Methods of extending a blast-furnace campaign

As before, the main trends in blast-furnace smelting in the Twenty-First Century are decreasing coke consumption, increasing furnace productivity, and lengthening of the furnace campaign. In the last few decades, the focus has increasingly been on extending the campaign through various technical, technological, and organizational measures. This article surveys the work done in these areas and analyzes the results of research performed by the world’s largest producers of pig iron.