Research progress and future prospects in the service security of key blast furnace equipment

The safety and longevity of key blast furnace(BF)equipment determine the stable and low-carbon production of iron.This pa-per presents an analysis of the heat transfer characteristics of these components and the uneven distribution of cooling water in parallel pipes based on hydrodynamic principles,discusses the feasible methods for the improvement of BF cooling intensity,and reviews the pre-paration process,performance,and damage characteristics of three key equipment pieces:coolers,tuyeres,and hearth refractories.Fur-thermoere,to attain better control of these critical components under high-temperature working conditions,we propose the application of optimized technologies,such as BF operation and maintenance technology,self-repair technology,and full-lifecycle management techno-logy.Finally,we propose further researches on safety assessments and predictions for key BF equipment under new operating conditions.

Process metallurgy and data-driven prediction and feedback of blast furnace heat indicators

The prediction and control of furnace heat indicators are of great importance for improving the heat levels and conditions of the complex and difficult-to-operate hour-class delay blast furnace(BF)system.In this work,a prediction and feedback model of furnace heat indicators based on the fusion of data-driven and BF ironmaking processes was proposed.The data on raw and fuel materials,process op-eration,smelting state,and slag and iron discharge during the whole BF process comprised 171 variables with 9223 groups of data and were comprehensively analyzed.A novel method for the delay analysis of furnace heat indicators was established.The extracted delay variables were found to play an important role in modeling.The method that combined the genetic algorithm and stacking efficiently im-proved performance compared with the traditional machine learning algorithm in improving the hit ratio of the furnace heat prediction model.The hit ratio for predicting the temperature of hot metal in the error range of±10℃ was 92.4%,and that for the chemical heat of hot metal in the error range of±0.1wt%was 93.3%.On the basis of the furnace heat prediction model and expert experience,a feedback model of furnace heat operation was established to obtain quantitative operation suggestions for stabilizing BF heat levels.These sugges-tions were highly accepted by BF operators.Finally,the comprehensive and dynamic model proposed in this work was successfully ap-plied in a practical BF system.It improved the BF temperature level remarkably,increasing the furnace temperature stability rate from 54.9%to 84.9%.This improvement achieved considerable economic benefits.

Coke behavior with H_(2)O in a hydrogen-enriched blast furnace:A review

Hydrogen-enriched blast furnace ironmaking has become an essential route to reduce CO_(2)emissions in the ironmaking process.However,hydrogen-enriched reduction produces large amounts of H_(2)O,which places new demands on coke quality in a blast furnace.In a hydrogen-rich blast furnace,the presence of H_(2)O promotes the solution loss reaction.This result improves the reactivity of coke,which is 20%-30%higher in a pure H_(2)O atmosphere than in a pure CO_(2)atmosphere.The activation energy range is 110-300 kJ/mol between coke and CO_(2)and 80-170 kJ/mol between coke and H_(2)O.CO_(2)and H_(2)O are shown to have different effects on coke degradation mechanisms.This review provides a comprehensive overview of the effect of H_(2)O on the structure and properties of coke.By exploring the interactions between H_(2)O and coke,several unresolved issues in the field requiring further research were identified.This review aims to provide valuable insights into coke behavior in hydrogen-rich environments and promote the further development of hydrogen-rich blast furnace ironmaking processes.

Oxygen-assisted zinc recovery from electric arc furnace dust using magnesium chloride

