Patent Application
20090160107
The present invention relates to a rotary hearth furnace and a method for operating the rotary hearth furnace, and more specifically to a technique for completely burning combustible exhaust gas generated in the rotary hearth furnace.
A known rotary hearth furnace includes an outer wall, an inner wall, and an annular rotary hearth disposed between the outer wall and the inner wall. The rotary hearth generally includes an annular furnace frame, a hearth heat insulation material disposed over the furnace frame, and a refractory disposed on the hearth heat insulation material. Such a rotary hearth is rotated by a mechanism. The rotating mechanism may be, for example, a gear mechanism including a rotating shaft disposed at the lower portion of the hearth, a pinion gear fixed to the rotating shaft so as to be rotated together with the rotating shaft, a rack rail circularly fixed to the bottom of the furnace frame and engaging with the pinion gear, or an apparatus including a track annularly laid on the surface of the hearth and a plurality of driving wheels disposed at the bottom of the furnace frame and running on the track.
Rotary hearth furnaces including such a mechanism can be used for heat treatment of metals, such as steel billet, or heat treatment of combustible wastes. In addition, a process that produces reduced iron from iron oxides in the rotary hearth furnace has come to attention. An example of the process for producing reduced iron in the rotary hearth furnace will now be described with reference to
(1) Iron oxide powder (iron ore, electric furnace dust, etc.) and carbonaceous reductant powder (coal, coke, etc.) are mixed and agglomerated, thereby forming green-pellets.
(2) The green pellets are heated in a range of temperatures at which combustible components evaporated from the pellets do not ignite. Water adhering to the green pellets is removed by this heating, and thus dried pellets 24 shown in
(3) The dried pellets are fed into the rotary hearth furnace 26 by an appropriate charging device 23 shown in
(4) The pellet layer is heated to be reduced by radiation of combustion in a burner 27 provided at an upper portion in the furnace. Thus, the pellet layer is metalized.
(5) The metalized pellets are cooled by a cooler 28. The cooling is performed by, for example, directly jetting a gas onto the pellets, or an indirect technique using a water-cooling jacket. The cooling gives the pellets such a mechanical strength as they can endure being handled while or after they are discharged. The cooled pellets (for example, reduced iron) 25 are discharged to the outside of the furnace by a discharging device 22.
(6) Immediately after the pellets 25 are discharged, the charging device 23 feeds other dried pellets. The sequence of these steps is repeated to produce reduced iron.
Combustible exhaust gas generated in the rotary hearth furnace used for producing reduced iron is drawn from an exhaust gas discharge region located on the circumference of the rotary hearth furnace to an exhaust duct connected to the ceiling of the exhaust gas discharge region, and is discharged to the outside of the system through an exhaust gas treatment apparatus disposed in the downstream from the exhaust duct. However, part of the combustible components remain in the exhaust gas drawn to the exhaust duct from the rotary hearth furnace. This is because the exhaust gas cannot be sufficiently mixed with oxygen in the rotary hearth furnace, so that the combustible components cannot be completely burned.
Accordingly, in general, secondary combustion air is supplied into the furnace so that the combustible gas can be burned with the secondary combustion air to reduce fuel consumption. However, the supply of the secondary combustion air excessively increases the amount of air in the furnace. The excess of the air not only reduces the temperature in the furnace, but also inhibits the reduction reaction or causes reoxidation.
A metal reduction process using an apparatus as shown in
This apparatus, however, cannot sufficiently mix and agitate the secondary combustion air and the combustible gas or ensure residence time sufficient to burn the combustible gas, even if a sufficient amount of air for the secondary combustion is introduced to the heating zone 30. Accordingly, the unburned combustibles may not be completely burned in the region where heat of combustion should be used efficiently. In other words, because the known apparatus cannot sufficiently mix or agitate the unburned combustibles and the secondary combustion air in the furnace, the unburned combustibles do not burn completely. Thus, part of the unburned combustibles are drawn to the exhaust duct without being burned. This phenomenon causes not only the decrease of the fuel efficiency of the rotary hearth furnace, but also damages to equipment, such as the exhaust duct, from the combustion of the unburned combustibles in the exhaust duct and the increase of its temperature. Furthermore, ash and other components contained in the exhaust gas with a high temperature may be melted and adhere to the duct, thus clogging the duct.
The object of the present invention is to increase the fuel efficiency of a rotary hearth furnace by completely burning combustible components remaining in exhaust gas generated in the rotary hearth furnace so as to use the combustible components efficiently for the heating and reduction reaction in the rotary hearth furnace, without problems in producing reduced iron.
In order to accomplish the object, the present invention provides a rotary hearth furnace including an outer wall and an inner wall; a rotary hearth and a ceiling disposed between the outer wall and the inner wall; and a compartment-defining portion and an exhaust duct. The compartment-defining portion is provided on part of the ceiling along the rotation direction of the rotary hearth, has a lower surface lying higher than the lower surface of the other portion of the ceiling, and defines a compartment inside. The exhaust duct is connected to the compartment-defining portion so as to communicate with the compartment.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to
The rotary hearth 10 is driven by a not shown driving device so as to rotate through the space between the outer wall 2 and the inner wall 3. The rotary hearth 10 includes an annular furnace frame 4, a hearth heat insulation material 5 disposed on the furnace frame 4, and a refractory 6 disposed on the hearth heat insulation material 5. Agglomerated pellets 7 made of iron oxide and a carbonaceous reducer are introduced onto the heat insulation material 5 through a not shown charging hole. The agglomerated pellets 7 are heat-treated and reduced in the furnace with the rotary hearth 10 rotating. Thus, reduced iron is produced.
