Influence of oxygen enrichment method on the state of blast furnace raceway

Abstract

The numerical simulation is applied to compare the effect of the oxygen enrichment rates under different injection methods on the flow and combustion features. The alteration in the gas velocity follows a congruous pattern for constant air and oxygen enrichment (CAOE) method and the reduced air and oxygen enrichment (RAOE) method. The oxygen enrichment rate increases by 1% and the velocity at the tuyere increases by 2.92 and 0.78 m s−1. The CAOE method has a more significant influence on the temperature and burnout of coal particles than that of the RAOE method. Furthermore, the burnout of coal particles at the exit of the raceway is 79.45% and 78.95%, at an oxygen enrichment rate of 12% under the conditions of the CAOE method and RAOE method. To improve the penetration capacity of the hearth and achieve higher burnout of pulverised coal, the CAOE method is recommended to enrich oxygen.