Electric arc furnace(EAF)dust is an important secondary resource containing metals,such as zinc(Zn)and iron(Fe).Recover-ing Zn from EAF dust can contribute to resource recycling and reduce environmental impacts.However,the high chemical stability of ZnFe_(2)O_(4)in EAF dust poses challenges to Zn recovery.To address this issue,a facile approach that involves oxygen-assisted chlorination using molten MgCl_(2)is proposed.This work focused on elucidating the role of O2 in the reaction between ZnFe_(2)O_(4)and molten MgCl_(2).The results demonstrate that MgCl_(2)effectively broke down the ZnFe_(2)O_(4)structure,and the high O2 atmosphere considerably promoted the sep-aration of Zn from other components in the form of ZnCl_(2).The presence of O2 facilitated the formation of MgFe_(2)O_(4),which stabilized Fe and prevented its chlorination.Furthermore,the excessive use of MgCl_(2)resulted in increased evaporation loss,and high temperatures pro-moted the rapid separation of Zn.Building on these findings,we successfully extracted ZnCl_(2)-enriched volatiles from practical EAF dust through oxygen-assisted chlorination.Under optimized conditions,this method achieved exceptional Zn chlorination percentage of over 97%within a short period,while Fe chlorination remained below 1%.The resulting volatiles contained 85wt%of ZnCl_(2),which can be further processed to produce metallic Zn.The findings offer guidance for the selective recovery of valuable metals,particularly from solid wastes such as EAF dust.

Extraction of Valuable Metals from Titanium-bearing Blast Furnace Slag by Acid Leaching

To realize the resource utilization of the valuable metals in the titanium-containing blast furnace slag,the process route of “hydrochloric acid leaching-electrolysis-carbonization and carbon dioxide capture-preparation of calcium carbonate” was proposed.In this study,the influences of process conditions on the leaching rates of calcium,magnesium,aluminum,and iron and the phases of the leaching residue were investigated for the leaching process.The experimental results show that the HCl solution could selectively leach the elements from the titanium-containing blast furnace slag.The better leaching conditions are the HCl solution concentration of 4 mol/L,the leaching time of 30 min,the ratio of liquid volume to solid gas of 10 mL/g,and the stirring paddle speed of 300 r/min.Under the conditions,the leaching rates of calcium,magnesium,aluminum,and iron can reach 85.87%,73.41%,81.35%,and 59.08%,and the leaching rate of titanium is 10.71%.The iron and the aluminum are removed from the leachate to obtain iron-aluminum water purification agents,and the magnesium is removed from the leachate to obtain magnesium hydroxide.The leaching residue phase is dominated by perovskite,followed by magnesium silicate and tricalcium aluminate,and the titaniumrich material could be obtained from the leaching residue by desiliconization.

Numerical investigation of sinusoidal pulsating gas intake to intensify the gas-slag momentum transfer in the top-blown smelting furnace

The variation characteristics of bubble morphology and the thermal-physical properties of bubble boundary in the top-blown smelting furnace were explored by means of the computational fluid dynamics method.The essential aspects of the fluid phase(e.g.,splashing volume,dead zone of copper slag,and gas penetration depth)were explored together with the effect of sinusoidal pulsating gas intake on the momentum-transfer performance between phases.The results illustrated that two relatively larger vortices and two smaller vortices appear in the bubble waist and below the lance,respectively.The expansion of larger ones as well as the shrinking of smaller ones combine to cause the contraction of the bubble waist.Compared to the results of the case with a fixed gas injection velocity(V_(g)=58 m/s),the splashing volume and dead zone volume of the slag under the V_(g)=58+10sin(2πt)condition are reduced by 24.9%and 23.5%,respectively,where t represents the instant time.Gas penetration depth and slag motion velocity of the latter are 1.03 and 1.31 times high-er than those of the former,respectively.

Cross-upgrading of biomass hydrothermal carbonization and pyrolysis for high quality blast furnace injection fuel production:Physicochemical characteristics and gasification kinetics analysis

The paper proposes a biomass cross-upgrading process that combines hydrothermal carbonization and pyrolysis to produce high-quality blast furnace injection fuel.The results showed that after upgrading,the volatile content of biochar ranged from 16.19%to 45.35%,and the alkali metal content,ash content,and specific surface area were significantly reduced.The optimal route for biochar pro-duction is hydrothermal carbonization-pyrolysis(P-HC),resulting in biochar with a higher calorific value,C=C structure,and increased graphitization degree.The apparent activation energy(E)of the sample ranges from 199.1 to 324.8 kJ/mol,with P-HC having an E of 277.8 kJ/mol,lower than that of raw biomass,primary biochar,and anthracite.This makes P-HC more suitable for blast furnace injection fuel.Additionally,the paper proposes a path for P-HC injection in blast furnaces and calculates potential environmental benefits.P-HC of-fers the highest potential for carbon emission reduction,capable of reducing emissions by 96.04 kg/t when replacing 40wt%coal injec-tion.

