01.

BLAST FURNACE

1.1 INTRODUCTION

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 bricks, 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 final product of liquid slag and
liquid iron. These liquid products are drained from the furnace at regular intervals. The hot air that was blown into the bottom of the furnace
ascends to the top in 6 to 8 seconds after going through numerous chemical reactions. Once the blast furnace is started then it will continuously
run for 4 to 10 years with only short stops to perform planned maintenance.

1.2 BLAST FURNACE PROCESS DESCRIPTION

Iron oxide can come to blast furnace plant in the form of raw ore, pellets and sinter. The raw ore is removed from the earth and sized into
pieces that range from 0.5 to 1.5 inches. This ore is either hematite or magnetite and the iron content ranges from 50% to 70%. This iron rich
ore can be charged directly into blast furnace without any further processing. Iron ore that contains a lower iron content must be processed or
beneficiated to increase the iron content. Pellets are produced from this lower iron content ore. This ore is crushed and ground to a powder so
that waste material called gangue can be removed. The remaining iron rich powders are rolled into balls and fired in the furnace to produce
strong, marble sized pellets that contain 60% to 65% iron. Sinter is produced from fine raw ore, small coke, sand sized limestone and numerous
other steel plant waste materials that contain some iron. This raw material is then placed on a sintering strand, which is similar to steel
conveyor belts, where it is ignited by gas fired furnace and fused by the heat from the coke fines into larger size pieces that are from 0.5 to 2.0
inches. The iron ore, pellets and the sinter then become the liquid iron produced in the blast furnace with any of their remaining impurities
going to the liquid slag.

The coke is produced from a mixture of coals. The coal is crushed and ground into a powder and then charged into an oven. As the oven is
heated the coal is cooked so most of the volatile matter such as oil and tar are removed. The cooked coal is removed from the oven after 18 to
24 hours of reaction time. The coke is cooled and screened into pieces ranging from one inch to four inches. The coke contains 90 to 93%
carbon, some ash and sulphur but compared to raw coal is very strong. The strong pieces of coke with high energy value provide permeability,
heat and gases which are required to reduce and melt the iron ore, pellets and sinter.

The final raw material in the iron making process is limestone. The limestone is removed from the earth by blasting with explosives. It is then
crushed and screened to a size that ranges from 0.5 to 1.5 inches to become blast furnace flux. This flux can be pure high calcium limestone,
dolomite limestone containing magnesia or a blend of two types of limestone.

Since limestone is melted to become the slag which removes sulphur and other impurities, the blast furnace operator may blend different
stones to produce the desired slag chemistry and create optimum slag properties such as low melting point and high fluidity.

The coke descends to the bottom of the furnace to the level where the preheated air or hot blast enters the blast furnace. The coke is ignited by
this hot blast and immediately reacts to generate heat as follows:

C + O2 = CO2 + HEAT

Since the reaction takes place in the presence of excess carbon at high temperatures, carbon dioxide is reduced to carbon monoxide as follows:

CO2 + C = 2CO

The limestone descends in the blast furnace and remains a solid while going through its first reaction as follows:

CaCo3 = CaO + CO2

The CaS becomes a part of the slag. The slag is also formed from any remaining silica (SiO2), alumina (Al2O3), magnesia (MgO), or calcia (CaO)
that entered with the iron ore pellets, sinter or coke. The liquid slag then trickles through the coke bed to the bottom of the furnace here it
floats on the top of the liquid iron since it is less dense.

Another product of the iron making process, in addition to the molten iron and slag, is hot dirty gases. These gases exit at the top of the blast
furnace and proceed through the gas cleaning equipment where particulate material is removed from the gas and the gas is cooled. This gas has
a considerable energy value so it is burned as a fuel in the “hot blast stoves” which are used to preheat the air entering the blast furnace to
become “hot blast”. Any of the gas not burned in the stove is sent to the boiler house and it is used to generate steam which turns a turbo
blower that generates the compressed air known as “cold blast” that comes to the stoves.

In summary, the blast furnace is a counter-current realtor where solids descend and gases ascend. In this reactor there are numerous chemical
and physical reactions that produce the desired final product which is hot metal. A typical hot metal chemistry follows:

Iron (Fe) =93.5 – 95.0%

Silicon (Si) =0.30 – 0.90%

Sulphur (S) =0.025 – 0.050%

 Manganese (Mn) =0.55 – 0.75%

Phosphorus (P) =0.03 – 0.09%

Titanium (Ti) =0.02 – 0.06%

Carbon(C) =4.1 – 4.4%

1.3 THE BLAST FURNACE PLANT

Review of physical equipment comprising the blast furnace plant:

