DLR-DAAD Doctoral Fellowship Nr. 659: Investigation of the direct reduction of iron ore pellets and lumps

Enter the fascinating world of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) and help shape the future through research and innovation! We offer an exciting and inspiring working environment driven by the expertise and curiosity of our 11,000 employees from 100 nations and our unique infrastructure. Together, we develop sustainable technologies and thus contribute to finding solutions to global challenges. Would you like to join us in addressing this major future challenge? Then this is your place!

Our Institute of Low-Carbon Industrial Processes in Zittau offers a

Nr. 659: Investigation of the direct reduction of iron ore pellets and lumps

What to expect:

The steelmaking industry, dominated by the blast furnace/basic oxygen furnace route, relies heavily on coal, which is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. To mitigate these emissions, transitioning to direct reduction (DR) of iron using hydrogen (H2) and/or synthesis gas (H2/CO) is essential. This will significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions and align with global sustainability goals. A potential challenge in the DR process is understanding how the shape and size of iron ore
materials affect their reduction behavior. Traditional models assume spherical shapes, but this is inaccurate for real-world materials, especially iron ore lumps. The aim of this doctoral research is to model and investigate the effects of iron ore pellet shapes and sizes in the direct reduction process, and in doing so, the know-how gained will be utilized to further model the DR process for iron ore lumps.The department of Low-Carbon Reducing Agents (LCR) of the Institute DI is equipped with a thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) apparatus for single agglomerate (pellet or lump) direct reduction experiments, and is also setting up a reactor for the reduction of larger batches. The department has also developed a methodology to incorporate CT-scanned data into a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) environment to simulate the reduction process on real-geometry objects.

The main tasks of this PhD are as follow:

What we expect from you:

What we offer:

DLR stands for diversity, appreciation and equality for all people. We promote independent work and the individual development of our employees both personally and professionally. To this end, we offer numerous training and development opportunities. Equal opportunities are of particular importance to us, which is why we want to increase the proportion of women in science and management in particular. Applicants with severe disabilities will be given preference if they are qualified.

Further information:

Starting date: As soon as possible
Type of employment: Full-time

Mohammed Liaket Ali, MSc.
Email: mohammed.ali@dlr.de