Ultra-High Injection of Natural Gas to Increase Blast Furnace Production: A WhitePaper. Topical Report, November 1994

摘要

Analysis of the possibility and the economic justification of improvements inblast furnace productivity through the use of natural gas injection at high rates are presented. The paper describes the effects of blast enrichment accompanied by natural gas fuel injection on the thermal profile and hydrodynamic parameters in a blast furnace. This technique promises significant increases in productivity with no loss of flexibility or operational stability. The hydrogen content of the supplemental fuel plays a key role in determining both the coke replacement rate and the extent to which the furnace thermal profile is altered. Obtaining the maximum benefits from blast enrichment and supplemental fuel injection will require the development of new techniques to set aim values. For a given production rate, efficient utilization of hydrogen in the blast furnace stack is more cost-effective than the reduction of iron ore by an external process to produce reduced iron feeds.