Blast furnace slag granulation

plant technology
A modern blast furnace can produce more than 1Mt/yr of slag. Slag granulation using water
sprays is now an established technology. It not only simplifies blast furnace casting floor
operations, but also provides an economic route for the production of a valuable raw material for
a host of industries.

Authors: R van Laar, E Dupon, J Barel and M Kamerling

Danieli Corus BV

T he blast furnace produces large amounts of liquid slag,

which can be processed into valuable raw materials for
the cement and other industries. For example, in cement
production, granulated slag can replace up to 70% of the
more costly Portland clinker. The slag volume depends on
the quality of the raw materials used in the BF and may
range from 200 to 500kg/THM. Typical production levels
of a modern blast furnace are 8,000-12,000THM/day so
the annual slag production could amount to more than
1Mt.
Efficient processing of blast furnace slag into a
product suitable for further use is accomplished by a
slag granulation plant. This paper summarises modern
slag granulation plant technologies, which have been
successfully demonstrated at industrial plants for more
than 20 years.

SLAG GRANULATION PLANT

The main objective of the slag granulation plant is
r Fig 1 Complex dependency of slag technical properties processing liquid blast furnace slag into valuable raw
materials for the cement and construction industries. The
value of the slag depends on its mineralogical, chemical,
physical and mechanical properties, such as basicity, glass
content, structure and moisture content. These technical
properties are related to the blast furnace burden and
process, the applied granulation technology and operating
conditions, storage and dewatering time, etc, and Figure 1
illustrates its complexity.
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r Fig 2 Schematic of a slag granulation plant

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 RAW MATERIALS AND IRONMAKING

The slag granulation plant comprises a granulation

section, a dewatering section and a storage section, as
illustrated in Figure 2.

Granulation section Here, the liquid blast furnace

slag is water quenched and solidified into small pieces,
eliminating the need for heavy crushing equipment. The
liquid slag flows by runners from the blast furnace to the
granulation unit. From the runner, the liquid slag stream at
around 1,500°C is poured into a high velocity water stream
at the granulation spray head before ending up at around
50°C in the granulation tank. This rapid solidification r Fig 3 The granulator spray head and transport
followed by breaking up of the material into small pieces chute
is controlled by the excess of water used. Due to the
high temperature of the liquid slag, the water is partly
evaporated and subsequently condensed in a condensing
tower located above the granulation tank.
The production of slag during a blast furnace tapping
normally ranges up to 10t/min. To cope with this variation,
the water stream to the granulation unit can be controlled
by an energy balance calculation to ensure efficient and
economic performance. The control element is a valve,
regulating part of the water flow to the granulation spray
head.
The granulation spray head is the technological heart of
the granulator and is where the water and slag are mixed
intensively, ensuring fast and efficient granulation (see
Figure 3). The spray head is designed to produce a specific
flow pattern of water for optimum mixing and is located to r Fig 4 Condensing tower and spray nozzles
direct high-pressure water jets into the free falling molten
slag stream.
The main volume of water is directed by the jets to form a granulation, but at the last part of the BF cast, when the
fast moving water trough in the bottom of the granulation slag volumes might increase, an additional 900m3/hr
chute. The purpose of this water layer, in addition to can be added by activating additional spray heads and
granulating the slag, is to protect the granulation runner increasing the total flow to 2,400m3/hr.
and to carry away the granulated mix. Additionally, a The requirements of the spray head are:
number of jets are positioned on the sides of the slag ` Simple and logical construction to reduce fabrication
stream to ensure all slag is granulated into small pieces cost and simplify replacement
as quickly as possible, to supply additional cooling, and ` Buildup of wear resistant materials, eg, the use of
also to propel the slag/water mix in the chute. The ceramic insets for the nozzles and guides
configuration of the water jets is such that the liquid slag ` Easy to inspect and easy to replace
will, under normal circumstances, not touch the bottom of ` Easy access and easy to clean.
the granulation chute.
The spray heads contain detachable nozzle plates with During this quenching process, water is evaporated and
ceramic inserts and spray headers that can be replaced SOx compounds are released. These emissions can be
quickly during short maintenance intervals. eliminated by the application of a condensing tower that
The water quantities for the spray head are approximately includes an assembly of water spray nozzles. These sprays
as follows: ensure that emissions are dissolved in the water. They are
` Lower bottom spray head 1,200m3/hr then partly neutralised by the CaO in the slag. Views of the
` Upper bottom spray head 600m3/hr condensing tower system are shown in Figure 4.
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` Side sprays 100m3/hr The entire granulation tank is lined with wear resistant
refractory as it is exposed to a highly turbulent and erosive
Under normal circumstances, 1,800m3/hr is used for mixture of water and slag sand. This mixture is transferred a

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 r Fig 5 Slag granulation plant and dewatering system arrangements

by gravity to the dewatering section for separation of slag

sand and water.
As an alternative to wet slag granulation and subsequent
dewatering, dry slag granulation technology has been
pursued for many years but has not yet been demonstrated
to be economic on an industrial scale as these economics
depend strongly on the heat recovery efficiency. It is
acknowledged that heat recovery is difficult to justify
economically with water granulation systems because of
r Fig 6 Dewatering wheels the intermittent nature of the process and the relative low
temperature of the water after dewatering.

