Title: Slag and metallic chemical variation along blast furnace tuyere probes
Abstract:In the ironmaking blast furnace, liquid iron and slag percolate down through the lower zone coke bed, finally collecting in the hearth until drained. To ensure efficient and stable blast furnace opera...In the ironmaking blast furnace, liquid iron and slag percolate down through the lower zone coke bed, finally collecting in the hearth until drained. To ensure efficient and stable blast furnace operations and the associated benefits of low fuel rates and consistent high quality iron, the permeability of the furnace must be maintained. The extreme conditions of heat, pressure, gas and material movement experienced in the lower zones of the blast furnace make it difficult to make direct measurements and impossible to gain samples when the furnace is operating. In order to study this area, a novel method of sampling the coke bed including in-situ metal and slag, where a probe is inserted through one of the blast furnace tuyeres during shutdowns has been developed. This method has been used at the Port Kembla furnaces over the last 13 years spanning a number of significantly different operating regimes including all-coke operation and the injection of various auxiliary fuels including pulverised coal as currently practised. The methodology developed specifically includes the analysis of slag and metallic samples recovered along the length of the tuyere probes. The slag analysis shows that there are significant chemical variations in the major components along the probe (distance into the furnace). Variation between probes can be explained by operational conditions such as the introduction of PCI in 2002. Such variations in the slag composition have been shown to influence the melting points and viscosity of slags in the lower zone of the furnace, significantly affecting liquid mobility.Read More
Publication Year: 2011
Publication Date: 2011-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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