Patent Grant
10155997
The present invention relates to a device for producing partially reduced iron which produces partially reduced iron by reducing agglomerates containing iron oxide.
For example, Patent Document 1 listed below discloses the following technique as a conventional technique for producing partially reduced iron by reducing agglomerates containing iron oxide. Agglomerate-like reduced iron is stacked on a grate of a horizontally-circulating grate reduction furnace, pellets are stacked on the reduced iron and are ignited, and pellets are further stacked after the ignition. Meanwhile, an oxygen-containing gas is made to flow from below to above the agglomerate-like reduced iron and the oxygen concentration of the oxygen-containing gas is reduced stepwise along with the movement of the pellets to the downstream side. The pellets are thereby reduced sequentially from a lower layer to an upper layer of the pellet bed and the partially reduced iron is produced.
Moreover, Patent Document 2 listed below discloses the following technique. Pellets (raw material) formed by mixing and pelletizing powders of iron ore, coal, limestone, and the like are supplied to the reduction furnace and are exposed to a high-temperature atmosphere. Meanwhile, the oxygen concentration of a gas to be supplied into the furnace is adjusted based on a detected temperature inside the furnace to control the temperature inside the furnace. The pellets are thereby reduced and the partially reduced iron is produced.
In the technique described in the aforementioned Patent Document 1, desired partially reduced iron can be obtained from given pellets by maintaining the oxygen concentration of the atmosphere inside the furnace to a constant estimated level. However, since the oxygen concentration of the oxygen-containing gas is not controlled according to a combustion state of the pellet bed, insufficient reduction or excessive fusing occurs when the pellets vary greatly in the particle size distribution, the water content amount, the composition, and the like or the variation among lots of the pellets is great, and this may reduce the yield of the partially reduced iron. Meanwhile, directly measuring the temperature of a portion where the reduction is occurring in the pellet bed is conceivable. However, since the temperature measuring portion moves downstream together with the grate and a combustion zone in the pellet bed moves upward in the stacking direction along with the movement, it is difficult to directly measure the temperature of the pellets in the reduction region.
The technique described in the aforementioned Patent Document 2 has the following problem. Although one or two layers of pellets supplied into the furnace can be heated by radiation heating of an atmosphere gas in the furnace, all of the pellets in the stacking direction cannot be heated when the stacking height of the pellets is great. The productivity of the partially reduced iron is thus extremely low.
In other words, the conventional techniques have a problem that, in the heating of pellets in the deep bed which can improve productivity of the partially reduced iron, there is no method of practically and continuously grasping the reduction state (combustion state) in the entire region of the pellets in the stacking direction and thus it is difficult to recognize insufficient reduction, excessive fusing, or the like occurring in the middle of the reduction.
The present invention has been thus made to solve the problems described above, and an object is to provide a device for producing partially reduced iron capable of efficiently producing partially reduced iron with a predetermined degree of reduction.
A device for producing partially reduced iron of the present invention which solves the problems described above is a device for producing partially reduced iron including: a reduction furnace main body in which pellets formed by mixing and pelletizing a reduction carbon material and an iron oxide-containing raw material are packed on an endless grate to be heated and reduced; exhaust gas circulating means for circulating an exhaust gas discharged from the pellet bed by discharging the exhaust gas from the reduction furnace main body and feeding the exhaust gas to the reduction furnace main body; and air feeding means for feeding air to the reduction furnace main body, the device being configured to produce a partially reduced iron by combusting a flammable gas and a volatile component together with the exhaust gas and the air to form a combustion zone in the pellet bed, and causing the combustion zone to move sequentially toward an upper side of the pellet bed along with the movement of the endless grate, the flammable gas generated by the reduction, the volatile component generated when the pellets which are heated heat the pellets in an upper layer, characterized in that the device for producing partially reduced iron comprises: carbon monoxide concentration detecting means for detecting a carbon monoxide concentration of the exhaust gas discharged from the reduction furnace main body; oxygen concentration detecting means for detecting an oxygen concentration of the exhaust gas to be fed to the reduction furnace main body; exhaust gas circulation rate adjusting means for adjusting a circulation rate of the exhaust gas to be fed to the reduction furnace main body by the exhaust gas circulating means; air feed rate adjusting means for adjusting a feed rate of the air to be fed to the reduction furnace main body by the air feeding means; and control means for controlling the exhaust gas circulation rate adjusting means and the air feed rate adjusting means, the control means controls the exhaust gas circulation rate adjusting means and the air feed rate adjusting means based on the carbon monoxide concentration of the exhaust gas detected by the carbon monoxide concentration detecting means and the oxygen concentration of the exhaust gas detected by the oxygen concentration detecting means.
