STRUCTURE OF THE BLAST FURNACE

1
• The dimensions of the blast furnace have changed over the years. The table
below shows dimensions and operating parameters from 1960 and the more
current operating parameters.
Parameters 1960 1990-2000

Working height, m 25 25

Inner hearth diameter, m 9 15

Working volume, m3 2000 5000

Production of Iron, tpd 2000 13000

Productivity, thm/day/m3 1 2.6

Fuel rate, kg/thm 800 450-500

Campaign Life, years 4-6 >10

Silicon in hot metal, wt.% 1 0.2

2
• The furnace profile i.e. its shape and dimensions of each individual region, depend on the
operating conditions.
• The furnace interior is therefore broadly divided into:
Stack/Shaft
• This region extends from the stock line to the mantle level.
• In this region the burden is solid.
• The charge gets heated from 200oC at the stock line level to over 1000oC by the time it
descends to the bottom of the stack.
• In order to ensure free fall of material as it expands progressively with the rise in
temperature, the cross section of the stack increases uniformly from the stock line to the
mantle level.
• A significant reduction of iron oxides occurs in this zone thus it is important at this stage to
have good counter-current gas/solid interaction. This has led to the use of agglomerates and
3
close sizing of lump ore by screening the fines before charging.
4
Bosh

• This is the region in which melting of the burden (except coke) takes place. The
gangue and flux combine to form slag.

• The walls of this region taper down reducing the cross sectional by about 20-25%.
This is in line with the decrease in volume of the charge.

• Burden permeability is maintained by the presence of solid coke. Hence the need to
charge coke of adequate strength and size. If the coke disintegrates this will affect the
permeability of the bed.
Tuyere/ Combustion
• As the charge enters this region it is completely molten (except coke).
• Oxygen from the blast burns the coke to carbon monoxide.
• Combustion takes place in front of each tuyere. 5
Hearth

• This is the smallest cross section of the blast furnace.

• The cross section of the hearth region decreases towards the bottom leading to a
decrease in volume. This reduction in volume is necessary since the liquids are dense
without pores and voids.

• Although most of the coke burns in the tuyere zone, some of it finds its way into the
hearth.

• “This coke” either sits on the hearth or floats just above it, this is called the ‘dead
man’.

• “This” coke dissolves in the metal almost to saturation.

• The rest of the charge is molten at this stage and stratifies into the slag and metal
layers. 6

• These layers are tapped from the hearth separately.

Charging of Solid Material

• The charging system employed in the blast furnace should;

• Allow for proper distribution of charge material
• Prevent the escape of blast furnace gas
• The most modern charging device which is installed in all modern furnaces is
the Bell-less Top shown below.

7
8
• The system consists of a hopper and a gate, the material is fed onto a rotating
chute at various angles, through a system of seal valves and flow control gates.

• Instrumentation systems and mathematical models are used to predict the stock
line profile and measure the effect of change in the distribution pattern.

• What are the advantages of good distribution control of charge?

9
Refractory Lining
• This is found between the outer steel shell and the inner working volume of the blast
furnace.
• Its purpose is to protect the steel shell.
• The lining life determines the duration of a non-stop campaign, therefore it is very
important for the lining to be of good quality to avoid stoppages.
The major causes of the failure of the lining are:
• Carbon monoxide attack
• Action of alkali and other vapours
• High temperature
• Abrasion by moving solid charges
10
• Attack by molten slag and metal
• Furnace design and operation
• Due to the difference in the working conditions of each region of the furnace,
the lining material used in each region must be able to withstand the
environment in the specific region.
Region Conditions Material

Stack - abrasive Top stack (Ordinary Fire-clay bricks,

- carbon monoxide 40-45% Al2O3)
Bottom stack (High duty Fire-clay
bricks, > 60% Al2O3)

Bosh - high temperatures (High duty Fire-clay bricks,

- alkali and different vapours > 60% Al2O3)
- alkaline and limey slag
- hot gas erosion

Hearth - molten slag corrosion Carbon

- molten metal corrosion
11
• Alumino silicates (which occur naturally as fire-clay) and carbon are the two
main classes of refractory material used in lining the blast furnace.