Dewatering section The granulation section adds

water to the slag, which must be removed and recycled.
Dewatering is required to lower the moisture content to
~15%. Additional dewatering to 12% can be achieved, if
required, by stockpiling the granulated sand on a natural
draining stockpile and letting it drain for another 24
hours prior to further transportation. Alternatively, silo
dewatering down to 12% can be achieved in 12 hours or
less. In that case, the dewatered slag can be discharged
directly into a truck or on to a material handling system
for further transportation.
Many dewatering systems have been used in the
ironmaking industry. This paper will describe two of them:
r Fig 7 Dewatering silos rotating dewatering wheel and static dewatering silos.
Two slag granulation plant arrangements are illustrated
in Figure 5. Both systems are identical with regard to the
granulation section and recycling of granulation water.

Rotating dewatering wheels These wheels have been

operating for more than 30 years in our industry. The
main advantage of this system relates to the fact that it is
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compact and requires a lower investment compared to static

dewatering silos. The rotating dewatering wheel is installed
in a hopper, which is filled with the mixture of slag sand and

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 RAW MATERIALS AND IRONMAKING
granulation water. The slag sand is removed and dewatered
by ‘buckets’ containing screens, then the dewatered slag
sand is discharged to a conveyor belt (see Figure 6).
Rotating dewatering wheels are compact and efficient,
but this design results in minor amounts of slag carry-
over into the recycling stream, which could cause erosion
of the recycling water, cooling tower plant and piping
system unless these are protected by a lining system.
Also this carry-over could settle in stagnant areas of the
recycling water and cooling tower plant sections and
piping system, requiring regular maintenance to mitigate
this contamination. Finally, it is generally acknowledged
that any rotating equipment requires more maintenance
compared to static equipment, hence static dewatering
silos introduce important advantages of minimum
maintenance and high reliability.
Static dewatering silos These were developed more than
30 years ago and have been successfully operated at many
European and Asian plants. The higher investment cost and
footprint area are balanced by higher availability and lower
operation costs. Examples are shown in Figure 7.
Three silos are required. As one is filled with the mixture
of water and slag sand, the second is being drained, and
the third is discharged by a vibrating screen to trucks or
a conveyor belt. The silos also act as a temporary storage
unit. The water/slag mixture is charged to one of the silos
by a ‘revolving’ charging unit at the top of the silos (see
Figure 8). A fourth discharge line to enable bypassing of
the silos when required, is also included.
The silos include a vertical conical assembly of metallic
screens. These are flushed each time the silo has been
drained and ensure that the screens remain clean and
efficient. The lifetime of the screens and dewatering plant
is more than 20 years.
The recycling water temperature is reduced to less
than 50°C by a series of cooling towers whose design is
optimised to eliminate settlement of any fines. This lower
temperature also minimises sulphur emissions.
This proven granulation process ensures economic
granulation and produces valuable and consistent
properties of the slag, as characterised by:
` Glass content of the slag sand >98%
` Water content at discharge <12%
` Size of slag sand: 98% <3mm
` Plant availability >98%
` H2S emission <5mg/Nm3³
` SO2 emission <50mg/Nm3³
Storage section The dewatered granulated material can
be transported by conveyor belt using conventional bulk
handling technology and can be equipped with a belt
weighing system, such that a continuous measurement of
r Fig 8 Dewatering silo charging unit
the produced slag is possible. High temperature resistant
rubber is recommended for the belt material, as occasional
high slag temperatures can occur.
Normally, the granulated slag can be stored in a vertical
sand hopper with a clamshell lock-hopper discharge device.
However, in mild climates without major frost problems, it
can also be stored in simple stockpiles and reclaimed by
front loaders or shovelled into trucks.
The size of the stockpiles could be made sufficiently
large, such that reclaiming can be done in day shifts only.
Some measures must be taken at the conveyor discharge
end, such as by rubber flaps, to prevent the discharged
slag sand blowing away via wind or turbulence. The
advantage of storing the granulated slag on the ground is
that it naturally dewaters the slag pile over time. Since the
slag has very strong chemically binding properties, there
are hardly any contaminants in the drained water.
CONCLUSIONS
Efficient blast furnace slag granulation contributes to low
cost hot metal.
Advantages of these systems can be summarised as:
` Simple plant configuration with few moving parts
` No heavy crushing equipment required
` Specially designed spray head produces uniform grain
size (up to 3mm)
` Adjustable spray head produces slag sand of >98%
glass content
` Condensation tower eliminates H2S and SO2 emissions
` Efficient cooling tower eliminates sand deposits and
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clogging
` High availability (>98%) and low maintenance due to
the above. MS
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