A device for producing partially reduced iron of the present invention which solves the problems described above is the aforementioned device for producing partially reduced iron of the present invention characterized in that the reduction furnace main body includes a reduction region in which the combustion zone is formed in the pellet bed and moves sequentially toward the upper side of the pellet bed along with the movement of the endless grate, the carbon monoxide concentration detecting means detects a carbon monoxide concentration of the exhaust gas discharged from the reduction region of the reduction furnace main body, the exhaust gas circulation rate adjusting means adjusts a circulation rate of the exhaust gas to be fed to the reduction region of the reduction furnace main body, and the air feed rate adjusting means adjusts a feed rate of the air to be fed to the reduction region of the reduction furnace main body.
A device for producing partially reduced iron of the present invention which solves the problems described above is the aforementioned device for producing partially reduced iron of the present invention characterized in that the reduction furnace main body includes an ignition region in which a lower layer of the pellet bed is ignited by the pellets which are ignited, the carbon monoxide concentration detecting means detects a carbon monoxide concentration of the exhaust gas discharged from the ignition region of the reduction furnace main body, the exhaust gas circulation rate adjusting means adjusts a circulation rate of the exhaust gas to be fed to the ignition region of the reduction furnace main body, and the air feed rate adjusting means adjusts a feed rate of the air to be fed to the ignition region of the reduction furnace main body.
A device for producing partially reduced iron of the present invention which solves the problems described above is the aforementioned device for producing partially reduced iron of the present invention characterized in that when the carbon monoxide concentration of the exhaust gas detected by the carbon monoxide concentration detecting means is lower than a carbon monoxide concentration lower limit value, the control means controls the exhaust gas circulation rate adjusting means and the air feed rate adjusting means and also controls the exhaust gas circulating means and the air feeding means such that a total oxygen concentration of the exhaust gas and the air to be fed to the reduction furnace main body is increased and a flow rate of the exhaust gas and the air to be fed to the reduction furnace main body is constant, and when the carbon monoxide concentration of the exhaust gas detected by the carbon monoxide concentration detecting means is higher than a carbon monoxide concentration upper limit value, the control means controls the exhaust gas circulation rate adjusting means and the air feed rate adjusting means and also controls the exhaust gas circulating means and the air feeding means such that the total oxygen concentration of the exhaust gas and the air to be fed to the reduction furnace main body is decreased and the flow rate of the exhaust gas and the air to be fed to the reduction furnace main body is constant.
A device for producing partially reduced iron of the present invention which solves the problems described above is the aforementioned device for producing partially reduced iron of the present invention characterized in that the reduction furnace main body includes a hood and a plurality of wind boxes which cover the endless grate from above and below, the exhaust gas circulating means discharges the exhaust gas from each of portions of the hood facing the plurality of wind boxes and feeds the exhaust gas to each of the plurality of wind boxes, the air feeding means feeds the air to each of the plurality of wind boxes, the carbon monoxide detecting means detects a carbon monoxide concentration of the exhaust gas discharged from each of the portions of the hood facing the plurality of wind boxes, and the control means controls the exhaust gas circulation rate adjusting means and the air feed rate adjusting means for each of the plurality of wind boxes, based on the carbon monoxide concentration of the exhaust gas detected by the carbon monoxide detecting means and the oxygen concentration of the exhaust gas detected by the oxygen concentration detecting means.
According to the present invention, since the carbon monoxide concentration in the exhaust gas discharged from the reduction furnace main body is detected, the reduction state of the pellets which correlates with the carbon monoxide concentration in the exhaust gas can be surely estimated, even when the pellets vary greatly in the particle size distribution, the water content amount, the composition, and the like and the variation among lots of the pellets is great. Since the carbon monoxide concentration in the exhaust gas, i.e. the total oxygen concentration of the exhaust gas and the air to be fed to the reduction furnace main body is adjusted based on the estimation, the temperature of the combustion zone in the pellet bed can be stabilized. Accordingly, partially reduced iron with a predetermined degree of reduction can be efficiently produced without insufficient reduction or excessive fusing.
An embodiment of a device for producing partially reduced iron in the present invention is described below with reference to the drawings.
The device for producing partially reduced iron in the embodiment is described based on
As shown in
The ignition raw-material pellet supplying device 10 is a device which supplies ignition raw-material pellets 1 onto the grate 101 and adjusts the height of an ignition raw-material pellet layer 2, which is formed by stacking the ignition raw-material pellets 1, to a predetermined level. In other words, the ignition raw-material pellet supplying device 10 forms ignition raw-material pellet supplying means. The ignition raw-material pellets 1 are made of the same material as that of raw-material pellets 3 to be described later in detail and form part of the raw-material pellets 3. The stacking height of the ignition raw-material pellets 1 is such a height that the after-mentioned raw-material pellets 3 packed on the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 can be ignited, and is, for example, greater than 5 mm and less than 20 mm, preferably greater than 5 mm and 10 mm or less. When the stacking height of the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 is 5 mm or less, the amount of heat generated by combustion of the ignited ignition raw-material pellets 1 is so small that a flammable volatile component cannot be generated from a reduction carbon material in the raw-material pellets 3 due to an insufficient amount of heat. Meanwhile, when the stacking height is 20 mm or greater, the pellets in a lowermost layer of the raw-material pellet bed 4 formed by packing the raw-material pellets 3 are poorly heated and some of the raw-material pellets 3 are not reduced, thereby becoming unreduced pellets.