• Carbon is used to line the hearth because it has a much higher thermal
conductivity compared to fire clay (3-40 W/m/K). This helps to keep the
lining cooler due to the higher rate of heat transfer.

• In order to extend the life of the lining it is also necessary to keep the
refractory temperature low by using a water cooling system.

12
REACTIONS IN THE BLAST FURNACE
• The blast furnace is a counter-current heat exchanger as well as a chemical reactor.
• The hot ascending gases heat up the descending charge material, accompanied by a
variety of physical changes and chemical reactions.
• Due to differential heat requirements at various temperature levels the blast furnace
is divided into three zones
• Upper/Pre-heating/Preparation Zone – Stack/Shaft.
• Middle/Indirect reduction/Thermal reserve/Isothermal Zone – Belly and Bosh.
• Lower/Processing/Melting/Direct reduction Zone – Hearth which is further
subdivided into the Cohesive zone, Deadman zone and the Combustion zone.
13

• Reactions that take place in these regions and their control has a major influence
UPPER ZONE
• - In this zone, the burden is rapidly heated from ambient temperatures to about 200oC and further
heated to over 1000oC by the time it descends to the bottom of the stack.
• - The gas coming from the middle zone cools down from 900oC to about 100-200oC as it leaves the
furnace top.
• - The major reactions in this zone are:
Reduction of Iron Oxides
Key features of the Fe-O system
• There are three oxides of iron i.e. hematite, magnetite and wustite
• Wustite is an oxygen deficient non-stoichiometric compound of the general formula FexO, where
0.835<x<0.945, the corresponding weight of oxygen ranges from 23.2 to 25.6. The formula FeO is
used widely as an approximation. It has a cubic structure with theoretical density of 5.7 gcm-3.
• Magnetite (Fe3O4) has a cubic structure with 27.64%w/w O2.
• Hematite (Fe2O3) has a hexagonal close packed structure with 30%w/w O2.
14
• Wustite is stable only above 570 C, therefore below 570 C only two phases exist i.e. (Fe + Fe3O4) or
o o

(Fe3O4 + Fe2O3).
•

15
• Decomposition of Hydrates (break bonds + evaporation)
• Water is also present as water of crystallisation or hydration (i.e. chemically combined).
• Heat of breaking the chemical bonds and evaporation.
• Decomposition of the hydrates of iron oxides may start around 300oC and continue to higher
temperature levels.

• Decomposition of Al2O3.2SiO2.2H2O starts at 400oC and may reach the middle zone before
complete dehydration.

• 965 kcal/kg water is required.

• Water-Gas Shift Reaction

H2(g) + CO2(g) ↔ H2O(g) + CO(g) ∆H° = +32x10³ J/mol@298K
16

•
• Carbon Deposition
2CO(g) ↔ CO2(g) + C

• Reverse of the Bourdard reaction

• Reaction favoured at lower temperatures (450-600oC)
• Carbon-deposited material descend to higher temperature regions where
reaction of C with O2 liberates CO, which causes bursting of the ore lumps,
which results in:

• Larger surface area/unit volume → Increase rate of reduction

• Lower mechanical strength → larger quantity of fines
MIDDLE ZONE

• In the middle zone, the temperatures of the solids and the gas are near identical (800-1000oC).
• Therefore called the isothermal/thermal reserve zone.
**Most of the indirect reduction of wustite occurs in this zone

• A major proportion of indirect reduction of iron oxides occurs in this zone.

• The extent of this zone is important because the wustite should be given as much opportunity as possible for
getting reduced indirectly.

• There is a chemically inactive zone inside the middle zone, where very little exchange of O2 between ore and gas
occurs and the gas compositions suffers very little change.

• The CO/CO2 ratio = 2:3 at the inactive zone.

• Another reaction of importance is the water-gas shift reaction
H2(g) + CO2(g) ↔ H2O(g) + CO(g) ∆H° = +32x10³ J/mol@298K

• This reaction generates H2 which is a more active reductant than CO.