There is an ore storage yard that can also be an ore dock where boats and barges are unloaded. The raw materials stored in the ore yard are
raw ore, several types of pellets, sinter, limestone or flux blend and possibly coke. These materials are transferred to the ‘stock house\highline”
by ore bridges equipped with grab buckets or conveyor belts. Each type of sinter, ore, pellet, coke and limestone is dumped into separate
storage bins. The various raw materials are weighed according to a certain recipe designed to yield the desired hot metal and slag chemistry.
This material weighing is done under the storage bins by a rail mounted scale car or computer controlled weigh hoppers that feed a conveyor
belt. The weighed materials are then dumped into a skip car which rides on rails up the inclined skip bridge to the receiving hopper at the top of
the furnace. The cables lifting the skip cars are powered from large winches located in the hoist house. Some modern blast furnaces accomplish
the same job with an automated conveyor stretching from the stock house to the furnace top.

At the top of the furnace the materials are held until a charge usually consisting of some type of metallic (ore, pellets, and sinter), coke and flux
(limestone) have accumulated. The precise filling order is developed by the blast furnace operators to carefully control gas flows and chemical
reactions inside the furnace. The materials are charged into the blast furnace through two stages of conical bells which seal in the gases and
distribute the raw materials evenly around the circumference of the furnace “throat”. Some modern furnaces do not have bells but instead
have 2 or 3 airlock type hoppers that discharge the raw materials onto a rotating chute which can change angles allowing more flexibility in
precise material placement inside the furnace.

Also at the top of the blast furnace are “four” uptakes where the hot, dirty gas exits the furnace dome. The gas flows up to where two uptakes
merge into an “offtakes”. The two offtakes then merge into the down comer. At the extreme top of the uptakes there are “bleeder valves”
which may release gas and protect the top of the furnace from sudden gas pressure surges. The gas descends down in the down comer to the
“dust catcher”, where coarse particle settle out, accumulate and are dumped into a rail road car or truck for disposal. The gas then flows
through the “venture scrubber” which removes the finer particles and finally into a gas cooler where water sprays reduces the temperature of
the hot but clean gas. Some modern furnaces are equipped with a combined scrubber and cooling unit. The cleaned and cooled gas is now
ready for burning.

The clean gas pipeline is then directed to the hot blast stove. There are usually 3 to 4 cylindrical shaped stoves in a line adjacent to the blast
furnace. The gas is burned in the bottom of a stove and the heat rises and transfers to refractory brick inside the stove. The products of
combustion flow through passages in these bricks, out of the stove into high “stack” which is shared by all of the stoves.

Large volume of air, from 80,000 ft3/min to 230,000 ft3/min, is generated from a turbo blower and flow through the “cold blast main” up to the
stoves. This cold blast then enters the stove that has been previously heated and the heat stored in the refractory brick inside the stove is
transferred to the cold blast to form hot blast. The hot blast temperature can be from 1600 °F to 2300 °F depending on the stove design and
condition. This heated air then exits the stove into the hot blast main which runs up to the furnace. There is a mixer line connecting the cold
blast main to the hot blast main that is equipped with a valve used to control the blast temperature and keep it constant. The hot main blast
enters a doughnut shaped pipe that encircles the furnace called the “bustle pipe”. From the bustle pipe, the hot blast is directed into the
furnace through nozzles called “tuyeres”. These tuyeres are equally spaced around the circumference of the furnace. There may be 14 tuyeres
on a small blast furnace and 40 tuyeres on a large blast furnace. These tuyeres are made up of copper and are water cooled.. Oil, tar, natural
gas, powdered coal and oxygen can also be injected into the furnace at the tuyere level to combine with the coke to produce additional energy
which is necessary for productivity.

Around the bottom half of the blast furnace the “cast house” encloses the bustle pipe, tuyeres and the equipment for “casting” the liquid iron
and slag. The opening in the furnace hearth, for casting or draining the furnace is called the “iron notch”. A large drill mounted on a pivoting
base called the “tap hole drill” swings up to the iron notch and drills a hole through the refractory clay plug to the liquid iron. Another opening
on the furnace called the “cinder notch” is used to draw off slag or iron in emergency situations. Once the top hole is drilled open, liquid iron
and slag flows down a deep trench called a “trough”. Set across and into the trough is a block of refractory, called a “skimmer”, which has small
openings underneath it. The hot metal flows through this skimmer opening over the “iron dam” and down the “iron runners”. Since the slag is
less dense than iron, it floats on top of the iron, down the trough, hits the skimmer and is diverted into the “slag runners”. The liquid slag flows
into the “slag pots” or into the slag pits and the liquid iron flows into the refractory lined “ladles” known as torpedo cars or sub cars due to their
shape. Modern larger blast furnace may have as many as 4 tap holes and 2 cast houses. It is important to cast the furnace at the same rate that
raw materials are charged and iron/slag produced so liquid levels can be maintained in the hearth and below the tuyeres. Liquid levels above
the tuyeres can burn the copper casting and damage the furnace lining.