The heating furnace 20 includes a combustion burner 21 which heats the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 (ignition raw-material pellets 1) supplied onto the grate 101 to a reduction temperature range. In other words, the heating furnace 20 forms heating means whose interior temperature can be controlled. The heating furnace 20 has such a length that the heated ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 can be heated at a high temperature for a predetermined time. The heating furnace 20 also includes a combustion gas exhaust duct 22. The combustion gas exhaust duct 22 is provided with a flow-rate adjusting valve V21. A front end opening portion of the combustion gas exhaust duct 22 is disposed upstream of the combustion burner 21 in the traveling direction of the grate 101. A rear end portion side of the combustion gas exhaust duct is connected to a dust collector 23. Accordingly, a combustion gas generated when the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 is heated by the combustion burner 21 is discharged to the outside of a system through the combustion gas exhaust duct 22 and the dust collector 23.
The reduction furnace 30 is a device which produces an agglomerate-like partially reduced iron 5 by reducing the raw-material pellets 3. The reduction furnace 30 includes a raw-material pellet supplying device 31, a reduction furnace main body 32, and a partially reduced iron discharging device 40 which are arranged in this order from upstream in the traveling direction of the grate 101. The raw-material pellet supplying device (feed hopper) 31 is a device which supplies the raw-material pellets 3 onto the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2. The raw-material pellet supplying device 31 supplies the raw-material pellets 3 onto the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 and adjusts the height of the raw-material pellet bed 4, which is formed by packing the raw-material pellets 3, to a predetermined level. In other words, the raw-material pellet supplying device 31 forms raw-material pellet supplying means. The raw-material pellets 3 are a raw material of the partially reduced iron to be eventually produced and are formed by mixing and pelletizing an iron oxide-containing raw material, the reduction carbon material, and a lime-based slag-forming flux and then coating the resultant object with an anti-oxidant. For example, the raw-material pellets 3 each contain coal by about 20% of its total amount and the amount of the flammable volatile component in the coal is 20% or more.
The reduction furnace main body 32 described above includes a wind box 33 which is a fixed structure installed below the grate 101, an annular hood 34 which is a fixed structure installed above the wind box 33 with the grate 101 therebetween, and tracks 35, 35 which are laid in an annular shape on both sides of the wind box 33.
The aforementioned wind box 33 includes multiple wind boxes in accordance with the diameter of the grate, such as a first wind box 33a, a second wind box 33b, a third wind box 33c, a fourth wind box 33d, and a fifth wind box 33e which are arranged in this order from the raw-material pellet supplying device 31 side in the traveling direction A of the grate 101.
Two partition plates 38a, 38b are provided on a ceiling plate 34a of the aforementioned hood 34, and a space between the grate 101 and the hood 34 are partitioned into three regions 39a, 39b, 39c in the traveling direction A of the grate 101. The first partition plate 38a is disposed at such a position as to define a space above the first wind box 33a and a space above the second wind box 33b. The second partition plate 38b is disposed at such a position as to define a space above the fourth wind box 33d and a space above the fifth wind box 33e. A region surrounded by the grate 101, the hood 34, and the first partition plate 38a thereby forms the ignition region (ignition raw-material pellet combustion region) 39a to be described in detail later. A region surrounded by the grate 101, the hood 34, and the first and second partition plates 38a, 38b forms the reduction region (raw-material pellet heating region) 39b. A region surrounded by the grate 101, the hood 34, and the second partition plate 38b forms the cooling region 39c.
The grate 101 is porous and is configured such that a gaseous body can pass therethrough in a vertical direction but the ignition raw-material pellets 1 and the raw-material pellets 3 cannot. The grate 101 is divided into multiple units and the annular grate 101 is formed by arranging these units in a circumferential direction. Each of the divided units is tiltably attached to annular supporting frames 36, 36 provided respectively on both sides of the grate 101. The supporting frames 36, 36 are provided with rollers 37, 37 configured to travel on the tracks 35, 35. Causing the rollers 37, 37 to travel on the tracks 35, 35 allows the grate 101 to horizontally circulate in a space between the wind box 33 and the hood 34.