18
• The moisture is generally from reduction of iron oxides with H2 which comes from humid air, steam and HC
which are used as blast additives.
LOWER ZONE
• The zone extends from 3-5m above the tuyere level to the hearth bottom.
• The temperature of the lower zone is above 1000oC.
• It takes 0.7 – 3 hours for the burden to descend from the belly to the tuyeres
• The temperature of the molten material reaches 1400-1450oC in this zone and the gas
temperature is 500-1000oC.
• The burning of coke in front of the tuyeres results in continuous creation of an empty
space around the hearth periphery which permits the flow of the charge material
downwards.
• The coke column either floats on the liquid iron in the hearth or reaches the hearth
floor.
• Some slag and iron remain entrapped in the interstices of the coke pieces and are 19
drained out during tapping.
•

20
•

21
• The standard free energy of formation curve shows that CO becomes more and
more stable compared with CO2 as the temperature increases.

• Therefore at the tuyeres where the temperatures are highest CO is the only
stable oxide of carbon.

• Therefore ignoring other minor components the gas entering the stack is
assumed to consist only of CO and N2 (from the air).

• Gas composition 34.7% CO and 65.3% N2.

22
Calcination of Limestone (CaCO3)

• Limestone is used as a base for fluxing the acid components of the charge materials.
• The decomposition of the compound is endothermic
CaCO3(s) ↔ CaO(s) + CO2(g) ∆H° = +179x10³ J/mol@298K
• Use of raw limestone impacts negatively on fuel efficiency
• Increase in fuel required to meet thermal deficit.
• CO2 evolved takes part in the Bourdard reaction thus increasing the fuel required.
• Dilution of shaft gas with CO2
• Calcination outside the furnace (pre-fluxed sinters and pellets) leads to a considerable
saving of coke.
23
• Reduction of unreduced iron
FeO(s) + CO(g) ↔ Fe(s) + CO2(g) ∆H° = -17.3x10³ J/mol@298K
FeO(s) + C(s) ↔ Fe(s) + CO(g) ∆H° = +140.1x10³J/mol@298K
C + CO2 ↔ 2CO

• Reduction of other oxides

Direct reduction of SiO2
SiO2(s) + 2C(s) ↔ Si(in liquid Fe) + 2CO(g)
Direct reduction of MnO
MnO(s) + C(s) ↔ Mn(in liquid Fe) + CO(g)
Direct reduction of P2O5
P2O5 (s) + 5C(s) ↔ 2P(in liquid Fe) + 5CO(g)

• The final temperature of iron is about 1350oC – 1450oC

• The final temperature of slag is about 50oC – 100oC higher than Fe temperature
• Heat requirements (+∆H) reactions including radiation and cooling losses results in a rapid cooling of the tuyere
gas from 2000oC to 800-1000oC. 24
Blast Furnace Products

HOT METAL
• Hot metal of optimal quality, with respect to composition and temperature is vital
for ensuring efficient steelmaking.
• The exact stipulation of hot metal quality varies from country to country and even
for different plants in the same country, depending on the raw materials used in
ironmaking, grades of steel that have to be made, type of the final product etc
• Typical range of hot metal composition (%) is given in slide #25.

25
 JAPAN, EUROPE INDIA
USA

Carbon 4.0 – 4.5 4.0-4.5

Silicon 0.30 – 0.70 0.7-1.3

Manganese 0.20-0.75 0.04-0.10

Phosphorus 0.040-0.105 0.10-0.30

Europe upper limit 1.50

Sulphur 0.020-0.065 0.055-0.080

26
SLAG
• This is a product formed by the chemical combination of fluxes with aluminates, silicates and
other gangue constituents in iron oxide and coke ash.
• The analysis of slag depends on the chemical analyses of burden material.
• Typical analysis of blast furnace slag (%) is given in slide # 27

BLAST FURNACE GAS

• The gas that exits from the top of any blast furnace along with dust, is valuable since it
contains some amount of carbon monoxide.
• The dust (flue dust) essentially comprises iron oxide and carbon.
• After cleaning the exit gas can be used a fuel in any process in the steel plant.
• Typical analysis of blast furnace gas (%) is given in slide # 27 27
SLAG COMPOSITION (%)

CaO SiO2 MgO Al2O3 FeO

40-45 35-40 5-12 12-20 1-2

BLAST FURNACE GAS COMPOSITION (v/v%)

H2 CO CH4 C2H6 N2 CO2 O2 Net Calorific Value

MJ/m3

3.7 26.3 0.0 0.0 57.1 12.9 0.0 3.9

28