Pressure Drop and Gas Flow in an Oxygen Blast Furnace Analyzed by a Combination of Experimentation and a Porous Model

Abstract

As a modification of the conventional blast furnace (BF), the top gas recycling-oxygen blast furnace (TGR-OBF) has been continuously studied in the context of the technological transformation of low-carbon metallurgy. As it has a set of new gas inlets in the stack and changes the blast operation system in the hearth, the pressure drop and the in-furnace gas flow are the primary problems to be solved in the TGR-OBF’s industrialization. In this paper, a two-dimensional model of a whole blast furnace, based on a softening-and-melting experiment and porous-medium theory, is established. The in-furnace pressure drop and the gas velocity with different oxygen concentrations and tuyere heights are studied. The results show that the suitable height of the stack tuyere is the same as that of the elevation as the cohesive zone inside the furnace. With the gradual increase in oxygen enrichment, the permeability of the cohesive ore layer (COL) increases, while the gas flow through the coke layer (CL) decreases gradually up to 10%. The simulation results provide a theoretical basis for the TGR-OBF to reduce the coke rate and keep the pressure drop from increasing, or even to enable it to decrease.