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Mathematical Modelling of Sponge Iron Production in a Rotary Kiln

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Mathematical Modelling of Sponge Iron Production in a
Rotary Kiln
*Venkataramana Runkana1,, Pradeep Kumar Vasant Natekar1, Viswanadh Bandla1 and Gyanaranjan Pothal2
1
Tata Research Development and Design Centre, Pune, INDIA
2
Tata Sponge Iron Ltd., Joda, INDIA
Abstract
India is the largest producer of sponge iron or direct
reduced iron (DRI) in the world. The important step in
the manufacture of DRI is direct reduction of iron ore
by coal or reducing gases such as carbon monoxide
and hydrogen. Majority of the Indian plants utilise locally
available coal, which is relatively poor in quality. The
carbon content of coal is low which necessitates high
coal consumption. The undesirable ash content is also
high which leads to frequent shut-downs due to
deposition of ash inside the kiln. Hence, there is a
need to optimise DRI production in order to enhance
kiln productivity and energy efficiency and to minimise
release of greenhouse gases. Development of a
comprehensive mathematical model for direct reduction
of iron ore by a mixture of coals is presented here.
Important physico-chemical phenomena such as heat
transfer between solids, gases and kiln wall, pre-
heating and drying of particles, devolatilisation and
gasification of coal, reduction of hematite, magnetite
and wustite by carbon monoxide and hydrogen, and
flow of particles inside the kiln are incorporated into
the model. Ore and coal properties such as particle
size distribution and chemical analyses along with kiln
geometry are taken as inputs. The model predicts gas
and solid temperature and concentration profiles along
kiln length as well as total Fe content of DRI, fixed
carbon content of char and waste gas volume and its
composition. The predicted gas and solid temperature
profiles at different locations along kiln length are
reasonably close to the data from an industrial kiln.
The model was useful in optimising the coal
consumption and in enhancing the kiln campaign life.
VOL. 5 NO. 1 OCTOBER, 2010
Keywords: Sponge iron, Coal, Rotary kiln, Modelling,
Optimisation
INTRODUCTION
India is the largest producer of sponge iron or direct
reduced iron (DRI) in the world. DRI is manufactured
through either the gas- or the coal-based technologies
and is used as the raw material for making steel through
the electric arc furnace (EAF)-route. Iron ore fines/lumps
are reduced in solid state at 950 – 1050 °C either by
reducing gas (carbon monoxide and hydrogen) or by coal.
Majority of the sponge iron plants in India produce DRI
using iron ore fines and non-coking coal in a rotary kiln.
Tata Sponge Iron Limited (TSIL) operates three large
industrial rotary kilns for producing DRI through the
TISCO direct reduction (TDR) process (Fig. 1)1).
The critical step in this process is the reduction of iron
ore by coal in the rotary kiln. In coal-based sponge iron
rotary kilns, iron ore, coal and dolomite are fed to the
kiln as separate streams at a controlled rate. Dolomite
is added in small quantities to control sulphur content
of DRI. The kiln is a refractory lined steel cylinder in
which direct reduction takes place in a counter-current
fashion with iron ore, dolomite and coal charged from
the feed end of the kiln while air enters from the discharge
end. Coal is also injected pneumatically through a blower
from the discharge end in order to provide the reducing
agent after coal from the feed end is consumed during
the reduction process. Coal charged from the feed end
is referred to as feed coal while coal injected from the
discharged end is referred to as injection coal. In a
sponge iron rotary kiln, coal acts as the reducing agent
