The stability of the blast furnace (BF) process depends on the quality of raw materials charged into the BF. Apart from various process variables, slag viscosity and slag fluidity are key parameters that require due attention for the stable BF operation. The varying Al 2 O 3 content in slag increases the viscosity of slag and thus hinders the separation of slag from hot metal during the casting process. This leads to the deterioration of hot metal quality because of the entrapment of slag during the slag-metal interfacial reaction. In this work, an attempt is made to utilize the high alumina content raw materials and to reduce the Al 2 O 3 content in the final slag. The high alumina content in slag increases the liquidus temperature and viscosity of slag and causes an adverse effect on BF operations. To countermeasure the effect of alumina, slag volume is increased and basicity along with MgO was increased. It has been demonstrated that MgO addition as a flux is effective for compensating the effect of a high alumina burden. By increasing the MgO in slag, fluidity was maintained to ensure easy separation of slag from hot metal.
A huge amount of real time data of blast furnace process and quality are getting captured and analyzed for an in-depth understanding of process resulting in better control and improved performance. This paper describes how process visualization and diagnostic models are helping to generate additional insights and becoming useful tool for identification of factors for process efficiency improvement. These tools are important enabler for faster process performance diagnosis and for early indicator of performance deterioration. In earlier paper of this journal, few models and their usage in process analysis were discussed and, in this document, additional diagnostic tools viz. burden descent index, sounding ore by coke etc. are explained. 10)
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.