Water seal troughs 41, 41 filled with water are annularly provided in upper portions of the supporting frames 36, 36 of the grate 101, along the entire peripheries thereof. Seal plates 42, 42 extending downward are annularly provided in lower portions of the hood 34 on both sides, along the entire peripheries thereof. Lower end portions of the seal plates 42, 42 are submerged in a liquid in the water seal troughs 41, 41. Hence, spaces between the supporting frames 36, 36 of the grate 101 and the lower portions of the hood 34 on both sides are sealed in an air-tight manner. In other words, the water seal troughs 41 and the seal plates 42 form a water seal device above the grate.
Meanwhile, water seal troughs 43, 43 filled with water are annularly provided in upper portions of the wind box 33 on both sides, along the entire peripheries thereof. Seal plates 44, 44 extending downward are annularly provided in lower portions of the supporting frames 36, 36 of the grate 101, along the entire peripheries thereof. Lower end portions of the seal plates 44, 44 are submerged in a liquid in the water seal troughs 43, 43. Hence, spaces between the supporting frames 36, 36 of the grate 101 and the upper portions of the wind box 33 on both sides are sealed in an air-tight manner. In other words, the water seal troughs 43 and the seal plates 44 form a water seal device below the grate.
One end portion (base end portion) of a cooling region gas exhaust duct 81 is connected to a portion of the ceiling plate 34a of the hood 34 which is located in the cooling region 39c. The other end portion (front end portion) of the cooling region gas exhaust duct 81 is connected to the aforementioned combustion gas exhaust duct 22. A flow-rate adjusting valve V51 is provided in the cooling region gas exhaust duct 81 and a discharge rate of the exhaust gas in the cooling region 39c can be thereby adjusted.
The aforementioned reduction furnace 30 further includes an exhaust gas circulating device (exhaust gas circulating means) 50. The exhaust gas circulating device 50 includes first to third exhaust ducts 51a to 51c, an exhaust manifold 52, an ignition region gas exhaust duct 53, a scrubber 54, an exhaust gas duct 55, a mist separator 56, a blower 57, a circulating gas duct 58, and first to fifth branch circulating gas ducts 59a to 59e.
One end portions (base end sides) of the first to third exhaust ducts 51a to 51c are connected to a portion of the ceiling plate 34a of the hood 34 which is located in the reduction region 39b facing the second to fourth wind boxes 33b to 33d with the grate 101 therebetween, while the other end portions (front end sides) of the first to third exhaust ducts 51a to 51c are connected to the exhaust manifold 52 connected to the scrubber 54. Moreover, one end portion (base end side) of the exhaust manifold 52 is connected to the ignition region gas exhaust duct 53 connected to a portion of the ceiling plate 34a of the hood 34 which is located in the ignition region 39a facing the first wind box 33a with the grate 101 therebetween. A flow-rate adjusting valve V31 is provided in the ignition region gas exhaust duct 53 and a discharge rate of the exhaust gas in the ignition region 39a can be adjusted. An exhaust gas 91 in the ignition region 39a and the reduction region 39b is thus delivered to the scrubber 54 through the ignition region gas exhaust duct 53, the first to third exhaust ducts 51a to 51c, and the exhaust manifold 52, and is subjected to removal of solid objects such as dust in the exhaust gas 91 in the scrubber 54.
The scrubber 54 is connected to one end portion (base end portion) of the exhaust gas duct 55. The other end portion of the (front end portion) of the exhaust gas duct 55 is connected to a gas receiving port of the blower 57. The mist separator 56 and a flow-rate adjusting valve V32 are provided in the exhaust gas duct 55. A gas delivery port of the blower 57 is connected to a base end side of the circulating gas duct 58. The circulating gas duct 58 is connected to base end sides of the first to fifth branch circulating gas ducts 59a to 59e. Front end sides of the first to fifth branch circulating gas ducts 59a to 59e are connected to the first to fifth wind boxes 33a to 33e, respectively. Flow-rate adjusting valves V1 to V5 are provided respectively in the first to fifth branch circulating gas ducts 59a to 59e. An exhaust gas (dust-removed gas) 92 from which dust is removed is thus subjected to mist removal in the mist separator 56 and turns into an exhaust gas 93, and the flow-rate of the exhaust gas 93 is adjusted by the flow-rate adjusting valves V32, V1 to V5. In other words, the exhaust gas 91 turns into the exhaust gas 93 and is reused in the reduction furnace 30 as the circulating gas.
The aforementioned reduction furnace 30 further includes an air feeding device (air feeding means) 60. The air feeding device 60 includes an air feed duct 61, a blower 62, an air duct 63, and first to fifth branch air ducts 64a to 64e. One end portion (base end portion) of the air feed duct 61 is open to the atmosphere. The other end portion (front end portion) of the air feed duct 61 is connected to a gas receiving port of the blower 62. A gas delivery port of the blower 62 is connected to one end portion (base end portion) of the air duct 63. The air duct 63 is connected to base end sides of the first to fifth branch air ducts 64a to 64e. Front end sides of the first to fifth branch air ducts 64a to 64e are connected to the first to fifth branch circulating gas ducts 59a to 59e, respectively. Flow-rate adjusting valves V41, V11 to V15 configured to adjust the flow rate of air 94 are provided in the air feed duct 61 and the first to fifth branch air ducts 64a to 64e, respectively. Mixed gases (oxygen containing gases) 95a to 95e obtained by mixing the exhaust gas 93 and the air 94 at predetermined ratios by adjusting the flow-rate adjusting valves V1 to V5, V11 to V15, V31, V32, V41 can be fed to the wind boxes 33a to 33e, respectively.