as well as the source of energy. Heat is supplied by
STEEL TECH 9
 VOL. 5 NO. 1 OCTOBER, 2010
Fig. 1: Schematic representation of the TISCO Direct Reduction (TDR) process
convection and radiation to the solid charge from hot
freeboard gas flowing counter-currently as well as
through regenerative wall. Air is also introduced along
the length of the kiln (at various locations through the
secondary air blowers) in order to improve mixing. Air
entering from the discharge end is referred to as the
primary air while that entering axially along the kiln length
is referred to as the secondary air. The kiln can be seen
as having three distinct zones, first the drying zone where
the moisture in solids gets evaporated, second the pre-
heating zone and third the reduction zone. The reduced
material (DRI) is discharged to a rotary cooler from where
it is dispatched to different magnetic separators to split
the magnetic (DRI) component from the non-magnetic
components (char and ash) in the kiln output.
One of the critical problems faced by the coal-based
sponge iron industries in India is accretion inside rotary
kilns. Accretion occurs due to deposition of low melting
complexes consisting of ash, gangue and metallic iron.
The thickness of the deposited layer increases as time
progresses and ultimately leads to choking of the kiln.
The kiln needs to be shut down and the deposited material
has to be removed mechanically. This results in frequent
kiln shut-downs, reduced plant availability and low
production rates. Accretion affects not only the kiln
throughput but also the coal utilisation and thermal
efficiency of the kiln because it reduces the effective
kiln volume and the efficiency of heat transfer between
the kiln surface, the free-board gases and the solids.
Thermocouples installed along the kiln length for process
control do not provide accurate measurements of the
temperatures inside, except during the initial stages of
a campaign. The inaccuracy in temperature measurement
10 STEEL TECH
is primarily due to coating of thermocouples with ash or
gangue or metallic iron. While accretion cannot be
avoided completely, it may be possible to reduce the
rate of accretion by manipulating the process variables
such as flow rates of iron ore, feed and injection coals,
primary and secondary air flow rates, and the kiln
rotational speed.
A phenomenological model for direct reduction of iron
ore by coal in the rotary kiln will be an invaluable tool as
it would then be possible to predict not only the gas and
solid temperature profiles inside the kiln but also the
degree of metallisation of the DRI, waste gas flow rate
and its composition. These predicted variables could be
utilised, along with on-line process measurements and
off-line laboratory analyses, for more efficient plant
optimisation and control. Moreover, the mathematical
model would be useful to obtain information about internal
gas and solid temperature profiles, even when
thermocouples installed on-line do not provide accurate
measurements due to accretion. A number of models
were proposed in the literature for direct reduction of
iron ore by coal in a rotary kiln(2, 3, 4). Although these
models were useful in understanding the effect of
important process variables on the iron ore direct
reduction process, they were not comprehensive in
nature, especially with respect to incorporating various
physico-chemical phenomena involved in the process.
None of them include the well established step-wise
reduction of hematite to magnetite to wustite to metallic
iron by carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Similarly,
kinetics of drying of moisture from iron ore and coal,
and devolatilisation of coal were also not dealt in detail.
Moreover, none of the models were validated with data