1.4 CONCLUSION

The blast furnace is the first step in producing steel from iron oxides. The blast furnaces appeared in the 14 th century and produced one tone
per day. Blast furnace equipment is in continuous evolution and modern, giant furnace produce 13,000 tons per day. Even though equipment is
improved and higher production rates can be achieved, the process inside the blast furnace remains same. Blast furnaces will survive into next
millennium because the larger efficient furnaces can produce hot metal at costs competitive with other iron making technologies.
02. VARIOUS UNITS OF BLAST FURNACE:

Blast furnace complex mainly comprises of following units:

02.1 BLAST FURNACE PROPER

02.2 G.C.P (GAS CLEANING PLANT)

02.3 S.G.P (SLAG GRANULATION PLANT)

02.4 P.C.M (PIG CASTING MACHINE)

03. TYPES OF COOLING SYSTEMS:

3.1 ONCE THROUGH SYSTEM:

Once through cooling system is generally adopted in major power production units. Cooling media is pumped from river through group of
pumps for cooling purposes and hot water is discharged to the river.

3.2 OPEN RECIRCULATION SYSTEM:

The open recirculation cooling tower system has the potential for all types of problems. The problems associated with deposits, corrosion and
microbiological organisms are magnified in open systems for several reasons broadly:

3.2.1 Evaporation of a portion of water in the cooling tower leads to concentration of total solids in the circulating tower.

3.2.2 Cooling towers acting as huge scrubbers provide a potential ground for introduction of micro-organisms, dust and dirt in the
cooling water

3.2.3 Intimate contact of cooling water with air in the tower ensures continued presence of oxygen which is particularly corrosive to
mild steel and other metals.

3.2.4 Generally high water temperatures promote scale deposition and more rapid corrosion.

3.3 CLOSED RECIRCULATION SYSTEM:

3.3.1 Closed recirculation system is nowadays preferred over open recirculation system

3.3.2 It uses soft/DM water and is also not directly exposed to atmosphere.

3.3.3 It is useful when the equipment is expensive as otherwise in case of open recirculation system there is scale deposition in the
equipment and also dust and dirt

3.3.4 Closed recirculation system prevents corrosion of the equipment and thus the expensive equipment is saved.

3.4 CYCLES OF CONCENTRATION AND BLOWDOWN:

When a portion of the cooling water is evaporated in the tower, its content of dissolved and suspended solids remains in the retained portion.
The growing concentration of dissolved solids and suspended matters as evaporation proceeds may eventually cause severe deposit problems.

The concentration effect may be controlled by removing a portion of the concentrated water from the circulation system and replacing it with
less concentrated make up water. This system called “BLOWDOWN” is practiced in most cooling towers.

Various blowdown controls the degree of concentration in the cooling system. This is measured I terms of “CYCLES OF CONCENTRATION” which
is the ratio of total dissolved solids (TDS) in the circulating water and the TDS in the makeup water.

Make up water ‘M’ can be calculated as: M = E + W + B

For maintaining a certain cycle of concentration ‘C’ in the circulating water, blow down ‘B’ as a percentage of circulation rate can be computed
as B = W = E/(C-1), where E and W are evaporation and drift and wind age water loses respectively as percentage of circulation rate.

The amount of makeup water used is obviously governed by the operating cycles of concentration of a cooling water recirculation system.
04. BLAST FURNACE COOLING SYSTEM

4.1 INTRODUCTION

Blast furnace relining is very costly in terms of both investment and lost production time. The longer a furnace operates before requiring a
complete relining, the lower the average cost per ton metal produced by the furnace. Extending operating life is therefore the focus of much
new blast furnace design and technology development in iron making today. Almost all routes to achieve the objective of longer campaign life
and reliability leads to a single destination- improved blast furnace cooling.

In recent years the average campaign life for a furnace has been 5 to 6 years. However, developments in refractoriness and cooling systems of
the furnace have made longer campaigns possible. Infact FUKUYAMA No. 5 furnace of NKK, Japan has achieved a ten year campaign life.

To meet the cooling water requirements of blast furnace and stoves and requirement of water for auxiliary units like pig casting machine, gas
cleaning plant, slag granulation plant, a pump house is provided housing four groups of pumps. Cold water will be supplied in the blast furnace
shop and stoves and the hot return will be collected and pumped to the cooling towers. A high pressure water supply is considered for flushing
of the cooling elements in the blast furnace. For the purpose of cooling and cleaning the blast furnace gas, a group of pumps are provided to
supply water to the GCP. The return water from the GCP will be treated in radial settling tanks and pumped to the GCP cooling towers for
cooling before being re-circulated.

