By improving process control of the blast furnace system operating conditions can be optimized, hot metal quality can be improved, and energy consumption and operatioal costs can be reduced. Modern expert process control systems continuously monitor certain parameters in the blast furnace and by using various process models (including burden control, burden distribution, mass and energy balances, silicon prediction and kinetic process models) calculate and diagnose process disturbances. They then suggest, or take, corrective actions such as modification of the rate of reducing agents or changes to the burden distribution (APP, 2010. p.51). Current third generation control systems allow even further improvements than their predecessors (Worrell, et al., 2010. p.83). 

   This measure is regarded to have high application potential in China, India and the United States. However, in most cases the blast furnace design, lack of necessary hardware for better control plus cost of control system can act as a limitation for the use of modern, computer based control systems.