A Novel Sensing Imaging Equipment Under Extremely Dim Light for Blast Furnace Burden Surface:Starlight High-Temperature Industrial Endoscope

Blast furnace(BF)burden surface contains the most abundant,intuitive and credible smelting information and acquiring high-definition and high-brightness optical images of which is essential to realize precise material charging control,optimize gas flow distribution and improve ironmaking efficiency.It has been challengeable to obtain high-quality optical burden surface images under high-temperature,high-dust,and extremelydim(less than 0.001 Lux)environment.Based on a novel endoscopic sensing detection idea,a reverse telephoto structure starlight imaging system with large field of view and large aperture is designed.Combined with a water-air dual cooling intelligent self-maintenance protection device and the imaging system,a starlight high-temperature industrial endoscope is developed to obtain clear optical burden surface images stably under the harsh environment.Based on an endoscope imaging area model,a material flow trajectory model and a gas-dust coupling distribution model,an optimal installation position and posture configuration method for the endoscope is proposed,which maximizes the effective imaging area and ensures large-area,safe and stable imaging of the device in a confined space.Industrial experiments and applications indicate that the proposed method obtains clear and reliable large-area optical burden surface images and reveals new BF conditions,providing key data support for green iron smelting.

Analysis of the Influence of Oxygen Enrichment in the Blast on Temperature Field and NO_(x)Generation near the Burner in Reheating Furnace

In order to study the effect of oxygen-enriched combustion technology on the temperature field and NOX emission in the continuous heating furnace,this paper studies the oxygen-enriched combustion of a pushing steel continuous heating furnace in a domestic company.This study utilizes numerical simulation method,establishes themathematicalmodels of flow,combustion andNOX generation combustion process in the furnace and analyzes the heat transfer process and NOX generation in the furnace under different air oxygen content and different wind ratio.The research results show that with the increase of oxygen content in the air,the combustion temperature in the furnace rises significantly,and the emission concentration of NOX increases.Furthermore,the NOX emission concentration is related to the proportion of primary and secondary air.

CFD modeling of gas−liquid flow phenomenon in lead smelting oxygen-enriched side-blown furnace

A validated numerical model was established to simulate gas−liquid flow behaviors in the oxygen-enriched side-blown bath furnace.This model included the slip velocity between phases and the gas thermal expansion effect.Its modeling results were verified with theoretical correlations and experiments,and the nozzle-eroded states in practice were also involved in the analysis.Through comparison,it is confirmed that the thermal expansion effect influences the flow pattern significantly,which may lead to the backward motion of airflow and create a potential risk to production safety.Consequently,the influences of air injection velocity and furnace width on airflow behavior were investigated to provide operating and design guidance.It is found that the thin layer melt,which avoids high-rate oxygen airflow eroding nozzles,shrinks as the injection velocity increases,but safety can be guaranteed when the velocity ranges from 175 to 275 m/s.Moreover,the isoline patterns and heights of thin layers change slightly when the furnace width increases from 2.2 to 2.8 m,indicating that the furnace width shows a limited influence on production safety.

