Sulphur removal in the ironmaking and oxygen steelmaking process is reviewed. A sulphur balance is made for the steelmaking process of Tata Steel IJmuiden, the Netherlands. There are four stages where sulphur can be removed: in the blast furnace (BF), during hot metal (HM) pretreatment, in the converter and during the secondary metallurgy (SM) treatment. For sulphur removal a low oxygen activity and a basic slag are required. In the BF typically 90% of the sulphur is removed; still, the HM contains about 0.03% of sulphur. Different HM desulphurisation processes are used worldwide. With co-injection or the Kanbara reactor, sulphur concentrations below 0.001% are reached. Basic slag helps desulphurisation in the converter. However, sulphur increase is not uncommon in the converter due to high oxygen activity and sulphur input via scrap and additions. For low sulphur concentrations SM desulphurisation, with a decreased oxygen activity and a basic slag, is always required.
In hot metal desulphurisation (HMD) the slag will hold the removed sulphur. However, the iron that is lost when the slag is skimmed off, accounts for the highest costs of the HMD process. These iron losses are lower when the slag has a lower viscosity, which can be achieved by changing the slag composition. A lower slag basicity decreases the viscosity of the slag, but also lowers its sulphur removal capacity, therefore optimisation is necessary. In this study, the optimal HMD slag composition is investigated, considering both the sulphur removal capacity and the iron losses. In part I the theory is discussed and in part II the optimal slag is validated with plant data, laboratory experiments and a thermodynamic analysis.
The optimal hot metal desulphurisation (HMD) slag is defined as a slag with a sufficient sulphur removal capacity and a low apparent viscosity (η slag ) which leads to low iron losses. In part I of this study, the fundamentals behind the optimal slag were discussed. In this part these fundamentals are explored by a Monte Carlo simulation, based on FactSage calculations, plant data analysis and melting point and viscosity measurements of the optimal slag. Furthermore, the applicability of knowing the optimal slag composition for an industrial HMD is discussed.
Abstract-A model is presented for the simulation of rotary drum eddy-current separators. The most important part of the model is an improved first-order differential equation for the magnetic moment of nonferrous particles in the field of the separator magnets. The model also includes the mechanical interaction between the particles and the transportation belt, as well as aerodynamic forces. The resulting particle trajectories are compared to experimental data, both on the basis of full trajectories and statistically, in terms of the calculated and measured throw.
To lower the iron losses of the hot metal desulphurisation (HMD) process, slag modifiers can be added to the slag. Slag modifiers decrease the apparent viscosity of the HMD slag. Most common slag modifiers in industry contain fluoride as a fluidiser. However, fluoride leads to a higher magnesium consumption and has health, safety and environment issues. Fluoride-free alternatives like nepheline syenite (NS) and fly ash (or pulverised fuel ash, PFA) can decrease the slag's apparent viscosity. Experiments with HMD slags containing CaF 2 , NS and PFA and without slag modifier were performed for slags with a high and an average basicity. The melting points of the slags and their viscosities 1250-1600°C were measured. The experimental results are compared with FactSage calculations. PFA and NS are viable alternatives in the industrial HMD process, as reasonable amounts are sufficient to reach the same lower apparent viscosities and melting points as with CaF 2 .
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