Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI)
Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) is a premium form of DRI that has been compacted at a temperature greater than 650° C at time of compaction and has a density greater than 5,000 kilograms per cubic metre (5,000 kg/m3).
HBI was developed as a product in order to overcome the problems associated with shipping and handling of DRI – due to the process of compaction it is very much less porous and therefore very much less reactive than DRI and does not suffer from the risk of self-heating associated with DRI.
The principle market for HBI is electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking, but HBI also finds application as a trim coolant in basic oxygen furnace (BOF) steelmaking and as blast furnace feedstock.
See more information about the HBI production process.
Benefits in Steelmaking and Hot Metal Production
To read more about HBI and the benefits that it confers to these markets, please see our Fact Sheets:
- Use of Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) in the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) for steelmaking
- Use of Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) in the Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) for steelmaking
- Use of Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) in the Blast Furnace (BF) for hot metal production
Composition and Characteristics
General characteristics for HBI (% by weight) (based on 65.5 – 68.0% Fe Iron Ore)
| Metallization | 0.94 |
| Fe (Total) | 88.3 – 94.0% |
| Fe (Metallic) | 83.0 – 88.4% |
| C | 0.5 – 1.6 |
| S | 0.001 – 0.03% |
| P2O5 | 0.005 – 0.09% |
| Gangue* | 3.9 – 8.6% |
| Mn, Cu, Ni, Cr, Mo, Sn, Pb, Zn | Traces |
| Size (typical) | (90 – 140) x (48 – 58) x (32 – 34) mm |
| Fines & chips | ≤ 5.0% |
| Apparent Density | > 5.0 t/m3 |
| Bulk Density | 2.5 – 3.3 t/m3 |