The structure of coke affects its reactivity and strength, which directly influences its performance in the blast furnace. This review divides coke structures into chemical structure, physical structure, and optical texture according to their relevant characteristics. The focuses of this review are the current characterization methods and research status of the coke structures. The chemical structures (element composition and functional group) can be characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy (Raman), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging technology (13C NMR). The physical structures (pore structure and micro-crystallite structure) can be characterized by image method, X-ray CT imaging technique, mercury intrusion method, nitrogen gas adsorption method, X-ray diffraction method (XRD), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The optical textures are usually divided and counted by a polarizing microscope. In the end, this review provides an idea of the construction of a coke molecular structural model, based on the above characterization. With the coke model, the evolution principles of the coke can be calculated and simulated. Hence, the coke performance can be predicted and optimized.

To effectively remove microscale inclusions in the tundish, the Multi-Hole-Double-Baffles (MHDB), a novel flow control device in the tundish for continuous casting, was developed. The hole array mode of the MHDB will directly affect the trajectories of the inclusions. The effect and removal mechanism of the inclusions with sizes of 1 µm to 50 μm in the tundish with MHDB were studied by numerical simulation. The hole array mode of MHDB could affect the inclusions’ trajectories and distribution, and the mechanism underlying the effect of the MHDB was investigated using the discrete phase model (DPM). A 1:2.5 physical model was built to verify the accuracy of numerical simulation. The results showed that micro-inclusions were primarily driven by the drag force exerted by the molten steel flow, micro-inclusion trajectories followed the molten steel streamlines almost exactly, but buoyancy still played a role in the removal of the micro-inclusions near the molten steel surface; the hole array mode affected the trajectories of the micro-inclusions and controlled and decelerated the flow of molten steel, increasing the residence time of the molten steel flow a the value that is 15 times larger than the theoretical value; and “upper-in-lower-out” type MHDB showed the most efficient removal of micro-inclusions, with the removal rate being increased by 13–49% compared to the removal rates for the other type MHDB. The results of numerical simulation were well verified by physical simulation.

The mineral phase composition and structure of sintered ore are closely related to its quality. Analyzing the characteristics of the phase structure of sintered ores and studying the influence of sintering conditions are important to optimize their quality. In this study, the mineralization characteristics of ore during the sintering process were studied through interrupted quenching experiments. The results clarified the evolution of the structure of the sintered ore phases during the heating and cooling and its mechanism. In this study, the effects of the cooling rate on the mineral composition and structure of sintered ore were also studied. The results showed that the structure of the mineral phase changed during the iron ore sintering process as follows: granular → molten → dissolution texture. During the cooling process, as the temperature decreased, the magnetite and liquid phase contents gradually decreased, and the silico-ferrite of calcium and aluminum (SFCA) and hematite contents increased; however, the porosity did not change to a great extent. The formation of SFCA during the cooling stage consumed hematite and magnetite, and SFCA preferentially formed and grew on magnetite. As the cooling rate of the sinter was increased, the magnetite and silicate contents increased, and the hematite and SFCA contents decreased. Meanwhile, the structure of SFCA changed from block-like to columnar and acicular, and the aspect ratio increased.

High reactivity coke is beneficial for achieving low carbon emission blast furnace ironmaking. Therefore, the preparation of highly reactive ferro-coke has aroused widespread attention. However, the effects of the particle size of iron ore on the pyrolysis behaviour of a coal-iron ore briquette are still unclear. In this study, the effect of three particle sizes (0.50–1.00 mm, 0.25–0.50 mm and <0.74 mm) of iron ore on the thermal and kinetic behaviours of coal-iron ore briquettes were investigated by non-isothermal kinetic analysis. The results showed that the synergistic effect of iron ore and coal during coking mainly occurred during the later reaction stage (850–1100 °C) and smaller particle sizes of iron ore have a stronger synergistic effect. The addition of iron ore had little effect on T₀ (the initial temperature) and T_p (the temperature at the maximum conversion rate) of briquette pyrolysis, however itgreatly affected the conversion rate and T_f (the final temperature) of the briquettes. T₀ decreased with the decrease of iron ore particle sizes, while T_p and T_f showed opposite trends. After adding iron ore into the coal briquette, the reaction kinetics at all stages of the coal-iron ore briquettes changed. The weighted apparent activation energy of the caking coal (JM) briquette was 35.532 kJ/mol, which is lower than that of the coal-iron ore briquettes (38.703–55.627 kJ/mol). In addition, the weighted apparent activation energy gradually increased with decreasing iron ore particle sizes.