CO sensors (carbon monoxide concentration detecting means) 71a to 71d configured to detect carbon monoxide concentrations are provided in the ignition region gas exhaust duct 53 and the first to third exhaust ducts 51a to 51c, respectively. An O2 sensor (oxygen concentration detecting means) 72 configured to detect an oxygen concentration is provided on the base end side of the circulating gas duct 58.
The aforementioned reduction furnace 30 further includes a control device (control means) 90 which is connected to output sides of the CO sensors 71a to 71d and the O2 sensor 72 and which is also connected to input sides of the flow-rate adjusting valves V1 to V5, V11 to V15, V31, V32, V41, V51 and the blowers 57, 62. The control device 90 is also connected to an input side of the flow-rate adjusting valve V21.
The control device 90 controls opening degrees of the flow-rate adjusting valves V1 to V5, V11 to V15, V31, V32, V41 and operations of the blowers 57, 62, based on the carbon monoxide concentrations detected by the CO sensors 71a to 71d and the oxygen concentration detected by the O2 sensor 72, such that each of the oxygen concentrations of the mixed gases 95a to 95e fed to the wind boxes 33a to 33e is adjusted to a predetermined concentration. The mixed gases 95a to 95e whose oxygen concentrations are adjusted respectively for the wind boxes 33a to 33e can be thereby fed into the furnace above the grate 101. Hence, the oxygen concentrations can be adjusted such that a desired temperature distribution is obtained in the height direction of the raw-material pellet bed 4. Moreover, in each of the ignition region 39a, the reduction region 39b, and the cooling region 39c, since oxygen in the atmosphere inside the furnace can be adjusted to a desired concentration, the oxygen concentration can be adjusted such that a desired temperature distribution is obtained in the height direction of the raw-material pellet bed 4.
The partially reduced iron discharging device 40 is a device which discharges, from the grate 101, the partially reduced iron 5 produced while passing through the regions 39a to 39c described above.
In the embodiment as described above, the flow-rate adjusting valves V1 to V5, V31, V32 and the like form exhaust gas circulation rate adjusting means. The flow-rate adjusting valves V11 to V15, V41 and the like form air feed rate adjusting means.
Description is given of a method of producing partially reduced iron by using the device for producing partially reduced iron of the embodiment configured as described above.
First, the ignition raw-material pellet supplying device 10 supplies the ignition raw-material pellets 1 onto the grate 101, and forms the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 whose height is, for example, 5 mm to 20 mm. The ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 moves to a position below the combustion burner 21 of the heating furnace 20 along with the movement of the grate 101. The combustion burner 21 heats the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 to the reduction temperature range which is, for example, about 1200° C. The ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 heated to the reduction temperature range moves to a position below the raw-material pellet supplying device 31 along with the movement of the grate 101. The raw-material pellet supplying device 31 supplies the raw-material pellets 3 onto the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 to form the raw-material pellet bed 4 whose height is, for example, about 200 mm.
Next, the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 and the raw-material pellet bed 4 move into the reduction furnace 30 along with the movement of the grate 101. In the reduction furnace 30, the mixed gases 95a to 95e obtained by mixing the exhaust gas (circulating gas) 93 and the air 94 are made to flow from the wind boxes 33a to 33e below the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 and the raw-material pellet bed 4 toward the ceiling plate 34a of the hood 34 above the layers 2 and 4.
The oxygen concentration of the mixed gas 95a to be fed into the first wind box 33a is adjusted to, for example, 15% by the flow-rate adjusting valves V1, V11, and the mixed gas 95a having the oxygen concentration of 15% is made to flow from below to above the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 and the raw-material pellet bed 4. In the ignition region 39a above the first wind box 33a, the heated ignition raw-material pellets 1 heat the raw-material pellets 3 adjacent to the heated ignition raw-material pellets 1, and the flammable volatile component is generated from the heated raw-material pellets 3 and is combusted. The heat of this combustion heats the raw-material pellet bed 4 above the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2.
