7TH EUROPEAN COKE AND IRONMAKING CONGRESS - ECIC 2016

Plasma torch technology was studied by several blast furnace developers in the 1970s as a means to reduce coke consumption. The developers planned to use electrical energy rather than blast oxygen enrichment to increase coal injection through the tuyeres. In the early 1980s development work stopped over concerns with plasma torch electrode life. Since this time, Westinghouse Plasma Corporation improved torch reliability with industrial experience in solid-waste-to-energy facilities, as well as metallurgical applications. With an increasing need to reduce blast furnace greenhouse gas emissions, plasma technology offers an opportunity to lower the coke rate and related carbon dioxide emissions. Alter NRG and Hatch assessed the merits of superheating the hot blast air using plasma torches. Coke rate savings, electrical purchase requirements, CO2 emission rates, and a financial analysis to implement plasma torches are presented.