4.2 OBJECTIVE S OF BLAST FURNACE COOLING SYSTEM DESIGN:

 To maintain a constant shell temperature since major temperature fluctuations can produce serious stresses which considerably
reduce its strength.
 To establish a uniform temperature gradient inside the refractory lining ensuring its longer life.
 To ensure that excessive amount of heat is not extracted by cooling tower.
 To afford maximum flexibility of flow adjustment to cater to the varying thermal loads over the furnace campaign life.
 To minimize energy consumption in cooling system operation.
 To ensure that deposition of equipment and pipeline does not obstruct normal operation and maintenance of the furnace.
 To incorporate maximum safety measures and reliability.

4.3 COOLING ZONES OF BLAST FURNACE:

 Under hearth
 Hearth zone
 Tuyere zone
 Bosh zone
 Belly zone
 Lower stack zone
 Middle stack zone
 Upper stack zone

4.4 GENERAL ARRANGEMENTS OF COOLING SYSTEM:

4.4.1 STAVE COOLERS:

 Stave are cast iron plates with cast in mild steel tubes through which cooling water is passed. The cooling system consists of several
rows of staves extending from the hearth to the upper stack zone arranged just beneath the furnace shell.
 Staves are selectively designed to face different wear and degradation mechanism.
 Each stave is provided with one or more independent water flow circuits. Depending upon heat load and hydraulics of the cooling
circuit, two or more cooling staves may be horizontally connected in series.
  Cooling staves and other cooled elements are supplied with water through individual lines drawn from pressure manifolds located at
various working platforms on the furnace. Each manifold is connected either to a pressure ring formed around the furnace or to
each of the double feeder mains from the pumping station.
 Staves are regularly flushed with reverse flow of high pressure water through three way plug valves to remove depositions of scale,
dirt or organic matters.
 In order to ensure reliability of cooling systems, all electrical loads of the system are connected to two important power grids.
Furthermore to cater to the contingency of total power failure, an overhead tank with provision for automatic operations provided
for supply of emergency cooling water to the furnace for duration of 30 – 40 min.

4.4.2 PLATE COOLERS:

 Most of the larger modern blast furnaces are provided with copper plate coolers. Cooling elements are cast in 99% pure electrolytic
copper and welded to the furnace shell to ensure gas tight seal.
 Cast iron has limited resistance against thermal fatigue cracking. Stave coolers are best suited in furnaces operating on 100% sinter
and with very well controlled smooth operation with thermal fluctuations at the hot face not greater than 50 deg. Celsius/min.
Staves are generally designed to cope with maximum heat loads in the order of 150,000 – 200,000 kcal/m2/hr.
 As the furnace operation tends to become rougher with the use of pellets in the burden, too much sinter fines, quality variations in
the burden etc, the heat load peaks on the lining will be much higher. Copper plate coolers can withstand peak values up to 450,000
kcal/m2/hr.

4.5 BLAST FURNACE CLOSED LOOP COOLING SYSTEM:

This chapter covers a general process description with respect to the blast furnace cooling system. A closed circuit cooling system is considered
to be the starting point of the design. Hence a primary and a secondary cooling system can be recognized.

4.5.1 PRIMARY COOLING SYSTEM:

The cooling system is of the major essence since it protects the shell and the refractory of the blast furnace. One can refer three “on furnace
cooling” viz:

 Plate cooling system

 Tuyere cooling system
 Hearth cooling system

These cooling systems, in combinations with additional “off furnace equipment”, form the primary cooling systems. Thermal energy from the
primary cooling system is transferred to the secondary cooling system by plate heat exchangers. The cooling system is equipped with back up
diesel pumps (50% of the nominal flow capacity for a limited time). These systems can be used in the event of power failure or when
interruptions in the normal cooling water supply occur. The transport medium in the primary cooling system is soft water or DM water.

4.5.1.1 PLATE COOLING SYSTEM:

The furnace shell above and between the tuyeres will be cooled by a certain amount of plate coolers. All plates are made up of cast copper and
are installed in the refractory of the blast furnace. The combinations of both refractory and the plate coolers form the lining of the blast
furnace. The plate cooling water system is a closed pressurized system with continuous water circulation. The primary heat load from the lining
and the furnace shell is transferred to the plate coolers and will be discharged to the plate heat exchangers.

