Granular Iron Production via Hearth Leveling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing granular metallic iron in moving-bed type hearth reducing melting furnaces face issues with uneven heating and adhesion of agglomerate components, leading to reduced yield and accumulation of molten iron, due to inadequate leveling and scattering of adhesion inhibitors and agglomerates.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the use of screw-type levelers and dischargers to evenly distribute and level adhesion inhibitors and agglomerates, ensuring a flat surface and optimal processing conditions, with specific relative moving rate ratios and blade configurations to prevent scattering and ensure even heating and discharge of granular metallic iron.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If adhesion inhibitor is added beforehand to agglomerate, then adhesion prevention is achieved, but uneven surface level causes uneven heating and reduces product yield
Solution Approach 1:
The adhesion inhibitor is added beforehand to the hearth surface before the agglomerate is fed, creating a protective layer in advance that prevents adhesion during the subsequent heating and reduction process
Solution Approach 2:
The adhesion inhibitor acts as an intermediary substance between the hearth and the agglomerate, preventing direct contact and adhesion while allowing heat transfer to proceed uniformly
2Object-affected harmful factors
If adhesion inhibitor surface has differences in level, then adhesion prevention is achieved, but reduced iron gets under the inhibitor and remains unscraped
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies controlling the flatness parameter of the adhesion inhibitor layer to be within a specific range (0.5-5mm) to optimize both adhesion prevention and discharge efficiency
3Ease of operation
If agglomerate is not evenly dispersed over the hearth, then handling is simplified, but heating uniformity deteriorates and product quality decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The adhesion inhibitor serves as an intermediary layer that facilitates even distribution of the agglomerate across the hearth surface while preventing direct adhesion, thereby achieving both ease of operation and heating uniformity
4Productivity
If molten iron accumulates on the hearth, then production continues, but production is eventually inhibited and yield decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The adhesion inhibitor, which prevents adhesion, also prevents molten iron accumulation by ensuring that the reduced iron remains on the surface where it can be efficiently scraped and discharged, converting a potential harm (accumulation) into a benefit (improved discharge efficiency)
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables the production of high-quality granular metallic iron with reduced undischarged material and prevents molten iron accumulation, ensuring efficient and high-yield processing by maintaining a uniform layer and optimizing the physical state of materials on the hearth.
Implementation Method 1
an adhesion inhibitor Q is added to the agglomerate P before the adhesion inhibitor Q is added into the furnace 21
Implementation Method 2
leveling an adhesion inhibitor fed to the hearth of a moving-bed type hearth reducing melting furnace, subsequently feeding an agglomerate including an iron oxide-containing material and a carbonaceous reducing material onto the leveled adhesion inhibitor, leveling the agglomerate fed onto the adhesion inhibitor
Implementation Method 3
heating the agglomerate to reduce and melt the iron oxide contained in the agglomerate to produce a granular metallic iron
Implementation Method 4
a carbonaceous reducing material and an iron oxide-containing material is heated to reduce and melt the iron oxide
Implementation Method 5
further heating the yielded metallic iron to melt them, and aggregating the iron while separating the iron from the slag components
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a method for producing a granular metallic iron in which an adhesion inhibitor leveler, an agglomerate leveler, a discharger, and the physical state of materials present on the hearth are optimized to thereby enable agglomerate to be spread in a single layer. The agglomerate hence is evenly heat-treated to enable high-quality granular metallic iron to be produced in satisfactory yield.The present invention relates to a method for producing a granular metallic iron, which comprises leveling an adhesion inhibitor fed to the hearth of a moving-bed type hearth reducing melting furnace, feeding an agglomerate including an iron oxide-containing material and a carbonaceous reducing agent onto the adhesion inhibitor, leveling the agglomerate fed onto the adhesion inhibitor, subsequently heating the agglomerate to reduce and melt the iron oxide contained in the agglomerate to produce a granular metallic iron, and discharging the produced granular metallic iron using a screw type discharger, wherein the adhesion inhibitor fed to the hearth is evenly leveled using a screw type adhesion inhibitor leveler so that the leveled adhesion inhibitor has a flatness of 40% or less of an average particle diameter of the agglomerate, and the agglomerate fed onto the adhesion inhibitor is evenly laid using a screw type agglomerate leveler so that the agglomerate forms a single layer.