In concrete terms, raw materials containing iron oxide, such as iron ore, materials containing iron ore, partly reduced materials containing iron ore are reduced in the inventive method in a high-pressure reduction unit by introduction of a reduction gas into the high-pressure reduction unit. The reduction gas consumed during the reduction is drawn off from the high-pressure reduction unit as top gas. The reduction gas is created from a feed gas which is exported, for example, as an export gas from a plant for pig iron production and has at least a partial quantity of the withdrawn top gas mixed with it as a recycle gas and from CO2 separated from the gas mixture obtained by the mixing of the recycle gas with the feed gas after one or more compression steps.
Furthermore the invention relates to a facility for carrying out the method described above. The facility comprises a high-pressure reduction unit with a reduction gas line and a top gas line, a feed gas line for supply of feed gas or for supply of a gas mixture of the feed gas and recycle gas respectively into a device for separation of CO2. Compression devices are disposed in the feed gas line. The recycle gas is supplied to the feed gas via a recycle gas part flow line emerging into the feed gas line. A high-pressure reduction unit is to be understood in this case as a reduction unit which is designed for an operating pressure of greater than 2 bar (200 kPa), preferably of greater than 3 bar (300 kPa), even more preferably of greater than 4 bar (400 kPa). The operating pressure corresponds to the pressure of the reduction gas introduced into the reduction unit.
An object of the present invention is the use of the facility for carrying out the described method in a plant network with a plant for production of pig iron and/or crude steel products, especially a FINEX® plant or a COREX® plant.