[[THE GOAL OF THE PROJECT IS TO BUILD A STRONG TECHNICAL FOUNDATION REGARDING SLAG DESIGN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HERTHA GREEN IRON & STEEL PRODUCTION PROCESS. ENSURING THE OPTIMAL SLAG MEDIUM IS FUNDAMENTAL TO SUCCESSFUL PROCESS IMPLEMENTATION.]] 3.1 OBJECTIVES [[THE PROJECT HAS A NUMBER OF OBJECTIVES STEMMING FROM THE ROLE THAT THE SLAG PLAYS IN ENSURING AN EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE SMELTING PROCESS.]] 3.1.1 SLAG COMPOSITION OPTIMIZATION [[THE CORE OBJECTIVE IS TO OPTIMIZE THE COMPOSITION OF THE SLAG BATH FOR HYDROGEN REDUCTION OF IRON OXIDE IN A DC EAF. THIS REQUIRES ATTENTION TO A NUMBER OF SPECIFIC SUB-OBJECTIVES:]] 3.1.1.1 IRON OXIDE ASSIMILATION IN THE BATH [[TO DESIGN A SLAG WITH THE ABILITY TO QUICKLY ASSIMILATE THE IRON OXIDE FEED THROUGH DISPERSION AND DISSOLUTION.]] 3.1.1.2 IRON OXIDE REDUCTION RATE [[TO OPTIMIZE THE SLAG COMPOSITION FOR RAPID HYDROGEN-SLAG REACTION KINETICS TO MAKE MOST EFFICIENT USE OF THE HYDROGEN REDUCTANT.]] 3.1.1.3 SLAG HEAT TRANSFER [[TO ENSURE THE SLAG HAS APPROPRIATE PROPERTIES TO EFFECTIVELY TRANSFER HEAT FROM THE AREA OF CONCENTRATED HEAT GENERATION AT THE ELECTRIC ARC TO THE IRON OXIDE FEED AND HYDROGEN REDUCTANT.]] 3.1.1.4 SLAG BATH CONTAINMENT [[TO DEVELOP A SLAG COMPOSITION THAT ALLOWS FOR A SUSTAINABLE SLAG FREEZE LINING COMPATIBLE WITH THE DESIRED REFRACTORY FURNACE LINING.]] 3.1.1.5 SLAG-METAL SEPARATION [[TO OPTIMIZE CONDITIONS FOR THE SEPARATION OF METAL AND SLAG WITHIN THE CONSTRAINTS OF PROCESS FLUID DYNAMICS.]] 3.1.2 EVALUATION OF REFRACTORY COMPATIBILITY [[TO UNDERSTAND THE REACTION MECHANISMS BETWEEN DIFFERENT REFRACTORY MATERIALS AND SLAG COMPOSITIONS. THIS WORK WILL BE CONDUCTED BY IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORY.]] 3.1.3 INTEGRATED SLAG-PROCESS MODEL [[TO CONSTRUCT A PROCESS MODEL OF THE SLAG BATH WHICH INTEGRATES ALL CRITICAL FEATURES COVERED IN THIS PROJECT TO QUANTITATIVELY PREDICT THE STATE OF EACH AS A FUNCTION OF SLAG COMPOSITION AND OPERATING CONDITIONS.]] 3.1.4 PILOT TESTING [[TO DEMONSTRATE 300 KG PER DAY SCALE OPERATION OF GREEN IRON PRODUCTION THROUGH THE NOVEL HYDROGEN-ELECTRIC SMELTING REDUCTION FURNACE. SUCCESS WILL BE DEMONSTRATED BY PILOT TESTS WHICH ASSESS SLAG DESIGN FOR THE INTEGRATED PROCESS WHERE ALL PHENOMENA ARE PRESENT.]]