4.5.1.2 TUYERE COOLING SYSTEM:

The tuyeres have a separate circuit for tuyere cooling. Each tuyere has three internal cooling channels viz: the tuyere nose, the tuyere body and
the tuyere cooler channel. The tuyere nose flow is most critical since the nose may come in contact with the molten iron and hence experience
particular high heat fluxes. To ensure optimal cooling, high velocities are employed for nose. The low pressure circulation pumps provide the
tuyere cooling water supply. The high pressure booster pumps provide the extra required pressure for high pressure nose cooling system. The
heat load from tuyeres will be discharged to plate heat exchangers.
4.5.1.3 HEARTH COOLING SYSTEM:

The hearth cooling system as described in the description contains the following system elements:

 Hearth jacket cooling system

 Tap hole jacket cooling system
 Bottom cooling system
 Hot blast valve and back draft valve cooling system (HBV and BDV)

The bottom and the hearth cooling system are placed in series. Water first passes the bottom cooling and then passes the hearth jacket cooling.
The main reason for this arrangement is the fact that heat load and pressure drop for bottom cooling are relatively small. The proper hearth
cooling system itself is an external cooling system consisting of panels. The panels are made of steel plate, welded to the outside of the hearth
shell.

4.5.2 SECONDARY COOLING SYSTEM:

The primary objective of the secondary cooling system is to discharge the thermal energy transferred from primary cooling system to the
secondary cooling system. The transport medium in the secondary cooling system is secondary water.

4.5.2.1 COOLING TOWER AND COLD WELL:

A forced air flow cooling tower discharges the heat to the atmosphere. A small part of the cooling water will evaporate during the process, the
major remaining part is collected in the cold water basin or cold well underneath cooling tower. Additional water is added by the industrial
water supply as a makeup.

4.5.2.2 BURDEN SPRAYS:

Water spray nozzles are installed at the top of the furnace. The nozzles can inject water into the blast furnace to provide cooling above the
burden when necessary. Water is taken from the cold well.

4.5.2.3 BACK UP WATER SUPPLY:

Leaking cooling members, i.e. plates, tuyeres, jackets and bottom pipes shall be disconnected from the normal cooling water circuits in order to
prevent water leakage into the blast furnace and excessive make up water usage. By passing of leaking cooling members will also result in a
effective leakage monitoring system, new leakages would not be recognized otherwise. The amount of cooling water flowing into the blast
furnace is decreased in this way while cooling of the leaking part remains. Back up cooling water supply manifolds are projected at each
platform. The cooling water will be taken from the cold well.
05. GAS CLEANING PLANT

5.1 GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

The blast furnace produces gas as a by-product of the blast furnace process. The raw gas leaving the furnace contains solids and impurities from
the smelting process. It has a calorific value and it can be utilized as a useful fuel for boilers and blast furnace stoves after it is cleaned. The top
gas leaves the furnace through the uptakes and offtakes and is delivered to the gas cleaning facility through the down comer. The gas cleaning
plant consists of three separate vessels:

 The cyclone dust catcher

 The scrubber
 Demister

Gas cleaning is accomplished in two separate steps within the gas plant. The first step is achieved by the cyclone dust catcher and the second
step by the wet scrubber. The cyclone dust catcher is a tangential single entry design that is completely empty, without a complicated inlet
dome and replaceable guide vanes and thus cost of maintenance are greatly reduced. The cyclone is complete with vortex finder, apex, flow
cone and a dust collection hopper sized for approximately 1.5 days of storage. To protect from abrasion, the inlet nozzles and dust separation
chambers are lines with tiles.

The cyclone separates the large particulate matter from the hot dirty top gas by centrifugal action. Solids are pushed out to the cyclone walls
and settle out and accumulate in a hopper at the base of the cyclone. The solids are then extracted from the process on a batch basis by means
of an automated dust removal system. The partially clean top gas or raw gas flows upwards towards a centrally located opening in the upper
cyclone vessel where it continues through the raw gas main to the wet scrubber and demister.

5.1.1 SCRUBBER:

FUCTIONALITY:

The wet scrubber is contained in a vessel as in a Vertical demister, and together they will perform the following functions:

 Cool the blast furnace gas

 Remove dust from the blast furnace gas.
 Control the furnace top pressure.
 Remove excess moisture from the scrubbed blast furnace gas.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

The scrubber system comprises of the following:

 A wash tower, which cools the blast furnace gas and removes the majority of the dust.
 A scrubber cone element section in which the blast furnace is either cleaned or cooled to the required levels.
 A water separation section, which removes the remaining entrained water droplets in the blast furnace gas by flow reversal.
 A mist eliminator which removes the remaining entrained water droplets in the blast furnace gas to the required level.
 A re circulated water pumping system, which pumps water to the top 3 spray nozzles before it is routed to the effluent treatment
plant via the slurry return gravity line.