The oxygen concentrations of the mixed gases 95b to 95d to be fed to the second to fourth wind boxes 33b to 33d are adjusted to, for example, 11% by the flow-rate adjusting valves V2 to V4, V12 to V14, and the mixed gases 95b to 95d having the oxygen concentration of 11% are made to flow from below to above the raw-material pellet bed 4 heated by the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2. In the reduction region 39b above the second to fourth wind boxes 33b to 33d, the flammable volatile component is generated from the reduced coal material in the raw-material pellets 3 in the raw-material pellet bed 4 heated by the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2, and about 75% to 90% of the flammable volatile component is combusted. The temperature of the raw-material pellets 3 further rises due to the combustion of the flammable volatile component and the reduction reaction proceeds. A carbon monoxide gas is thereby generated and part of the generated carbon monoxide gas is combusted. As a result, high concentration of carbon monoxide which is about, for example, 8% is generated in a center portion of the inside of the hood 34 in the grate traveling direction. Meanwhile, the raw-material pellets 3 adjacent to the raw-material pellets 3 whose temperature has risen are heated and the flammable volatile component is generated from the reduction carbon material in the adjacent raw-material pellets 3. The exhaust gas 91 containing the remainder of the flammable volatile component and the carbon monoxide gas flows through the first to third exhaust ducts 51a to 51c and the exhaust manifold 52 to be introduced into the scrubber 54. In the scrubber 54, the exhaust gas 91 turns into the exhaust gas 92 from which solid objects are removed. The exhaust gas 92 flows through the exhaust gas duct 55, is subjected to mist removal in the mist separator 56, and turns into the exhaust gas 93. The exhaust gas 93 further flows through the exhaust gas duct 55, flows through the blower 57, the circulating gas duct 58, and the second to fourth branch circulating gas ducts 59b to 59d, is mixed with the air 94 flowing through the air feed duct 61, the blower 62, the air duct 63, and the second to fourth branch air ducts 64b to 64d to turn into the mixed gases 95b to 95d. The mixed gases 95b to 95d are fed to the raw-material pellets 3 whose temperature has further risen, through the second to fourth wind boxes 33b to 33d and the grate 101. A combustion zone in which the raw-material pellets 3 are combusted thereby moves from a lower layer to an upper layer of the raw-material pellet bed 4.
The oxygen concentration of the mixed gas 95e to be fed to the fifth wind box 33e is adjusted to, for example, 5% or lower by the flow-rate adjusting valves V5, V15, and the mixed gas 95e having the oxygen concentration of 5% or less is made to flow from below to above the raw-material pellet bed 4 whose reduction has progressed to a predetermined degree. In the cooling region 39c above the fifth wind box 33e, the raw-material pellet bed 4 whose reduction has progressed to the predetermined degree is cooled to about 100° C. to about 800° C., and turns into the desired partially reduced iron 5.
Then, the desired partially reduced iron 5 moves onto the partially reduced iron discharging device 40 along with the movement of the grate 101 and is discharged from the inside of the reduction furnace 30.
In the aforementioned device for producing partially reduced iron of the embodiment, the control device 90 estimates the reduction state (combustion state) of the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 and the raw-material pellet bed 4 in the reduction furnace 30 from the carbon monoxide concentration of the exhaust gas 91, and controls the opening degrees of the flow-rate adjusting valves V1 to V5, V11, V15, V31, V32, V41 and the operations of the blowers 57, 62, based on the estimation result and the oxygen concentration of the exhaust gas 93, such that the oxygen concentrations of the mixed gas 95a to be fed to the heating region 39a, the mixed gases 95b to 95d to be fed to the reduction region 39b, and the mixed gas 95e to be fed the cooling region 39c in the reduction furnace 30 are adjusted to the predetermined values, more specifically, such that the oxygen concentrations of the mixed gases 95a to 95e to be fed respectively to the wind boxes 33a to 33e are adjusted to the predetermined values.
The control device 90 estimates the combustion state of the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 in the ignition region 39a from the carbon monoxide concentration of the exhaust gas 91 flowing through the ignition region gas exhaust duct 53 which is detected by the CO sensor 71a.
When the carbon monoxide concentration of the exhaust gas 91 is lower than a carbon monoxide concentration lower limit value (for example, 10%), the control device 90 estimates that the temperature of the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 is lower than 1300° C. The control device 90 then controls the opening degrees of the flow-rate adjusting valves V1, V11, based on the oxygen concentration of the exhaust gas 93 detected by the O2 sensor 72, such that the oxygen concentration of the mixed gas 95a exceeds a predetermined oxygen concentration value (oxygen concentration required to stably combust the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 at 1300° C.), and also controls the operations of the blowers 57, 62 such that the flow rate of the mixed gas 95a is constant.
When the carbon monoxide concentration of the exhaust gas 91 is higher than a carbon monoxide concentration upper limit value (for example, 11%), the control device 90 estimates that the temperature of the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 is higher than 1300° C. The control device 90 then controls the opening degrees of the flow-rate adjusting valves V1, V11, based on the oxygen concentration of the exhaust gas 93 detected by the O2 sensor 72, such that the oxygen concentration of the mixed gas 95a falls below the predetermined oxygen concentration value, and also controls the operations of the blowers 57, 62 such that the flow rate of the mixed gas 95a is constant.
