Research and Analysis on the Kinetic Mechanisms and Regulation of Hydrogen Metallurgical Reduction Interfaces

“Replacing carbon with hydrogen” represents one potential pathway for green development in the steel industry, with hydrogen metallurgy playing a crucial role in advancing the sector’s green transformation. This paper systematically reviews existing fundamental theoretical achievements in this field, clarifies the current research status and core advancements, while also analyzing existing scientific challenges and theoretical bottlenecks. It reviews the kinetic mechanisms and control methods for hydrogen reduction of iron oxides, focusing on the influence of key factors such as temperature and hydrogen partial pressure on the reduction process. The applicability of the unreacted nucleus model and other models in describing gas–solid reaction processes is analyzed. The hydrogen reduction reaction follows a multi-step mechanism of “gas-phase diffusion-adsorption-interfacial reaction-product layer diffusion-desorption,” with its rate governed by both diffusion control and chemical reaction control. At the kinetic level, rationally controlling temperature and increasing hydrogen partial pressure are effective approaches to enhance reaction efficiency. Future efforts should strengthen fundamental theoretical research, advance the integration of multiple technological pathways, and promote large-scale application. This review provides theoretical support for subsequent fundamental research on hydrogen metallurgy and offers reasonable recommendations for the development of hydrogen metallurgy technology in China’s steel industry. More importantly, this review critically compares representative kinetic interpretations and model assumptions reported in the literature, and proposes an interface-oriented analytical framework that links process variables, interfacial elementary steps, structural evolution, kinetic transition, and regulation strategy.