PROCESS DESCRIPTION:

Scrubber - stage 1

In stage 1 of the scrubber, the hot, dirty raw gases from the dust catcher is conditioned by spraying water from a series of nozzles as the gas
passes down the stage 1 tower. The partially cleaned, cooled, and saturated gas is then directed by three ducts called gas inlet tubes to stage 2,
which is housed directly below stage 1.
Scrubber – stage 2

The partially cleaned and cooled gas from stage 1 is directed to three parallel annular gap scrubbing elements (cones) by three parallel ducts. At
the inlet of the cones the gas is sprayed with water, which is atomized in the high velocity region around the cones. It is in this area of high
turbulence that almost all the remaining dust in the gas is transferred to the water. After this intense scrubbing, the flow direction of the gas is
reversed to gravimetrically separate the larger droplets of water.

Vertical Demister:

The vertical demister vessel is located downstream of the scrubber and is designed to remove entrained “free” moisture from the gas stream.
The cleaned cooled gas leaving the scrubber carries with it free moisture in the form of water droplets. This gas stream enters the inlet section
of the vertical demister vessel where the carry over “free” moisture is separated from the gas flow by centrifugal action imparted by fixed
directional vanes located at the entry. The vanes create a spinning action of the gas stream imparting centrifugal forces to entrained water
droplets in the gas flow. The water droplets collect on the demister walls and eventually run to the bottom of the vessel, where it drains back to
the inlet of the stage 2 recirculation pumps. The dewatered clean gas exits the vertical demister via the clean gas main and can optionally be
routed through the TRT to the plant network as fuel.

5.2 RECIRCULATION WATER SYSTEM:

Water is re circulated from the discharge of stage 2 back to the top three sprays in stage 1. The water from the stage 2 is relatively clean
compared to the water discharged from stage 1. Thus, it is suitable for reuse in the top sprays of the scrubber, where it is used primarily to cool
the incoming gas and subsequently protect the top of the scrubber vessel from high temperatures.

The recirculation water system is comprised of 2 electrically driven pumps. If the duty electric pump fails, the electric standby pump will
automatically start. If both electric pumps fail or there is a power failure, emergency water will be supplied to top three sprays via the burden
spray water supply diesel driven pump.
5.3 TYPICAL TECHNICAL DETAILS OF GAS CLEANING PLANT FOR 4000 m3 BLAST FURNACE:

Nominal flow rate (Nm3/h) 96,000

Maximum flow rate at peak decarburizing (Nm3/h) 104,000

Converter gas temperature 1600 °C

Dust quantity (kg. per ton of steel) 20 to 25

Dust composition: Fe 60 to 70%

CaO 5 to 17%
SiO2 1 to 3%
Maximum quantity of gas released at converter mouth 112,000

Maximum gas flow rate at cooling stack corresponding to combustion 125,000 Nm3/hr
factor of 0.11
Average gas composition (% by volume) at an air factor of 0.11:
CO 63.5 – 69
CO2 16.5 – 17
N2 14.50 – 19.5
Gas calorific value 2000 kcal/Nm3

Dust content at flare stack 100 mg/Nm3

Dust content at ESP on downstream side of holder 10 mg/Nm3

Volume of converter gas recoverable per ton of steel 67 – 71 Nm3

Water requirement 1500 m3/hr (Approx.)

06. SLAG GRANULATION PLANT

6.1 GRANULATION PROCESS:

The granulation of slag is a process in which molten slag is quenched with a large volume of water by a high pressure spray. During the
quenching process, the slag expands and breaks up into granules, which freeze rapidly into an amorphous solid state. The granulated slag when
drained of free water is a material, which greatly resembles wet sand. The quick chilling of the slag suppresses the hydrogen sulphide and
sulphur dioxide emissions. The granulated slag produced in this process is suitable for use as a feedstock to cement plants after grinding or can
be used as a light weight aggregate.

SPRAY HEAD:

 In the granulation process, the molten slag is sprayed with water, which is injected through the spray head at a pressure of
approximately 270 kg/cm2. The design and construction of the spray head ensures an intensive controlled heat exchange between
water and molten slag, thus producing high quality granulate.
 The spray head has large diameter holes incorporating a non-clogging and self cleaning design. They are also furnished with clean-
out ports for the removal of any material that might accumulate from inside the spray head.

6.2 GRANULATION WATER SYSTEM:

 The on duty granulation pump takes water from a large water tank called the pump basin and supplies the spray heads with water at
a high discharge pressure which ensures adequate pressure at the spray heads. All water used in the process is re-circulated back to
the pump basin to minimize the use of makeup water and any related water treatment costs.
 The water in the pump basin is controlled at a level to maintain the proper suction head for the granulation pump to operate safely
without cavitations. A level transmitter monitors and the PCS controls the water level in the pump basin by signaling a control valve,
which opens to add makeup water as required. The supply of water to the pump basin can come from multiple sources.