from an industrial coal-based sponge iron rotary kiln
process. We have developed a fairly comprehensive
mathematical model for the direct reduction of iron ore
by coal in a rotary kiln, validated the model with data
from one of the industrial kilns at TSIL and utilised it for
process analysis, optimisation and control (5). The
mathematical model and its validation with data from
the industrial kiln are described here.
MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF SPONGE IRON
PRODUCTION IN A ROTARY KILN
In the TISCO Direct Reduction (TDR) process, iron ore,
coal and dolomite particles are charged from the feed
end, without any pre-mixing, while only coal is injected
from the discharge end of the kiln. The kiln is usually
inclined at an angle to the horizontal and the movement
of solids depends on the speed of rotation and the angle
of inclination of the kiln as well as on the properties of
particles and the particulate bed inside the kiln. The
solids enter at the ambient temperature and encounter
hot gases, flowing in a counter-current fashion, as they
move from the feed end towards the discharge end. Due
to mixing, heat transfer takes place between the two
phases and the temperature of the solids increases
gradually due to convection, conduction and radiation.
During the initial stages, moisture present in coal and
iron ore particles evaporates. As the solids attain higher
temperatures, devolatilisation of coal takes place
resulting in the formation of char and release of tar and
light gases such as carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen
(H2), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), water (H2O),
etc. The coal gasification reactions, mentioned below,
occur at higher temperatures and lead to the formation
of CO and H2.
Boudouard reaction: C + CO2  2 CO (1)
Water gas reaction: C + H2O CO + H2 (2)
The iron ore utilised at TSIL primarily consists of hematite
(Fe2O3) and minor constituents of gangue materials such
as silica (SiO2), alumina (Al2O3), calcium oxide (CaO),
sulphur (S) and phosphorous (P). The reduction of
hematite is assumed to take place in three steps,
according to the following reactions:
Conversion of hematite to magnetite (Fe3O4) by CO and
H2:
3Fe2O3 + CO  2Fe3O4 + CO2 (3)
3Fe2O3 + H2  2Fe3O4 + H2O (4)
Conversion of magnetite to wustite (FeO) by CO and H2:
Fe3O4 + CO  3 FeO + CO2 (5)
Fe3O4 + H2  3 FeO + H2O (6)
VOL. 5 NO. 1 OCTOBER, 2010
Conversion of wustite (FeO) to metallic iron (Fe) by CO
and H2:
FeO + CO  Fe + CO2 (7)
FeO + H2  Fe + H2O (8)
The mathematical model developed in the current work
is one-dimensional in nature and is based on the
fundamental principles of heat transfer between solids,
gases and the kiln wall and mass transfer between solids
and gases. It is meant for steady-state simulation of
direct reduction of iron ore. The overall kiln model
includes appropriate sub-models for kinetics of reactions
involving hematite, magnetite, wustite, carbon, oxygen,
carbon monoxide and hydrogen, and the flow of solids
inside the kiln (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2: Structure of the model for direct reduction of
iron ore by coal in a rotary kiln
In order to predict gas and solid phase temperature and
concentration profiles along the kiln length, the rotary
kiln is divided into a number of slices or computational
elements over which material and energy balances for
the gas and the solid phases and mass balances for the
individual species are written. The mathematical model
consists of a set of ordinary differential equations, which
includes overall material and energy balances for the
gas and the solid phases, material balances for individual
species in each phase and the height of the solids bed
along the kiln length.
Energy Balance Equations
Heat transfer between gases, solids, the kiln refractory
wall and the shell occur by different mechanisms,
depending on the temperatures and the transport
medium. The possible mechanisms of heat transfer in
the rotary kiln are: (i) radiation and convection between
gases and the kiln refractory wall, (ii) radiation and
convection between gases and solids, (iii) radiation and
conduction between the kiln refractory wall and solids,
(iv) conduction in the kiln refractory layer, (v) conduction
in the kiln shell layer, and (vi) convection (natural or
STEEL TECH 11
 VOL. 5 NO. 1 OCTOBER, 2010
forced) and radiation from the kiln shell to the ambient
air. The temperature of gases, solids, kiln wall and shell
will depend on the magnitude and the dynamic balance
of heat fluxes interchanged between different phases
by appropriate mechanisms of heat transfer. The variation
of gas, solid and wall temperatures along the kiln length
can be derived by assuming one-dimensional (1-D)