Numerical Simulation of Heat Transfer Process and Heat Loss Analysis in Siemens CVD Reduction Furnaces

The modified Siemens method is the dominant process for the production of polysilicon,yet it is characterised by high energy consumption.Two models of laboratory-grade Siemens reduction furnace and 12 pairs of rods industrial-grade Siemens chemical vapor deposition(CVD)reduction furnace were established,and the effects of factors such as the diameter of silicon rods,the surface temperature of silicon rods,the air inlet velocity and temperature on the heat transfer process inside the reduction furnace were investigated by numerical simulation.The results show that the convective and radiant heat losses in the furnace increased with the diameter of the silicon rods.Furthermore,the radiant heat loss of the inner and outer rings of silicon rods was inconsistent for the industrial-grade reduction furnace.As the surface temperature of the silicon rods increases,the convective heat loss in the furnace increases,while the radiative heat loss remains relatively constant.When the inlet temperature and inlet velocity increase,the convective heat loss decreases,while the radiant heat loss remains relatively constant.Furthermore,the furnace wall surface emissivity increases,resulting in a significant increase in the amount of radiant heat loss in the furnace.In practice,this can be mitigated by polishing or adding coatings to reduce the furnace wall surface emissivity.

Furnace Temperature Curve Optimization Model Based on Differential Evolution Algorithm

When soldering electronic components onto circuit boards,the temperature curves of the reflow ovens across different zones and the conveyor belt speed significantly influence the product quality.This study focuses on optimizing the furnace temperature curve under varying settings of reflow oven zone temperatures and conveyor belt speeds.To address this,the research sequentially develops a heat transfer model for reflow soldering,an optimization model for reflow furnace conditions using the differential evolution algorithm,and an evaluation and decision model combining the differential evolution algorithm with the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution(TOPSIS)method.This approach aims to determine the optimal furnace temperature curve,zone temperatures of the reflow oven,and the conveyor belt speed.

Production Practice of Solid Waste Desulfurizer Disposal in European Metallurgical Furnace

In order to realize the OY Smelting Furnace disposal of solid waste,municipal waste,form a model of steel enterprises and urban integration,through the production practice of smelting furnace,analyzes the mechanism of solid waste disposal,and proposed the disposal of solid waste desulfurization agent and disposal method:According to the theory to guide the actual production process,the test ton of iron with 10-15kg of desulfurizer in the production process does not affect the quality of molten iron and slag quality.

Analysis and Prospect of Waste Heat Utilization from Blast Furnace Slag Flushing

Estimating the residual heat of blast furnace slag flushing in China,classifying and introducing the current proposed methods of slag flushing waste heat utilization,and listing existing cases.In order to better save energy and water in the slag flushing process of blast furnaces,an ideal comprehensive cascade utilization system scheme for annual recovery of waste heat is proposed.Based on the measured waste heat data of a steel plant,design calculations are carried out to further analyze the economic feasibility of the new scheme and provide reference for its promotion and application.

Furnace structure analysis for copper flash continuous smelting based on numerical simulation

According to the innate characteristic of four types of furnace, the copper flash continuous smelting （CFCS） furnace can be considered a synthetic reactor of two relatively independent processes： flash matte smelting process （FMSP） and copper continuous converting process （CCCP）. Then, the CFCS thermodynamic model was proposed by establishing the multi-phase equilibrium model of FMSP and the local-equilibrium model of CCCP, respectively, and by combining them through the smelting intermediates. Subsequently, the influences of the furnace structures were investigated using the model on the formation of blister copper, the Fe3O4 behavior, the copper loss in slag and the copper recovery rate. The results show that the type D furnace, with double flues and a slag partition wall, is an ideal CFCS reactor compared with the other three types furnaces. For CFCS, it is effective to design a partition wall in the furnace to make FMSP and CCCP perform in two relatively independent zones, respectively, and to make smelting gas and converting gas discharge from respective flues.

