EUROPEAN STEEL TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATION DAYS 2017 - ESTAD 2017

State-of-the-art process control systems are currently utilized with the intention to optimize the production process for certain individual aggregates (e.g. blast furnace, sinter plant, etc.) based on locally and temporally limited information. Following the spirit of Industry 4.0, the idea of holistic optimization models goes one step further by enhancing the performance of a plant through...

The concept and benefits of retrofitting a cold blast mixer with plasma torches to heat hot blast air will be described. A ‘hot mixer’ would top-up hot blast temperatures achieved during the stove firing cycle and eliminate the need for cold blast air mixing. The technology is scalable; implementation of just a few plasma torches will reduce coke consumption and GHG emissions. Candidate...

It is analysed some titaniferous magnetite deposits of Russia. The results of laboratory, industrial and calculation (by means of mathematical models) researches of physical, chemical and thermophysical processes at oxidizing roasting (agglomeration) of the titaniferous raw materials are considered. The rating of influence of metallurgical properties (reducibility, durability, softening and...

**Abstract** Proper understanding and control of accumulation, drainage and heat transfer of hot metal and slag in BF hearth is essential for a stable and efficient blast furnace operation. Abnormal drainage behavior may lead to high liquid build up in the hearth. Operation problems normally be encountered if the liquid levels in the hearth exceed a critical limit when hearth coke and...

Coupling the blast furnace with direct reduction processes may increase the BF productivity and flexibility, and contribute to CO2 emission mitigation at an integrated steelworks. Charging of HBI into blast furnaces will be realised this year in Europe. Another way is injection of DRI / LRI via tuyères. In this case, the briquetting step and long residence times in the shaft could be...

In iron making dialogue, a salamander is referred to all liquid and solidified materials in the hearth of a blast furnace which cannot be removed through the taphole. Taphole locations are designed in a way that a pool or sump of liquid hot metal remains in the bottom of the hearth. The resulting salamander has multi purposes. Primarily it provides a buffer to retard bottom refractory wear,...

Pohang No. 4 Blast furnace, inner volume 5600m3, was relined and blowed in at 8th October 2010. The first failure in copper stave cooling channel was found on 20th. June 2014, 44months after blow-in, in belly. When the copper stave cooling channel in blast furnaces had been damaged in POSCO, cooling plates were installed from the outside of furnace shell to recover cooling function in the...

We performed a numerical analysis for simulating packed bed structures containing non-spherical elements and the liquid trickle flow characteristics of such structures. Fully-Lagrangian numerical simulation methods can track all motion information for solid or liquid elements at each point in time. We performed individual packing behavior calculations for non-spherical elements, based on DEM...

The blast furnace - converter route is dominant in European steelmaking. Investments are being made to modernise hot metal production plants in Europe. The coking plants, sinter units and blast furnaces are powerful and environmentally friendly. In view of the demands for massive reductions in CO2 emissions in Europe, however, it will be necessary to work on solutions regarding whether, and...

An early breakage of the copper stave cooling pipe is a serious issue in ironmaking worldwide. This breakage of the copper stave caused unstable operation and shortened service life. Pohang No.4 BF experienced a leakage of coolant into the furnace caused by rapid wear of copper stave. It was found that the main causes of the breakage are high productivity operation ever since blow-in and blast...

ArcelorMittal Atlantique et Lorraine BF-2 5th campaign started in 1992 was concluded in 2015 with a total hot metal production of 26 million tons. The furnace was stopped for 129 days, from August to December 2015 for a relining aiming to revamp the top charging system, the hearth, the casting house and the gas cleaning. In terms of top charging system, existing Bell-top with movable armor...

In recent years, efforts in the field of ironmaking research have been focused on the process optimization to reach new objectives in terms of low reducing agent operation. As a consequence, mathematical models have become key tools, including advanced numerical methods, to describe accurately physical phenomena occurring in the blast furnace. However, little attention has been paid so far...

DK Recycling & Roheisen operates its blast furnace No. 3 with zinc loads higher than any other blast furnace in the world, because the metallic feed consists of iron and zinc containing residues of the steel industry. During the last year, the phenomena of the furnace lifting itself more than 200 mm out of its foundation could be observed. This led to dramatic consequences in operation and...

Blast furnace No. 3 at Zaporizhstal in Zaporozhye is rebuilt in 2016-2017. The Ukrainian company is targeting for increased production and availability by the use of new technology. Zaporizhstal awarded the contract of the Top Charging Unit to Danieli Corus, after comparing all available technologies. Main focus of DC is availability and maintainability of equipment. The DC product is a...

A real-time liquid level measurement system was installed at Dillinger Hütte Blast Furnace No 5. The method is mainly based on strain gauges along a vertical line on the lower BF shell and an analytical deformation model of the hearth. The method, developed by TMT and CRM, indicates both the total slag level and the pig iron level inside the BF hearth. The liquid level measurement allows to...

Hot Blast Stove Technology has been developed to such an extent that low cost hot metal production for over 30 years without major repairs has become achievable, making the decision for a campaign length between 5 to over 30 years a design choice for the plant owner/operator. Some of the earlier examples of designs capable of such long campaign lengths are currently close to the 50th year...