steady-state heat transfer. The thermal component of
these 1-D models can be derived by considering a
transverse slice dividing a section into a differential
volume of free-board gases and solids. The energy
balances for the gas and the solid phases are:
dTg G T Cp
G g Cp g  - Qrgw  Qrgb  Qcgw  Qcgb  SA SA Air   i Ri H i
dz Z i where GSA is molar flow rate of secondary air, Dz is length
dTb
G s Cp s  Qrgb  Qcgb  Qcwb  Qrwb  RW H W   j R j H j
dz
j
where Qrgw is the rate of heat transfer by radiation
between gases and the kiln wall, Qrgb is the rate of heat
transfer by radiation between gases and solids, Qcgw is
the rate of heat transfer by convection between gases
and the kiln wall, Qcgb is the rate of heat transfer by
convection between gases and solids, Qcwb is the rate
of heat transfer by conduction between the kiln wall and
solids, Qrwb is the rate of heat transfer by radiation
between the kiln wall and solids, Gg and Gs are molar
flow rates of gases and solids, respectively, Cpg and Cps
are specific heat capacities of gases and solids,
respectively, Tg and Tb are temperatures of gases and
solids, respectively, n i and n j are stoichiometric
coefficients, and z is the differential kiln length. The fifth
term on the right hand side of Eq. (9) represents the
enthalpy of secondary air at any location along the kiln
length. GSA is molar flow rate of secondary air and CpAir
is specific heat capacity of air at its temperature TSA.
The last terms in Eq. (9) and Eq. (10) represent,
respectively, the net heat released/consumed due to
chemical reactions in the gas phase and in the solid
phase. R W  HW is the net heat consumed due to
evaporation of moisture in solids. The equations for
computing various heat fluxes are incorporated in the
model but are not described here due to space
limitations.
Material Balance Equations
In the direct reduction process various physico-chemical
and thermal phenomena occur inside the rotary kiln,
which result in the transfer of material across the phases,
either due to phase changes, such as evaporation of
moisture or volatilisation of species present in coal, or
due to chemical reactions, such as reduction of various
mineral phases or carbon gasification. The net amount
of gas flowing through the kiln depends on the amount
12 STEEL TECH
of input primary air, amount of air used for injecting coal
from the discharge end, individual amounts of secondary
air pumped into the kiln at various locations along the
kiln length, the rate of gas generation/consumption due
to coal devolatilisation and gasification, the rate of
evaporation of moisture present in the solids and the
rate of gas consumption/generation due to the reduction
reactions. The overall material balance for the gas phase
across an element in the kiln is given by the following
equation:
dG g G SA (11)
   i RiG
dz z i
(9)
of the infinitesimal discrete kiln element used for
(10)
G
computations, Ri is the rate of generation/consumption
of gases due to reaction or phase change process i in
gaseous phase, íi is the stoichiometric coefficient of ith
reaction. GSA is set equal to zero at every location except
where secondary air is injected. The above equation can
be suitably modified at the discharge end to include flow
rates of primary air and roots blower air. Similar to the
gas phase, the net amount of solids passing through
the kiln will change due to coal devolatilisation and
gasification, evaporation of moisture and reduction of
various phases in the iron ore. The overall material
balance for the solid phase is given by:
dG s G IC
   j R Sj (12)
dz z j
where GIC is molar flow rate of the total injected coal
components, that is, fixed carbon, volatile matter (CO2,
CO, H2O, CH4, H2, tar in the present model) and free
S
water (unbound moisture of coal). R j is rate of
generation/consumption of gases due to reaction or
phase change process j in the solid phase. The above
equation is modified suitably at the feed end to include
input of iron ore, dolomite and coal. GIC at different
locations is calculated using the data obtained by
conducting coal injection measurements under cold
conditions. This data is used to compute the distribution
of coal along the kiln length (as a percentage of the
total injection coal flow rate) as well as the size
distribution of coal falling at a particular location.
The iron ore consists of hematite and gangue material
while coal contains fixed carbon, volatile matter and ash.
Dolomite is treated as an inert in the present work. Based
on the literature reports (6, 7, 8, 9), the volatile matter in
coal is assumed to consist of tar, methane, carbon
monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and chemically-
bound water. Devolatilisation of coal results in liberation
 VOL. 5 NO. 1 OCTOBER, 2010