Preparation of UV-visible light responsive photocatalyst from titania-bearing blast furnace slag modified with(NH_4)_2SO_4

Sulfate-modified titanium dioxide-bearing blast furnace slag（STBBFS） photocatalysts were prepared by the high energy ball milling method with（NH4）2SO4 and titanium dioxide-bearing blast furnace slag（TBBFS） as raw materials.X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS）,X-ray diffraction（XRD）,scanning electron microscopy（SEM）,thermogravimetric analysis（TGA）,UV-visible diffuse reflectance absorption spectra（UV-Vis）,adsorption experiment and photocatalytic degradation measurement were conducted to characterize the structure,surface status,light absorption capacity,adsorption capacity and photocatalytic activity of the obtained photocatalysts.The adsorption equilibrium was described by the Langmuir isotherm model with a maximum adsorption capacity of 8.25 mg/g of Cr（VI） ions onto the STBBFS photocatalysts.As a result,sulfation of TBBFS improved the photocatalytic activities of STBBFSx photocatalysts.At a low calcination temperature,the photocatalytic activity of STBBFS300 photocatalyst was markedly higher compared with TBBFSx prepared at high calcination temperature,indicating that the photocatalytic activity of STBBFSx photocatalyst was determined by the balanced result between adsorption capacity and perovskite content.

Burner effects on melting process of regenerative aluminum melting furnace

According to the features of melting process of regenerative aluminum melting furnaces, a three-dimensional mathematical model with user-developed melting model, burner reversing and burning capacity model was established. The numerical simulation of melting process of a regenerative aluminum melting furnace was presented using hybrid programming method of FLUENT UDF and FLUENT scheme based on the heat balance test. Burner effects on melting process of aluminum melting furnaces were investigated by taking optimization regulations into account. The change rules of melting time on influence factors are achieved. Melting time decreases with swirl number, vertical angle of burner, air preheated temperature or natural gas flow; melting time firstly decreases with horizontal angle between burners or air-fuel ratio, then increases; melting time increases with the height of burner.

Synthesis of (Ca, Mg)-α′-Sialon-AlN-BN powders from boron-rich blast furnace slag by microwave carbothermal reduction-nitridation

(Ca, Mg)-α′-Sialon-AlN-BN powders were synthesized by the carbothermal reduction and nitridation (CRN) method using boron-rich slag, one of the intermediate products from pyrometallurgy separation of pageit, as the staring material. The influences of synthesis temperature and holding time on the phase composition and microstructure during the microwave CRN were studied by XRD, SEM and EDS. The comparison between two heating techniques, conventional and microwave heating, on the synthesized powder was presented as well. The experimental results revealed that the phase compositions and microstructures of the synthesized products were greatly affected by the synthesis temperature and holding time. With an increase in the synthesis temperature or holding time, the relative amount of α′-Sialon increased and α′-Sialon became the main crystalline phase at 1400 °C for 6 h. The synthesized products also contained AlN, BN and a small amount of β-SiC. Elongated α′-Sialon grains, short rod AlN grains, aggregate nanoscale BN grains were observed in the synthesized powders. The reaction temperature of microwave heating method was reduced by 80 °C, the reaction time was shortened by 2 h, and more elongated α′-Sialon grains with large aspect ratio were observed.

RESEARCH ON SMELTING LOW-CARBON FERROCHROME IN A PLASMA FURNACE

By a non-transformed arc plasma torch whose gas is nitrogen,scrap of high-carbon ferrochrome was heated and melted in a sealed furnace. When the liquid bath was at 1600℃,top blowing of oxygen began to decrease the bath's carbon without stopping plasma operation for its temperature addition and maintennace of at least 1750 ℃. The liquid bath was agitated by bottom-blowning nitrogen. In the experiments low carbon Fe-Cr have been obtained whose composition respectively was 0.45% carbon,50.75% chrome and 0.42% carbon, 70.25% chrome. Loss of chrome could be less than 5%.

Three-Dimensional Dynamic Modeling of a Tangentially Fired Utility Boiler Furnace

The tangentially fired utility boiler furnace is divided into several sections. The dynamic mathematical models for each section are presented. In the combustion zone, three dimensional model is used, while for the upper sections, lumped parameter model is used instead. With the combination of different models, we can get detailed distributions of gas velocity, temperature, chemical species, heat flux, etc. in the furnace, but with less CPU time. The radiation through the interfaces of each section is cons...