Simulation of the flow, temperature, and concentration fields in the reactor of the HIsmelt process

Abstract

The flue gas temperature of the Smelting Reduction Vessel (SRV) in the HIsmelt process is high while the temperature of the molten iron is low. Therefore, the heat transfer efficiency between the upper and lower regions in the SRV needs to be further improved. The fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics inside the SRV were studied to derive the mass fraction, temperature distribution, and gas motion. The error between the simulated and measured values remained stable within 5%. The gas in the centre of the SRV shows a high-speed vortex flow. The combustion reaction mainly occurs in the centre of the furnace. Since the heat transfer in the furnace is mainly influenced by the gas flow, the high-temperature zone shows a U-shaped distribution and is mainly around the centre of the region, the oxygen lance outlet, and the furnace wall.

Mathematical Modeling for the Process of Smelting Reduction Ironmaking Integrated with Hydrogen-Rich Coal Gasification

“…The main constraints for each zone are given in Figure 2. The average reaction temperature in the FRS, the temperature of the slag, and the temperature and composition of the hot metal are determined based on production data from the flash ironmaking technology and HIsmelt processes [26,34,35]. The PCR of gas in the upper and lower slag zones are limited to 0% to prevent secondary oxidation of metallic iron.…”

“…Based on the extensive research findings on iron bath smelting reduction processes [25,26] and the coal gasification in molten metal media, this study proposes a new integrated technology of smelting reduction ironmaking and coal gasification as shown in Figure 1a. The process consists of three main sections: an FRS for pre-reduction of iron ore fines, a SRV for final reduction, and an uptake shaft for gas reforming.…”

Analysing the HIsmelt process for smelting vanadium–titanium magnetite

“…Therefore, smelting VTM using the HIsmelt process is not only technically feasible, but also has obvious advantages over using traditional blast furnaces [22][23][24]. For example, the HIsmelt process results in high raw material flexibility, low equipment investment, high iron quality, low total energy consumption, and increased environmental friendliness [25][26][27][28][29].…”