of these species. During coal pyrolysis, phase 1

transformation of tar appears to occur from solid to liquid K* 
1 rore 3
and then combustion of liquid tar to either carbon or   (16)
k m 2 De k p
hydrocarbons. Tar is treated as two components in the
present model, tar-solid and tar-liquid and the solid phase where De is effective diffusion coefficient of the reacting
is assumed to consist of a total of 13 species or gas through the product layer in the iron ore particle.
components, namely, Fe2O3, Fe3O4, FeO, Fe (metallic), The mass transfer coefficient, km is calculated using a
carbon, tar-solid, tar-liquid, methane, carbon monoxide, correlation between Sherwood number, NSh, Reynolds
carbon dioxide, hydrogen, free moisture and chemically- number, NRe and Schmidt number, NSc (11):
bound moisture. The concentrations of these species
change along the kiln length, depending on the rates of km 
D AB
ds

2  0.7 N Sc0.3333 N Re
0.5
 (17)
reactions involving them. The concentration of hematite
in the solids, xH depends on the rate of reduction by CO where DAB is the diffusion coefficient of species A
and H2: through gas B. Depending on the gas involved in the
reaction, that is, either CO or H2, its diffusion coefficient
dx H
Vsolids   3 R H CO  R H  H 2  (13) through the gas phase is used in the above equation.
dz
Coal devolatilisation is assumed to occur as a first order
where Vsolids is volumetric flow rate of solids, RH-CO and rate process. The general rate expression for
RH-H2 are rates of reduction of hematite by CO and H2, devolatilisation kinetics is given by:
respectively. Similarly, the material balances for other  A 
individual species in the solid phase are written and Ri  4  rcoal
2
 coal
1
ncoal   k i x i , i = tar-solid, CH4, CO,
incorporated in the model.  Vsolids 
CO2, H2, H2O (18)
The gas phase is assumed to consist of a total of 7
where xi is concentration of component i in coal and
species, namely, nitrogen, oxygen, moisture, carbon
ncoal is the number of coal particles in unit cross-section
dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen and methane. The
of bed calculated as volume of coal divided by volume
concentration of carbon monoxide, yCO varies due to its
of a single coal particle. Coal gasification occurs via
formation by the Boudouard and the water gas reactions,
Boudouard and water-gas reactions. The rate expressions
generation by devolatilisation of coal and consumption
for these reactions are similar to those used for reduction
due to reduction of mineral phases.
reactions.
dy CO
V gas  2 RB  RWG  RH CO  RM CO  RFeO CO  RCO VM (14)
dz The particles of iron ore, coal and dolomite contain
where Vgas is volumetric flow rate of gases, RB and RWG moisture (free-water). During pre-heating of the solid
are rates of Boudouard and water-gas reactions, charge inside the kiln, moisture evaporates from these
respectively, RM-CO and RFeO-CO are rates of reduction of particles. The moisture content of iron ore is relatively
magnetite and wustite, respectively, by CO. RCO-VM is low (1.8-2.5 %wt) as compared to that of coal (7.5-12.5
rate of release of CO from the volatile matter present in %wt). The drying of solids is assumed to be a first-order
coal. Similar material balance equations are written for rate process and the rate of drying is given by the
other species and incorporated in the model. following equation:
 A 
The general rate expression for reduction of various RFW  4  rcoal
2
coal
1
ncoal   k FW x FW (19)
mineral phases by CO or H2 is given by:  Vsolids 
 A  * a b (15) where xFW is concentration of free-water in the solids
R  4  rore
2
 ore
1
nore   K y A y B
 Vsolids  and kFW is drying rate constant, given by an Arrhenius-
where rore and fore are radius and shape factor of ore type expression12, 13:
particles, respectively, A is area of cross-section of bed
kFW = k0 exp (-27700/RTb) (20)
and Vsolids is solids volumetric flow rate. nore is number
of iron ore particles in a unit cross section of the bed
Solids Bed Height along Kiln Length
calculated as volume of ore divided by volume of single
ore particle, yA and yB are concentration of reactants A The interfacial area for heat transfer between gases,
and B, respectively, and K* is the overall reaction rate solids and the kiln wall require computation of filling angle
constant given by(10): along the kiln axis. It is a function of the bed height and

STEEL TECH 13
 VOL. 5 NO. 1 OCTOBER, 2010

the kiln internal diameter, as shown Fig. 3 and as given the wall-shell interface and the outer shell, and the energy
by Eq. (21) below. balance for the heat transfer between the outer shell
and the ambient air.

MODEL TUNING AND VALIDATION

The mathematical model consists of a system of 26

Fig. 3: Cross-section of the kiln showing the bed
height and the filling angle
A steady state model for the transport of granular material
through an inclined slowly rotating cylinder is considered
here. The variation of bed height along the kiln length is
given by14):
3 / 2
dH ( z ) tan  12Qv tan   4 H ( z )  2 H ( z )  
2
nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) and 3
nonlinear algebraic equations. The system of 25 ODEs
is solved numerically using the 4th order Runge-Kutta
method15, excluding the equation for bed height profile
which is solved independently at the beginning of each
simulation. In order to verify the validity of the solids
flow model, it is first tested with pilot plant data published
by Chatterjee et al.16 on flow of solids in sponge iron
rotary kilns. The predicted mean hold-up of solids is
compared with the pilot plant data in Fig. 4 and it can be
observed that the model predictions are fairly close to
measurements.


