Primary Metals Production 2007 Part 4: Ironmaking

Rob Boom Metals Production, Refining and Recycling (MPRR) Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Course contents Ironmaking and Steelmaking

Steelmaking process flow Coke making Agglomeration Ironmaking Steelmaking Secondary steelmaking Casting

Steelmaking process flow

Steelmaking process flow

gas coal Sinter plant ore

Pellet plant Raw materials transport Coke plants Ore agglomeration

Gas Coal injection

Oxygen Gas

Steam Steel sheet

Air + Oxygen

Slag Iron Blast furnace Basic oxygen steel plant

Power station

Ironmaking process flow

Course contents Ironmaking and Steelmaking

Steelmaking process flow Cokemaking Agglomeration Ironmaking Steelmaking Secondary steelmaking Casting

Coal stock area

Cross-section coke plant

In the coke ovens coal is being processed to get pure carbon fit for the BF

Coke battery

Charging

Level bar

Gas pressure

The Plastic Layer

Pushing coke

Transport to quench tower

Transport screening

To Blast Furnace

Course contents Ironmaking and Steelmaking

Steelmaking process flow Coke making Agglomeration Ironmaking Steelmaking Secondary steelmaking Casting

Feed preparation: iron ore sintering

Agglomeration techniques
Pelletising: drum or pan (disk) pelletiser, with water, drying and firing often needed, very popular Sintering: partial melting and re-solidification

Why sintering?

Why pelletising?

An agglomeration process Gases going thorough a charge of solids Permeability (packed bed) An agglomeration process Fine ore (dust) not suited for direct charge to BF Transport and storage possible Additions to iron ore in pellet feed for metallurgical purposes

Feed preparation: sintering

The Nature of Sintering
Physical nature: partial melting, bridges vis-a-vis porosity.
Strength and porosity, influenced by particle size, water content, coke quality (size, reactivity)

Chemical nature: self-fluxing, reduction (partial, oxides e.g. iron

ores)

Heat source
Coke particles for oxide ores (coke breeze)

Sintering Capacity
Suction duty (0.1-0.2 atm), ignition length, band speed, bed permeability

Sintering Equipment
Grate sintering: Dwight-Lloyd sintering machine, most popular

Sintering Equipment: grate sintering

Iron ore sintering process

Layering

Principle Chevron method

Cross section Layering Reclaiming Rake Bucket wheel

Longitudinal section

Reclaiming

Reclaimer

Pellet Plant

Dry grinding Straight grate induration strand 430 m2 Acid, olivine doped 4.6 million ton per year

Pellet plant lay-out

Induratio Balling

Grinding

Grinding and balling

Induration
To grinding section Stack Hot air gas Combustion air
Drying Induration cooling Cooling

Green balls in

Drying

Fired pelle out

Hot air Cold air Stack

Sinter Plant

Suction Area 354 m2 High Basicity Screened at 4mm 4.4 million ton per year EOS and Airfine

Sinter Strand with EOS System

EOS 50 % of flue gas hearth sinter mix layer ignition hood
flame front

Air for pO2

sinter strand

wind boxes sinter crusher

flue gas to stack

sinter to cooler

Sinter Strand with EOS

Summary: ore preparations

Course contents Ironmaking and Steelmaking

Steelmaking process flow Coke making Agglomeration Ironmaking Steelmaking Secondary steelmaking Casting

Ironmaking

Aim of the blast furnace process

Reduce the iron oxide (30 wt% oxygen) Separate iron from waste rock (10 wt%) Remove the impurities Continuously produce liquid iron (hot metal)

Why not put ore directly in the BF?

Size: < 1 mm
Variable composition Calcination/dehydration are endothermic processes Metallurgical quality: reducibility/disintegration/swelling/softening

Ironmaking blast furnace

General information
Dominant iron production process for steelmaking
Oxygen steelmaking EAF steelmaking 60% (70% liquid iron + 30% scrap) 40% (100% scrap)

Requiring sinter or pellets of ore, fluxing agent (lime), high quality coke, compressed hot air Complex plant

