**1. Introduction**

CO2 emission from Japan's industrial sector is much higher than that from other sectors. In 2017, it accounted for approximately 37.2% of the total emission. In the industrial sector, the iron and steel-making industry accounts for approximately 39.4% of energy consumption. The steel industry emits approximately 13% of the CO2 in Japan [1]. The demands of global environmental conservation require a greenhouse gas reduction. Currently, approximately 80 million tons of pig iron are produced by blast furnace annually in Japan. Coal and coke are used as reducing materials and heat sources, respectively, and a large amount of CO2 is emitted in the iron-making process. Therefore, the development of innovative technologies is required to reduce the CO2 emission.

Trees absorb carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. When wood from forests is burned as fuel, carbon dioxide is generated. If the forest is renewed after tree cutting, the carbon dioxide will be absorbed by the trees again during the growth process. Thus, the use of wood for energy is carbon

neutral. Therefore, using wood instead of fossil fuels makes it possible to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and contribute to the prevention of global warming [2].

It is increasingly difficult to prepare a sintering iron ore due to the high price of raw materials, environmental regulations and inferior quality raw materials. Limited work [3–6] has been conducted to investigate the application of biomass in the sintering process to replace coke breeze, with this work mainly focused on its environmental impacts and low substitution rates. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the sintering iron ore method. In the sintering process, the coke combustion rate is one of the most important determining factors of quality and productivity.

However, little research has been conducted on the combustion behavior of biomass carbon material quasi-particles during the sintering process. The purpose of this study was to investigate the combustion rate of a biomass carbon material and use a sintering simulation model to calculate its temperature profile.