(21)
    
dz cos   Di3
 Di
3 3
 Di  

where Qv is volumetric flow rate of solids, H is bed height,

z is the distance from feed end along the length of the
kiln, è is kiln inclination angle with the horizontal, â is
dynamic angle of repose of solids, Di is internal diameter
of the kiln and ù is kiln rotation speed. The above ordinary
differential equation is integrated numerically from the
kiln discharge end up to the feed end to calculate the
axial bed height profile, applying dam height at the
discharge end as the boundary condition. The axial
velocity and the mean residence time of solids are then
calculated using the bed height profile.
Heat Transfer across Kiln Wall and Shell
In order to solve the overall energy balance equations
to calculate temperatures of gases (Tg) and solids (Tb),
it is necessary to have knowledge of the refractory wall
temperature (Tw). Heat transfer occurs continuously
between gases/solids and the wall, between the wall
and the outer shell and between the shell and the ambient
air. Hence, the wall temperature is influenced not only
by gas and solids temperatures but also by the shell
and ambient air temperatures. It becomes necessary to
solve simultaneously for the wall (Tw), the wall-shell
interface (Ti) and the shell temperatures (Ts). This is
achieved by formulating and solving the following three
energy balances: the energy balance for heat transfer
between gases, solids, kiln wall and the wall-shell
interface, the energy balance for heat transfer between
Fig. 4: Comparison of solids hold-up calculated using
the solids bed height model with the experimental data
of Chatterjee et al.16. Angle of inclination of kiln: 2.50,
exit dam height (15-30 mm) and kiln
rotational speed (0.3-0.7 rpm)
The model is tuned for the operating conditions in one
of the rotary kilns at TSIL. The kiln is cylindrical in shape,
72 m long and 4.2 m in diameter with an angle of
inclination of 1.5° and rotational speed in the range of
0.4 - 0.7 rpm. The gas and solid temperature profiles,
measured using the quick response thermocouples
(QRTs) and the DRI metallisation achieved, are used
for tuning and validation of the model. More than 30 sets
of measurements are carried out on the kiln to collect
iron ore, coal and DRI properties and flow rates and
temperatures of secondary air, in addition to
measurements made on-line, for example, primary air
flow rate and kiln speed. Only a few representative sets
of data are used for tuning the model and the rest are
utilised for model validation.

14 STEEL TECH
 VOL. 5 NO. 1 OCTOBER, 2010

Since the model is comprehensive in nature and most

of the key physico-chemical and thermal phenomena
are incorporated in it, the model involves a number of
parameters for which appropriate numerical values are
required. Based on extensive literature search on
phenomena related to direct reduction of iron ore by coal
and heat transfer in rotary kilns, representative values
of these parameters are taken and included in the model.
The correlations for specific heats of iron oxides, metallic
iron, and carbon, CO, CO2, H2 and H2O are taken from
Donskoi and McElwain(8,9). The correlations for specific
heats of other gaseous components, namely, N2, O2,
Air and CH4 are taken from Perry’s Chemical Engineers Fig. 6: Comparison of predicted kiln internal bed
Handbook(17). The correlations for temperature-dependent temperature profile with measured profile at an iron
heats of reduction reactions and the coal gasification ore flow rate of 22.2 tph and kiln speed of 0.46 rpm.
reactions are also taken from Donskoi and McElwain(8,9).
Similarly, correlations for temperature-dependent thermal The plant data correspond to an iron ore flow rate of
conductivities of gas and solid phase species are also 22.2 tph and kiln speed of 0.46 rpm. Typical values of
presented by Donskoi and McElwain(8,9) and used in the key process parameters used for simulation are provided
present work. The emissivities of solids and refractory in Table 1.
wall are taken from Venkateswaran and Brimacombe(2)
Table 1: Inputs to the model (plant data) for the results
and the emissivity of shell is taken from Mukhopadhyay
shown in Fig. 5 and 6.
et al.(3) The emissivity of solids, refractory wall and the
shell are assumed to be constant and taken as 1.0, 0.9 Iron Ore Flow rate, tph 22.2
and 0.56, respectively. The emissivity of gases is
Mean diameter, mm 10.8
calculated using the equation proposed by Rovaglio et
al. (18) who fitted the data reported by Hottel and Chemical Analysis Fe (total) (wt %) 67.3
Sarofim(19). The coal devolatilisation rate constants are Moisture (wt %) 2.0
taken from Solomon and Colket (20). The rate constants Feed Coal Mean diameter, mm 8.0
for drying of solids are taken from Patisson et al.(12,13).
Proximate Analysis FC (wt %) 45.2
The predicted gas and solid temperature profiles are
compared with measured data in Fig. 5 and 6. VM (wt %) 22.5
Ash (wt %) 32.3
Moisture (wt %) 7.5
Injection Coal Mean diameter, mm 8.0
Proximate Analysis FC (wt %) 45.4
VM (wt %) 25.8
Ash (wt %) 28.8
Moisture (wt %) 8.3
Kiln speed of rotation (rpm) 0.46
Primary air flow rate (Nm /hr)
3
8665
Secondary air flow rate (Nm /hr)
3
38410
FC: Fixed Carbon; VM: Volatile Matter
It can be noticed from Fig. 5 and 6 that the model
predictions are reasonably close the plant data. The
Fig. 5: Comparison of predicted kiln internal gas model is tested extensively with additional plant data
temperature profile with measured profile at for further validation.
an iron ore flow rate of 22.2 tph and kiln
The model predictions are also checked against shell
speed of 0.46 rpm.
temperatures of the kiln at TSIL. The predicted and