Ironmaking blast furnace: How it works

The purpose of a blast furnace is to chemically reduce and physically convert iron oxides into liquid iron called "hot metal The blast furnace is a huge, steel stack lined with refractory brick, where iron ore, coke and limestone are dumped into the top, and preheated air is blown into the bottom The raw materials require 6 to 8 hours to descend to the bottom of the furnace where they become liquid slag and liquid iron The liquid products are drained from the furnace at regular intervals The hot air blown into the bottom of the furnace ascends to the top in 6 to 8 seconds after going through numerous chemical reactions Once a blast furnace is started it will continuously run years with only short stops to perform planned maintenance BF campaigns last 15-17 years, future 30 years

Source: http://www.thepotteries.org/shelton/blast_furnace.htm

Blast furnace plant

Blast furnace plant

BF Development IJmuiden

Blast Furnace No. Hearth diameter Built Initial productivity Last renovation Campaign overview Production Mt t/day m

1 5.6 1924 280

2 5.6 1926 280

3 5.8 1930 360

4 8.5 1958 1380

5 9 1961 1700

6 11 1967 3000 2002 86-02 34.2

7 13.8 1972 5000 1991 91-pr. 36.3 10500

Current/last production t/day Demolished

800 1974

800 1974

1200 1991

3600 1997

3600 1997

7000

Ironmaking blast furnace

Daily consumption of a blast furnace (10,000 ton/day hot metal)

16,000 20,000 ton iron ore 4,000 6,000 ton coke 2,000 4,000 ton flux 11,000 kNm3 compressed air 4,000 5,000 ton slag 15,000 kNm3 top gas

Generating

Production of 1 ton hot metal

1.6 2.0 ton iron ore 0.4 0.6 ton coke 0.2 0.4 ton flux generate 0.4 0.5 ton slag

The ironmaking blast furnace

How large a blast furnace (c.a. 10000 t/d hot metal)
Hearth diameter Height Volume Hot blast 14 m 46 m 4450 m3 1250 oC 6800 Nm3/h

Ironmaking blast furnace

Raw materials to Blast furnace
Coke: size 40 60 mm
Fixed carbon, S content, volatile Ash content Coke 25-70 mm Sinter 5-50 mm

Sinter and pellets, or lumpy ores

Strength, permeability

Fluxes
Basic: limestone, dolomite (10-50 mm) Acidic: silica (10-30 mm)

Pellets 10-25 mm

Lumpy ore 10-30 mm

Blast furnace: Principle in-out

Ore (Fe2O3) & coke (C) 25 C Layered burden Cohesive zone Coal (C) injection Top gas (N2,CO2,CO) 150 C

35 m

2300C

Hot blast (N2+O2) 1200

Raceway
dead man

Slag Hot metal (Fe) 1500 C

14 m

Blast furnace: Basic reactions gas/solids

Burden descent Fe2O3+ CO Fe3O4 FeO Fe + CO2 Chemical reaction

Heat exchange

C + CO2 2CO Gas flow C + O2 CO

The ironmaking blast furnace

Zones in BF
Stack: 400 1000oC
Preliminary reduction Thermal reserve zone

Bosh: 1800oC
Fusion Reduction Slag metal equilibrium

Tuyere: coke/coal combustion Hearth: 1400oC

Slag metal separation C-saturation Consumption of dead-man

Stage-wise reductions:
Fe2O3 Fe
ox. alles Fe alles Fe

oxide

oxide

oxide

Reduction stages

oxide

oxide

ox.

alles Fe

Fe2 O3

Fe3O4

FeO

Fe

oxide

alles Fe

Fe2O3

Fe3O4

FeO

Fe

The Process
The Blast Furnace as a countercurrent mass and heat exchanger

Gas ascent
2300C

Burden descent

Dead Man

BF as counter-current reactor

Blast furnace zones

Burden Coke Cohesive zone Active coke zone
2300C

Top Gas

Throat

Stack

Shaft zone

Belly Bosh

Raceway
Dead Man

Hearth

Taphole

Reductions and temperatures

150 C >500 C (wet zone): Fe2O3 + CO Fe3O4 + CO2 Fe3O4 + CO FeO + CO2 FeO + CO Fe + CO2 >1100 C (dry zone): 1100 C CO2 + C 2CO (Boudouard) 1450 C FeO + C CO Raceway: C + O2 CO H2O + C H2 + CO 1500 C

