry out overseas FINEX projects without relying on Primetals Technologies or other external resources, the program can be used to calculate core equipment specifications and raw material conditions. In particular, the development of the FINEX Process Design Program, one of the subprograms, has made it possible for the “heat & mass balance” to be automatically calculated when raw & fuel material conditions change. POSCO claims that FINEX, along with COREX smelting process developed by Primetals, is the only commercial proven alternative steelmaking process to the blast furnace route. FINEX is based on the direct use of iron ore fines and non-coking coal while eliminating the coke-making and sintering processes, which are most critical to the conventional blast furnace process. Combining these two decisive advantages leads to lower production costs and the reduction of environmental emissions in comparison with the conventional blast furnace route.