6.3 EMERGENCY WATER SUPPLY:

In the event of equipment breakdown or power failure, the molten slag is normally diverted to conventional style dry slag pits by the cast house
personnel, usually by breaching of a dam or opening of a manual diverted gate. It is important, during the time, that supply of the process
water to the granulation sprays is not interrupted to prevent possible damage to the granulation chute lining. The granulation water supply is
secured through water from the emergency water tank. A pneumatically operated valve on the emergency water line is designed to
automatically open on power failure ensuring that water supply is not interrupted during slag casting/granulation process. At the same time, a
pneumatically controlled valve in the spray head supply line will cause to avoid water running back through the granulation pump and into
pump basin. In the vent that emergency water system is activated, an audible and a visual alarm in initiated, providing clear warning that the
slag flow must be immediately diverted to the slag pits.

6.4 GRANULATE SLURRY:

The granulate slag created in the granular chutes discharges into the associated granulator tank, in which additional slag cooling and steam
generation takes place. Any generated steam will rise through a stack directly above the granulator tank to a point higher than the top level of
the blast furnace. The high volume of granulation water washes the granulated slag from the granulator tank and creates a granulate slurry.
This slurry is then discharged via a flume from the granulator tank into the dewatering wheel hopper.
6.5 DEWATERING SYSTEM:

6.5.1 DEWATERING WHEELS:

 The dewatering of the slag is accomplished using a dewatering wheel, which is fully enclosed in a stainless steel housing to reduce
steam emissions. The periphery of the dewatering wheel is equipped with open sieve-bottom buckets.
 As the dewatering wheel turns within the enclosed housing and hopper, the wheel rotates through the slurry and picks up material
in the buckets. Water is removed from the granulate through the sieve screens as each individual bucket lifts out the water. By the
time the individual buckets reach the wheel discharge point, the granulate is sufficiently dewatered and is deposited directly onto a
conveyor belt via a discharge chute.
 The design of the dewatering wheel sieve pockets allows the granulated slag to act as its own filter and forms the slag onto the bed
which is supported by the sieve screen. The optimal filling level (80% of the effective bucket volume) is achieved by controlling the
speed of the wheel via a variable displacement hydraulic pump.
 The re-circulating granulation water flows from the hopper into return water flumes at the sides of the wheel, which flows into the
pump basin.
 Sieve sprays are provided in order to intermittently backwash the dewatering wheel bucket sieves and keep the sieve openings
cleared for effective dewatering. The dewatering wheel sieve sprays are supplied with water at a pressure of 1000 kPa by the sieve
spray booster pump.

6.5.2 DEWATERED SLAG:

The moisture content of the dewatered slag is approximately 15% at the dewatering wheel discharge. After the slag is discharged from the
wheel, it is then conveyed to the storage silos. The residence storage time of the granulate at the storage silo allows further dewatering and
reduces the moisture content by up to 5%.
07. PIG CASTNG MACHINE (P.C.M)

The invention relates to a pig casting machine comprising at least one endless conveyor belt on which pig casting moulds are fixed, for
conveying pig casting moulds from casting station to a pig removal station and vice versa, wherein each pig casting mould is filled with molten
metal as it passes through the casting station with the mould cavity facing upwards, in addition to a device for cooling the moulds before,
during and/or after casting, wherein pig casting moulds are embodied having thin wall. It is an object of invention to provide a pig casting
machine with increased output production, i.e., an increased quantity of cast molten mass per time interval, and the same time minimal
manufacturing costs for the pig casting moulds.

The invention is based on the recognition, which has been proven by experiments that the cooling of the pig casting moulds makes it possible,
quite in contrast to the decade old unchanged casting exclusively of light metals with a low melting point, to use for casting heavy metals with
melting points above 1,000 deg C. As a result of the minimal wall thickness, the heat conductivity of the pig casting moulds is actually no longer
of such importance as was the case in the known capacitive cooling. In contrast, the areal cooling across prevents their melting. The molten
metal to be cast is in particular, heavy metal, such as pig iron, which is cast conventionally at temperatures between 1450 and 1520 deg C. The
pig casting moulds are comprised preferably of copper whose melting point is approximately 1,083 deg C. However materials with significantly
reduced heat conductivity are conceivable, for example, heat resistant steel, whose melting point, depending on its carbon contents, is within a
range of 1,520 deg C.

Accordingly, the criteria for the material of the pig casting mould can be focused on other, essential properties and in particular on the hot or
cold forming properties which are decisive for the suitability in a rolling process and a preferred subsequent deep drawing, which allows a cost-
efficient manufacture as well as those mechanical properties at increased temperature which are decisive for the shape stability of the casting
mould in use and their insensitivity against cracks. A preferred proposal of the invention suggests thus that the thin walled precursor material
for the pig casting moulds is produced by rolling and is subsequently, for example, deep drawn or die formed.