STEEL TECH 15
 VOL. 5 NO. 1 OCTOBER, 2010
measured kiln shell temperatures for a set of typical
operating conditions are shown in Fig. 7.
Fig. 7: Comparison of predicted and measured shell
temperatures in the rotary kiln at TSIL for typical
operating conditions
It can be noticed from Fig. 7 that the shell temperatures
are higher in the preheating zone than in the reduction
zone. Typically, shell temperature should be lower in the
preheating zone than in the reduction zone because gas
and solid temperatures inside the kiln are much higher
in the reduction zone. However, the current shell
temperature data indicate otherwise. This indirectly
shows that gases and solids are losing more heat in the
preheating zone than in the reduction zone. This appears
to be the reason for the discrepancies in the gas and
the solid temperatures in the preheating zone in Fig.5
and 6. In the present model, uniform wall thickness and
properties are assumed along kiln length. However, due
to wear and tear during removal of kiln accretions and
due to exposure to high temperature gases over a period
of time, the wall properties might have changed, causing
these higher heat losses in the preheating zone.
After validation with plant data is completed, the model
is used in a predictive mode to identify optimum
conditions of key process variables to increase kiln
throughput, to minimise coal consumption and to
enhance kiln campaign life. The primary air flow rate
and the total carbon-to-iron (C/Fe) ratio are found to be
critical to achieve the above objectives. The optimum
values of these variables are determined and they are
maintained at their set points on a regular basis, which
resulted in the reduction of coal consumption by about
55 kg/ton of DRI produced. As a result of this model-
based optimisation exercise and additional process
optimisation and control measures undertaken by the
plant engineers, the kiln campaign life has also increased
beyond 300 days, from approximately 180 days for
previous kiln campaigns.
16 STEEL TECH
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
A steady state one-dimensional model for direct reduction
of iron ore by coal in a rotary kiln is presented here. It is
relatively comprehensive in nature and incorporates all
the important physico-chemical phenomena involved,
that is, flow of solids inside the rotary kiln, different
modes of heat transfer between gases, solids, refractory
wall, steel shell and ambient air, drying of moisture, coal
devolatilisation, gasification and combustion, and
reduction of hematite, magnetite and wustite by CO and
H 2. The effects of particle size and porosity are
incorporated in the kinetics of various reactions occurring
inside the sponge iron rotary kiln. Unlike previous
models, detailed kinetics models for coal devolatilisation
and gasification are included in the present work. The
model also incorporates step-wise reduction of hematite
to magnetite to wustite to metallic iron. Moreover, the
effect of solids bed height profile along kiln length on
heat transfer and various reaction rates is taken into
account in the current model. The sub-model for solids
flow is tested with published experimental and pilot plant
data and the predicted results are in close agreement
with measurements. The model is customised for an
industrial kiln and validated with plant data obtained under
different operating conditions. The predicted internal gas
and solid phase temperature profiles are reasonably
close to measurements made using quick response
thermocouples. The shell temperatures predicted by the
model revealed that the heat losses from the pre-heating
zone in the kiln are high, probably due to deterioration
of the refractory wall. The mathematical model is a useful
tool for understanding how solid and gas phase
compositions vary internally along the kiln length. The
model is useful in identifying optimum values of key
process variables which has helped in reducing coal
consumption and in enhancing kiln campaign life.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank the managements of Tata Sponge
Iron Ltd. (TSIL), Joda and Tata Research Development
and Design Centre (TRDDC), Pune for the permission
to publish this article. Excellent cooperation provided
by plant engineers and operators at TSIL is gratefully
acknowledged.
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