When the carbon monoxide concentration of the exhaust gas 91 is the carbon monoxide lower limit value or higher and is the carbon monoxide concentration upper limit value or lower, the control device 90 estimates that the temperature of the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 is 1300° C. The control device 90 then controls the opening degrees of the flow-rate adjusting valves V1, V11, based on the oxygen concentration of the exhaust gas 93 detected by the O2 sensor 72, such that the oxygen concentration of the mixed gas 95a is adjusted to the predetermined oxygen concentration value, and also controls the operations of the blowers 57, 62 such that the flow rate of the mixed gas 95a is constant.
Due to this, it is possible to maintain the combustion temperature of the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 in the heating region 39a at 1300° C. and to stably heat the raw-material pellet bed 4 with the combustion heat generated in the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2.
In the reduction region 39b (second to fourth wind boxes 33b to 33d), in the same way as in the heating region 39a (first wind box 33a), the control device 90 estimates the combustion state of the raw-material pellet bed 4 heated by the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 in the reduction region 39b (above the second to fourth wind boxes 33b to 33d) from the carbon monoxide concentration of the exhaust gas 91 flowing through the first to third exhaust ducts 51a to 51c which is detected by each of the CO sensors 71b to 71d.
For example, as shown in
When the carbon monoxide concentration of the exhaust gas 91 is higher than 11% which is the carbon monoxide concentration upper limit value, the control device 90 estimates that the temperature of the raw-material pellet bed 4 is higher than 1300° C. The control device 90 then controls the opening degrees of the flow-rate adjusting valves V2 to V4 and V12 to V14, based on the oxygen concentration of the exhaust gas 93 detected by the O2 sensor 72, such that the oxygen concentrations of the mixed gases 95b to 95d fall below 10% which is the predetermined oxygen concentration value, and also controls the operations of the blowers 57, 62 such that the flow rates of the mixed gases 95b to 95d are constant.
When the carbon monoxide concentration of the exhaust gas 91 is the carbon monoxide concentration lower limit value or higher and is the carbon monoxide concentration upper limit value or lower (for example is 10% or higher and is 11% or lower), the control device 90 controls the opening degrees of the flow-rate adjusting valves V2 to V4 and V12 to V14, based on the oxygen concentration of the exhaust gas 93 detected by the O2 sensor 72, such that the oxygen concentrations of the mixed gases 95b to 95d are adjusted to 10% which is the predetermined oxygen concentration value, and also controls the operations of the blowers 57, 62 such that the flow rates of the mixed gases 95b to 95d are constant.
Accordingly, the temperature of the combustion zone of the raw-material pellet bed 4 can be maintained at 1300° C. in the reduction region 39b.
Due to the configuration described above, as shown in part (b) of
Accordingly, since the device for producing partially reduced iron of the embodiment detects the carbon monoxide concentration of the exhaust gas 91 discharged from each of the regions 39a to 39c of the reduction furnace main body 32, the device for producing partially reduced iron can more surely estimate the reduction state (combustion state) of the ignition raw-material pellets 1 (ignition raw-material pellet layer 2) and the raw-material pellets 3 (raw-material pellet bed 4) which correlates with the carbon monoxide concentration in the exhaust gas 91, even when the ignition raw-material pellets 1 and the raw-material pellets 3 (raw material) vary greatly in the particle size distribution, the water content amount, the composition, and the like and the variation among lots of the ignition raw-material pellets 1 and the raw-material pellets 3 (raw material) is great. Since the mixed gases 95a, 95a to 95d, 95e whose oxygen concentrations are adjusted based on this estimation are fed into the reduction furnace main body 32, the temperature of the combustion zone of the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 and the raw-material pellet bed 4 can be stabilized in the regions 39a to 39c. Accordingly, unlike the conventional method in which the oxygen concentrations of the respective regions are constant and the conventional method in which the temperature inside the furnace is actually measured, the partially reduced iron 5 with a desired degree of metallization (degree of reduction) can be efficiently produced without insufficient reduction or excessive fusing.
The reduction region 39b can be adjusted to be an environment suitable for the reduction processing of the raw-material pellets 3, i.e. the temperature (maximum temperature) of the combustion zone of the raw-material pellet bed 4 can be adjusted to be always around 1300° C. by: detecting the carbon monoxide concentration of the exhaust gas 91 discharged from the reduction region 39b; estimating the reduction state (combustion state) of the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 (ignition raw-material pellets 1) and the raw-material pellet bed 4 (raw-material pellets 3) in the reduction region 39b from the detection result; calculating the oxygen concentrations of the mixed gases 95b to 95d required to stabilize the reduction (combustion) of the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 and the raw-material pellet bed 4 in the reduction region 39b, based on the estimation result; and controlling the opening degrees of the flow-rate adjusting valves V2 to V4 and V12 to V14 and the operations of the blowers 57, 62, based on the oxygen concentration of the exhaust gas detected by the O2 sensor 72, such that the oxygen concentrations of the mixed gases 95b to 95d are adjusted to the calculation results. As a result, the partially reduced iron 5 whose degree of reduction is stable can be produced.
