Bituminous coal, when heated to 950–1050°C in the absence of air, undergoes stages such as drying, pyrolysis, melting, coking, solidification, and shrinkage, ultimately producing coke. This process is known as high‑temperature coking (high‑temperature dry distillation). Since over 90% of metallurgical coke is used in blast furnaces for ironmaking, blast furnace coke is often referred to simply as metallurgical coke. According to particle size, it is classified into 60–80 mm, 40–60 mm, 25–40 mm, 10–25 mm, and <10 mm.

Foundry coke is a specialized type of coke used in cupola furnaces for melting iron. It serves as the primary fuel, melting the charge and superheating the molten iron while supporting the burden column to maintain optimal permeability. Consequently, foundry coke must exhibit large lump size, low reactivity, low porosity, adequate resistance to impact and crushing, and low ash and sulfur contents.

Semi‑coke, also known as “blue coke,” is a black or grayish‑black solid produced by medium‑temperature dry distillation—typically at temperatures around 600–800°C—of low‑rank coals, including lignite, long‑flame coal, non‑caking coal, and weakly caking coal. Semi‑coke generally exhibits high fixed carbon content, high electrical resistivity, high chemical reactivity, low ash, low aluminum, low sulfur, and low phosphorus levels; its specific performance characteristics are influenced by the composition of the feedstock coal. It is primarily used in industries such as chemicals, metallurgy, and gasification to produce calcium carbide, ferroalloys, ferrosilicon, silicon carbide, silicomanganese alloys, fertilizers, and other products, and it also serves as a clean fuel for domestic applications. In the steel industry, semi‑coke is mainly employed for blast furnace injection and as a sintering fuel. When used for blast furnace injection, its primary function is to replace bituminous and anthracite coals traditionally used in this process. Based on current practical performance, semi‑coke can partially or fully substitute coal in blast furnace injection without requiring major adjustments to existing operational procedures. In addition to blast furnace injection, semi‑coke can also partially replace coke breeze, thereby conserving coke and reducing smelting costs. For blast furnace injection, it primarily replaces the coke fines or anthracite currently used in sintering.

Silicon carbide is a non-metallic mineral product synthesized from quartz sand and petroleum coke at high temperatures exceeding 1,800°C. It serves as an essential raw material widely used in metallurgical deoxidation, the production of refractory materials, and industries such as electronics, machinery, and mold manufacturing. Silicon carbide is a powerful molten iron deoxidizer that purifies the iron melt, enhances its properties, and reduces costs. It exhibits a uniform and stable carbon-to-silicon ratio, with extremely low levels of harmful impurities like aluminum and phosphorus, as well as inert gases. In the early stages, it effectively controls the corrosion of the furnace lining caused by FeO (ferric oxide), preventing the formation of ferro‑silicate (FeO·SiO2) and thereby extending the service life of the furnace walls. It provides long-lasting inoculation effects: a silica film coats the surface of silicon carbide crystals, prolonging the time during which the core remains active, reducing the tendency for cementite and white cast iron to form, while also optimizing graphite morphology and stabilizing machinability. For ductile iron, pre‑deoxidized molten iron experiences reduced erosion and oxidation of magnesium, allowing for a roughly 10% reduction in the amount of spheroidizing agent required and mitigating the tendency toward white cast iron. For gray cast iron, adding silicon carbide helps prevent carbide precipitation, delays graphitization decay, and increases the number of graphite nuclei. Based on petroleum coke, it features a narrowly distributed particle size that can be tailored to specific needs, making it easy to use.

Ferrosilicon is an iron alloy composed of iron and silicon. It is produced by smelting iron and silicon ores—using coke, steel scrap, and quartz (or silica) as raw materials—in an electric arc furnace. Because silicon readily combines with oxygen to form silicon dioxide, ferrosilicon is commonly used as a deoxidizer in steelmaking; moreover, the substantial heat released during the formation of SiO₂ helps raise the temperature of the molten steel. In addition, ferrosilicon serves as an alloying element, widely employed in low‑alloy structural steels, spring steels, bearing steels, heat‑resistant steels, and electrical silicon steels. In both ferroalloy production and the chemical industry, ferrosilicon is frequently utilized as a reducing agent.

Silicomanganese alloy is an alloy composed of manganese, silicon, iron, and small amounts of carbon and other elements. It is a widely used ferroalloy with substantial production volumes, serving as an indispensable composite deoxidizer and alloying agent in the steel industry. Manganese–silicon alloys containing less than 1.9% carbon also function as semi‑finished products in the production of medium- and low‑carbon ferromanganese and metallurgical manganese via the electric‑silicothermic process.