2300C

Burdening
PW CHUTE PW BELL

Moveable

armour BF6 BF7

Smelting the burden: the tuyere flame

2200C, CO, N2 (+H2) Blast, CO, CO2

Blast

Coke (and coal): C +1/2 O2 CO

Blast furnace ironmaking

The furnace gas: RTD~ 6-8 seconds
Hot blast: via tuyere, preheated at 1000oC (hot stove) Generation CO: raceway, combustion of coke, pulverized coal (coal injection): C+O2=2CO (due to Boudouard reaction) Reduction of FexOy by CO, generating CO2 in the stack Top gas composition: 500oC, 26%CO+CO2+62%N2, 3 MJ/m3 Primary reduction zone: higher oxides reduction, Thermal reserve zone: 1000-1200oC, only wustite stable! Fusion zone: 1200-1800oC, reduction to Fe metal, melting, slag formation Coke is consumed in the raceway, but will stay in the hearth (dead-man) for a very long time (many days) Liquid metal (Fe): from fusion/dripping zone Liquid slag phase: from fusion/dripping zone Other reactions: C-saturation (~4% via dead-man); reduction of MnO, P 2O5, SiO2 as impurities to liquid iron (Mn, P, Si, also S from coke) pig iron

The solid charge: RTD 6-8 hours

The liquid phases

Blast furnace ironmaking

Iron (Fe) 93.5 - 95.0% 0.30 - 0.90% 0.025 - 0.050% 0.55 - 0.75% 0.03 - 0.09% 0.02 - 0.06% 4.1 - 4.4%

Products Hot metal (pig iron) Temperature 1450-1550 C

Silicon (Si) Sulphur (S) Manganese (Mn) Phosphorus (P) Titanium (Ti) Carbon (C)

Liquid slag: SiO2-CaO-Al2O3 system

Basic type and acidic type 25-35% SiO2 35-50% CaO 6-17% Al2O3 Important for hot metal quality (e.g. S content)

Heat Balance
Loss

HBS

Coke Oven Gas Heat from combustion of BF Gas To Power Plant BF Gas Heat in BF Gas

Heat in hot blast

Heat from gasification of coke, coal, oil

Blast Furnace

Heat in S

Hot Metal

Heat in Hot Metal Heat of Formation

Cooling Lo

Pulverised coal injection

Pulverised coal injection (PCI) to replace coke Grinding of suitable coal types Transport and injection by nitrogen carrier gas Oxygen enrichment to assist process PCI partial solution for coke batteries end-oflife problem Corus IJmuiden leading in daily practice

Coal Injection
) Injection at Tuyeres (Gasification)

Tuyere injection arrangement

Pressure drop versus coke rate

1200
Total Column

Upper

dP [mBar]

800
Upper

400
Middle Low

Middle

Low
Hearth

0 280

310 340 370 400 Coke rate [kg/tHM]

Total column

Worlds best performing blast furnace

BF6 Corus Strip Products IJmuiden Data 100 BFs Period 2005

Future trends in ironmaking

The issues facing the blast furnace are
external such as coke supply internal such as limitations on coal injection and hearth life, influenced by phenomena in the various furnace zones. The challenges to the blast furnace process
Alternative steel production routes such as the integrated DRI/scrap/EAF mode Alternative hot metal processes.

Alternative ironmaking
Direction reduction
Using solid fuels:
SL-RN process, coal and rotary kiln

Using gaseous fuels:

Midrex, CO+H2 reductant, shaft furnace (commercially popular)!

Product: sponge iron (DRI), EAF steelmaking! Commercial processes Main problem: corrosion of sponge iron

Smelting reduction
Many process options not yet commercialized!

Pre-reduction and direct reduction

Alternative ironmaking for steel production Nature of pre-reduction
Iron (800oC): partial or complete reduction
3Fe2O3 + CO Fe3O4 + CO FeO + CO = 2Fe3O4 + CO2 = 3FeO + CO2 = Fe + CO2

Chromite (FeCr2O4): at 1500oC, only partial reduction

Sponge Iron: directly used for steelmaking

Directly reduced iron (DRI) Increasing portion in total primary iron supply Solid Fuels: Gaseous Fuels: CO and H2
SL-RN Kiln: 7/3Fe2O3 + 6C =14/3Fe + CO+CO2 Midrex: shaft furnace, using CO+H2 mixture

Midrex

Production of directly reduced iron (DRI) Midrex dominating process

Corex

FIOR (+Circored/Circofer)

Cyclone Converter Furnace CCF

fine ore and oxygen coal

oxygen

hot metal and slag stirring gas

End of the lecture Ironmaking