Thermocouples are often installed in the blast furnace hearth, for use in estimating the remaining refractory thickness. However, a wide variety of thermocouple arrangements are used. Using a thermal assessment approach combining non-destructive testing (AU-E) and thermocouple data, the selection of thermocouple locations within a furnace hearth was investigated. 2D transient thermal...

During initial blow-in of the blast furnace the hearth refractory system could experience high temperatures. Over time, skull formation on the hot face of refractory results in temperature reduction within the hearth refractory. Such temperature fluctuation may generate undesirable refractory cracking and/or gap formation, particularly around ramming mixture. These flaws could increase the...

Based on in-depth investigation of blast furnace slags composition and viscosity it was found that the conditions of blast furnace synthetic and industrial slags could be characterized by slag index “a”: a = (k1CaO + k2MgO + k3TiO2)/(k4SiO2+k5Al2O3+k6FeO+k7MnO). Here coefficients k1, k2, k3, k4, k5 , k6 , k7 characterize known values of coulomb forces in ion structure of multi-component...

Results of the analysis of physical-chemical properties of sinter and pellets are presented. It was shown that at BF transition to operation with high proportion of non-fluxed pellets in furnace charge, it is necessary to change the basic parameters of the slag mode as well as furnaces loading practice. Results of calculation for BF of OJSC “MMK” operation with high proportion of non-fluxed...

Industrial furnaces are subject to extreme heat stress, chemical reactions and abrasive reactions. At the bosh and stack levels of blast furnaces, cooling staves are subject to severe abrasive wear. The staves if worn may cause water leaks, chilling of the furnace and/or catastrophic explosion. Thus, techniques have been developed to monitor the remaining stave thickness so that timely...

Intensive operation of blast furnace allows an increase in production of hot metal and profitability of Iron & Steel Works. However, blast furnace structural integrity could be sacrificed if no measures are taken to protect refractory lining and to build stable accretion. NTMK-EVRAZ is a unique and advanced blast furnace operation with titania load of about 45-50 kg TiO2/thm. Successful...

Grinding and drying as well as pulverized coal injection is today state-of-the-art in Küttner's product portfolio. Over decades improvements and developments have been made for the benefit of our clients. The aim was always to increase the injection rate by reducing the coke rate at the same time. Overall ironmaking cost should be reduced by keeping a predictable and safe blast furnace...

To achieve minimal coke rates in blast furnace operation it is crucial to obtain optimal burning of additional fuels like e.g. pulverized coal (PC). However, there are operating conditions, where an optimal burning is not possible and it is beneficial to shut down the PC supply on one or more injection lances. The frequent case of raceway blockages can lead to reduced wind throughput on the...

The use of biomass in metallurgical coke production has been identified as one of the main possibilities to introduce a renewable carbon source to the process chain of blast furnace based steel production, thereby decreasing the CO2 emissions produced by the steel industry. In this study, multiple grades of bio-cokes are prepared by combining charcoal produced from pine chips at a high...

Hot Blast Stove Systems are an important equipment of a Blast Furnace plant. During the last years, performance requirements and operation practice for the Hot Blast Systems have changed, with a big influence on the BF operation. Therefore it is necessary to keep the Hot Blast System, including the Hot Blast Stoves, in proper condition in order to maintain the production capacity of the Blast...

Reducing agents are considered to be the major portion of hot metal production cost in blast furnace (BF) ironmaking. In addition, lower energy consumption, lower CO2 emission and waste recycling are strongly needed from both economic and environmental perspectives. Therefore, the iron and steel industry is prompted to sustainable develop “coke free, zero waste and green processes” for future...

Blast furnace slag with its tapping temperature of around 1,500°C and a approximately 400 million tons yearly worldwide production is a huge largely unused energy potential. Current state-of-the-art practice is to granulate blast furnace slag in wet-granulation plants without utilization of the thermal energy. However new dry slag granulation technologies are in development to cool the molten...

Based on the investigation results of carbon brick damage of 4BF at Baosteel, this paper discussed the viewpoint that maintaining a stable solidified iron layer(protecting layer) on hot surface of carbon brick is the key for prolong campaign life of hearth and expounded the importance of ensuring higher heat transfer effect of carbon brick construction system. The paper expatiated the...

Pulverized coal injection (PCI) and natural gas (NG) injection at the blast furnace are used to inject fuel into the reaction to maintain temperature control and chemistry of the charge. The reliability of the lances to perform repeatable and be retracted for ease of maintenance is critical for production efficiency at the blast furnace. Upgrading from 300 series lance to a more highly alloyed...

UHT has delivered and commissioned the world’s largest GRANSHOT® metal granulation unit to TATA Steel’s new steel plant in Kalinganagar, Odisha. The delivery enables a seamless industrial route for excess blast furnace iron with a granulation capacity of 300 ton/h. The GRANSHOT® unit is engineered for tapping directly from the torpedo to enable easy metal transfer between the blast furnace...

1. Copper staves are being used widely as blast furnace body cooling components. Blast furnace production and life-time sustainability is directly related with the durability of the copper staves. Copper staves protects the refractory and furnace shell from the heat load and adverse mechanical effects due to the formation of an accretion layer. Since the stave maintenance and replacement is...