The ignition region 39a can be adjusted to be an environment suitable for the reduction processing of the ignition raw-material pellets 1 and the raw-material pellets 3 by: detecting the carbon monoxide concentration of the exhaust gas 91 discharged from the ignition region 39a; estimating the reduction state (combustion state) of the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 (ignition raw-material pellets 1) and the raw-material pellet bed 4 (raw-material pellets 3) in the ignition region 39a from the detection result; calculating the oxygen concentration of the mixed gas 95a required to stabilize the reduction (combustion) of the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 and the raw-material pellet bed 4 in the ignition region 39a, based on the estimation result; and controlling the opening degrees of the flow-rate adjusting valves V1, V11 and the operations of the blowers 57, 62, based on the oxygen concentration of the exhaust gas 93 detected by the O2 sensor 72, such that the oxygen concentration of the mixed gas 95a is adjusted to the calculation result. As a result, the raw-material pellets 3 can be sufficiently heated by the ignition raw-material pellets 1. Moreover, it is possible to sufficiently generate the flammable volatile component and the flammable gas and efficiently heat the raw-material pellets 3 by the ignition raw-material pellets 1.
The portions above the respective wind boxes 33a to 33d can be adjusted to be an environment suitable for the reduction processing of the ignition raw-material pellets 1 and the raw-material pellets 3 by: measuring the carbon monoxide concentration of the exhaust gas 91 for each of the wind boxes 33a to 33d; estimating the reduction state (combustion state) of the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 (ignition raw-material pellets 1) and the raw-material pellet bed 4 (raw-material pellets 3) in each of the portions above the wind boxes 33a to 33d from the measurement result; calculating the oxygen concentrations of the mixed gases 95a to 95d required to stabilize the reduction (combustion) of the ignition raw-material pellet layer 2 and the raw-material pellet bed 4 in the portions above the respective wind boxes 33a to 33d, based on the estimation result; and controlling the opening degrees of the flow-rate adjusting valves V1 to V4 and V11 to V14 and the operations of the blowers 57, 62, based on the oxygen concentration of the exhaust gas 93 detected by the O2 sensor 72, such that the oxygen concentrations of the mixed gases 95a to 95d are adjusted to the calculation results. The raw-material pellet bed 4 can be thereby efficiently heated by the ignited ignition raw-material pellet layer 2. The combustion zone can be efficiently formed in the raw-material pellet bed 4. The combustion zone can stably move upward in the raw-material pellet bed 4. Accordingly, the partially reduced iron 5 can be produced with the degree of reduction being more stable. Hence, a load required to improve the degree of reduction in a melting furnace which is the next step can be suppressed.
In the aforementioned embodiment, description is given by using the device for producing partially reduced iron including the grate reduction furnace 100 through which the wind passes upward. However, the device for producing partially reduced iron may be configured as follows. The raw-material pellet supplying device and the heating furnace are arranged in this order from upstream in the traveling direction of the grate and the device for producing partially reduced iron includes a grate reduction furnace through which a wind passes downward.
In the aforementioned embodiment, description is given of the device for producing partially reduced iron which adjusts the oxygen concentrations of the mixed gases 95a to 95e to be fed respectively to the first to fifth wind boxes 33a to 33e. However, the partially reduced iron producing apparatus may be configured to adjust the oxygen concentrations of the mixed gas 95a, the mixed gases 95b to 95d, and the mixed gas 95e respectively for the heating region 39a, the reduction region 39b, and the cooling region 39c.
Since the device for producing partially reduced iron of the present invention can efficiently produce partially reduced iron with a predetermined degree of reduction, the device for producing partially reduced iron can be beneficially used in the steel industry and the like.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-255779 | Dec 2013 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2014/082802 | 12/11/2014 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2015/087959 | 6/18/2015 | WO | A |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8038766 | Orth | Oct 2011 | B2 |
| 8961650 | Kamikawa | Feb 2015 | B2 |
| 8974571 | Kamikawa | Mar 2015 | B2 |
| 9163879 | Kamikawa | Oct 2015 | B2 |
| 20130139647 | Kamikawa | Jun 2013 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 103131850 | Jun 2013 | CN |
| 11-248359 | Sep 1999 | JP |
| 2001-115204 | Apr 2001 | JP |
| 2002-97508 | Apr 2002 | JP |
| 2003-183716 | Jul 2003 | JP |
| 2004-169140 | Jun 2004 | JP |
| 2013-117050 | Jun 2013 | JP |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20160304977 A1 | Oct 2016 | US |