According to a first preferred embodiment, it is proposed for achieving an improved cooling situation that carrying baskets on the respective
endless conveyor belts are fastened for receiving the individual pig casting moulds, wherein the carrying baskets are designed such that they
are only partially in supporting contact with the pig casting moulds. For this purpose, on the one hand, the inner contour of the carrying baskets
is matched approximately to the outer contour of the pig casting moulds and, moreover, the inner surface of the carrying baskets is provided
with support pins for a point support of the thin walled pig casting moulds, wherein the diameter of the support pins on the carrying basket is
not greater than the wall thickness of the pig casting mould. Accordingly, this fulfills the requirement in regard to ensuring a sufficient shape
stability of the thin walled pig casting mould as well as an unimpaired cooling as a result of the point support action. The carrying basket itself
can have rolls which run along guide rails. According to another embodiment, the basket is suspended by corresponding securing means in two
parallel extending chains.

By means of the carrying basket it is possible to form the walls of the respective pig casting mould so as to be very thin. Casting moulds with
thin wall thicknesses have the advantage that the risk of fracture formation as a result of thermal stresses is minimized. With reduced wall
thickness, however, the shape stability decreases, wherein this disadvantage is compensated by the support action of the carrying basket. As a
result of only partial support by means of the support pins or the grate, cooling of the pig casting moulds and thus of the cast body by splashing
or immersion in a bath is not significantly impaired. In the embodiment of the carrying basket with support pins the diameter of the support
pins on the carrying baskets should correspond at most to the wall thickness of the pig casting mould so that the cooling at the points of attack
of the support pins is not impaired.

As a second embodiment it is proposed to provide the overlap area of the rims of neighboring pig casting moulds with a refractory material,
wherein preferably the casting mould rim area at the hot side is formed in the overlap area such that a depression for receiving a refractory
material results. Staring in this depression, anchoring means for the refractory material are provided. Because there is no sufficient heat
removal possible for the upper one in the area of overlap of two neighboring pig casting moulds by splashing with water from below, in this way
heat protection of the rim surface facing the hot side is provided. This solution has the advantage that as a result of the refractory material the
use of a cooling water spray in the overlapping area can be reduced and the splash danger as a result of water entering the interior of the pig
casting moulds can be reduced.

In a preferred embodiment, the pig casting moulds are made of laminated materials wherein for the layer facing the hot side a material is
selected whose melting point is higher than that of copper, in particular, a heat resistant steel, and for the layer at the cooling side the highly
conductive and fracture resistant copper is selected. The laminated material is preferably manufactured by rolling or explosive cladding with
subsequent deformation, for example, by deep drawing, die forming or the like.

As the whole, the wall thickness of the pig casting moulds should be in the range between 3 to 20 mm and the ratio of the weight of the pig
casting moulds to the weight of the pig should be in the range of 0.5 to 2. Conventional pigs of pig iron, in which only the heat dissipation
through the metal wall (so called capacitive cooling) is used, have in contrast to this a weight ratio pig casting mould/pig of much greater than
1, typically of 6. According to a preferred embodiment, the pig casting moulds are cooled from below before, during and after the casting
process up to the point of removal of the solidified pig, preferably by areal splashing of cooling water or a water/air mixture. The jet nozzles,
depending on the locally required cooling efficiency, can be arranged closely or less closely to one another. When spray cooling, the greater
part of the sprayed water evaporates at the underside of the pig casting moulds. Drops of water that are not evaporated are collected in a
collecting trough and are reused.

According to the invention, the endless belt in contrast to conventional configurations, is not to be provided with an upper and lower run but is
to be configured horizontally in the way of a carousel. The casting moulds are moved in this connection along the carousel arrangement about a
circular path of less than 360° by filling them at the casting station with molten mass, transporting them on circular path, and removing them at
removal station, which is arranged shortly before the casting station. For this purpose, the casting moulds are rotated, or tilted by 180°. A
cooling device in the form of jet nozzles and/or a cooling water collecting trough is arranged such that it begins shortly before the casting
station and extends up to the removal station.

As a preferred embodiment it is proposed to design the pig casting moulds of a double wall configuration and to cool them by means of flow-
through water cooling. In this connection, in the carousel arrangement a ring distribution line is provided which rotates correspondingly
together with the pig casting moulds in the horizontal carousel arrangement and is supplied by a center line in the center of the carousel,
wherein ring distribution line has hoses which, in turn, supply cooling cross- sections which are positioned in intermediate spaces of the double
wall pig casting moulds.