Slag Cooling Box with Insulated Ducts for Heat Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for recovering heat from steel slag are inefficient due to high risks for operators, significant costs, non-uniform cooling, heat dispersion, and pollution during transport and cooling, as they require manual handling and outdoor cooling, leading to suboptimal heat recovery and emission of pollutants.
Innovation Solution
A device featuring a raised slag plane with insulated ducts for air circulation and a suction hood that allows direct discharge of molten slag at maximum temperature onto the plane, capturing heat and fumes within a closed system for efficient recovery and pollution reduction, using centrifugal fans and water heat exchangers for optimized heat transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If slag is collected in tubs and transported to outdoor cooling areas, then the slag can be cooled and stored, but significant heat is dispersed into the air and operator safety risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful element (manual tub handling) is extracted from the process. The invention replaces manual tub collection and transport with an automated system where slag flows directly through a controlled channel into a cooling box, eliminating operator exposure to hot slag and reducing heat loss to the environment.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary cooling box system is introduced between the furnace and storage area. This box receives slag directly from the furnace through a sealed channel, provides controlled cooling, and eliminates the need for tub-based transport, thereby preventing heat dispersion and improving safety.
2Temperature
If slag is cooled in outdoor areas with water jets, then the cooling process can be performed, but heat is dispersed into the air and pollution emissions increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling box creates a controlled, enclosed environment for slag cooling. Instead of open-air cooling that disperses pollutants, the box contains the slag and its emissions, allowing for controlled cooling while preventing harmful factors from being released into the atmosphere.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If slag is poured into tubs and then into cooling boxes, then the slag can be cooled, but the cooling surface is non-uniform and cooling time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling process is segmented into controlled stages within the cooling box. The slag flow is divided and distributed across the cooling surface through the channel design, ensuring uniform thickness and consistent cooling throughout, rather than relying on manual pouring which creates non-uniform surfaces.
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
Enables direct and uniform deposition of slag for rapid cooling and maximum heat recovery, reducing operator risks, costs, and pollution by containing heat and fumes within the system, enhancing energy efficiency and environmental impact.
Implementation Method 1
the base and the walls are preferably made of a sandwich of strong steel sheets comprising two steel sheets placed one in front of the other, made of steel or other similar material, spaced by suitably shaped elements and such as to create, in the space between the two steel sheets, a series of ducts; the space between the two steel sheets and/or the ducts resulting from the spacer elements allow circulation of a fluid such as, for example, air which is heated by the heat of the incandescent slag present on the base
Implementation Method 2
one of the ducts is for suction and the other is for delivery, and they collaborate in the circulation of the air or other fluid in the ducts, using the thrust of a centrifugal fan, thus increasing the recovery of heat from the slag
Implementation Method 3
one or more water heat exchangers located in the walls of the hood, preferably on the side walls, by means of which the heat emitted by the slag is recovered by irradiation, generating the sudden raising of the temperature of the water and optimising the heat recovery
Implementation Method 4
the top of the hood is equipped with an opening, having a suitable shape for the particular type of furnace, sealed with the ceiling to prevent dispersion of fumes and heat, through which the slag coming from the steel processing cycle is discharged on the base of the slag plane; the outlet of the rear suction window is connected with a suction pipe in which the hot fumes are conveyed to the next processing without dispersion into the atmosphere
Data Source
AI summary
Described is a device for recovering heat and fumes from slag resulting from the steel production cycle which allows the heat emitted by the slag during the cooling to be used without the need to collect the slag in tubs which must then be transported to the cooling surface and tipped in order to discharge the slag; at the same time, this device allows the fumes and consequently the heat and the pollutants which the slag emits during the tipping and the time on the cooling surface to be conveyed and treated.