The rotary hearth furnace 1 has an exhaust gas eductor 8. The exhaust gas eductor 8 includes a compartment-defining portion 12a for defining a compartment 9 in the rotary hearth furnace 1 and an exhaust duct 13 connected to the compartment-defining portion 12a.
The compartment-defining portion 12a is provided on the ceiling 12 to define a part of the ceiling 12 along the circumferential direction (or the rotation direction of the rotary hearth 10). The compartment-defining portion 12a protrudes upward from the ceiling 12, and the lower surface of the compartment-defining portion lies higher than the lower surface of the other portion of the ceiling 12. Thus, the compartment-defining portion 12a defines the compartment 9 inside so as to form an upward recess extending from another space in the furnace.
The compartment-defining portion 12a is formed on part of the ceiling 12 along the rotation direction of the rotary hearth 10, and more specifically in the region corresponding to an exhaust gas discharge region 11 to which the exhaust duct 13 should been connected. The exhaust duct 13 is horizontally connected to the compartment-defining portion 12a to communicate with the compartment 9.
The compartment 9 allows the exhaust gas generated in the furnace to stay until the exhaust gas reaches the exhaust duct 13. More specifically, the compartment 9 has a sufficient capacity in which combustible components remaining in the exhaust gas can be burned within the residence time of the exhaust gas (time until the exhaust gas reaches the exhaust duct 13).
In order to ensure sufficient residence time, preferably, baffle walls 12b are provided downward at the ends in the circumferential direction of the compartment-defining portion 12a to separate the compartment 9 from the other space in the furnace, as shown in
The exhaust gas eductor 8 of the present embodiment also has a narrowing portion 15 as shown in
The narrowing portion 15 refers to a portion reducing the cross section of the entrance through which the exhaust gas comes into the compartment 9, and serves to agitate the exhaust gas that has come into the compartment 9.
In the present embodiment, a plurality of oxygen-containing gas injection nozzles 14 through which an oxygen-containing gas blows in are provided to the compartment-defining portion 12a (the narrowing portion 15 in the case shown in the figures). These oxygen-containing gas injection nozzles 14 supply oxygen-containing gas to the compartment 9 in an amount sufficient to completely burn combustible components remaining in the exhaust gas discharged from the rotary hearth furnace 1. The blowing of oxygen-containing gas can promote the agitation and mixing of the exhaust gas, so that combustible components in the exhaust gas are burned more efficiently. The oxygen-containing gas injection nozzles 14 may be disposed through the narrowing portion 15 as shown in the figures, or in the vicinity apart from the narrowing portion 15 in the vertical direction. The nozzles 14 may be provided to a compartment-defining portion not having the narrowing portion 15.
Preferably, the oxygen-containing gas injection nozzle 14 is provided to the narrowing portion 15 so that the oxygen-containing gas is jetted at a tilt angle with respect to the space defining the compartment 9. This arrangement forms a spiral flow in the compartment 9, promotes the agitation of the combustible gas and the oxygen-containing gas, and extends the residence time of the exhaust gas in the compartment 9.
The amount of the oxygen-containing gas should be controlled so that the temperature in the compartment 9 is lower or equal to the allowable temperature limit of the refractory of the compartment 9. The oxygen-containing gas can be air, which is most easily available.
More preferably, a plurality of cooling medium injection nozzles 16 are provided to the exhaust duct 13 of the exhaust gas eductor 8, as shown in
Air, which is most easily available, can be used as the cooling medium. Exhaust gas with a temperature of room temperature or less discharged from another plant may be also used as the cooling gas. As an alternative to such cooling gases, cooling water may be sprayed into the exhaust duct 13 through the cooling medium injection nozzles 16 to increase the cooling efficiency. The amount of the cooling medium is preferably controlled so that the temperature of the exhaust gas is reduced to a temperature lower than or equal to the softening points or melting points of ash components or the like.
As described above, a rotary hearth furnace is provided which includes an outer wall, an inner wall, and a rotary hearth and a ceiling disposed between the outer wall and the inner wall, and which further includes a compartment-defining portion and an exhaust duct. The compartment-defining portion is provided on part of the ceiling along the rotation direction of the rotary hearth, having a lower surface at a higher position than the position of the lower surface of the other portion of the ceiling, and defines a compartment inside. The exhaust duct is connected to the compartment-defining portion so as to communicate with the compartment. Combustible components remaining in the exhaust gas are completely burned during staying in the compartment. This complete combustion efficiently helps the heating and reduction reaction in the rotary hearth furnace and thus increases the fuel efficiency without problems in producing reduced iron.
In the rotary hearth furnace, more preferably, a narrow portion is formed at the entrance to the compartment. The narrow portion allows the exhaust gas to form a turbulent flow and helps agitate the combustible components and oxygen remaining in the exhaust gas, thus efficiently bringing both gases into contact with each other. Thus, the complete combustion of the combustible components can be ensured more certainly.
More preferably, in the rotary hearth furnace, an oxygen-containing gas injection nozzle is provided to the compartment-defining portion, and through which an oxygen-containing gas is fed into the compartment. Preferably, the amount of oxygen-containing gas is set so that the combustible components remaining in the exhaust gas discharged from the rotary hearth furnace are completely burned. The operation of such a rotary hearth furnace, if it has a heating zone and a reducing zone, prevents the heating zone from coming to a reducing atmosphere due to lack of oxygen, or the reducing zone from coming to an oxidizing atmosphere due to oxygen excess, and allows combustible components to be completely burned and subsequently discharged through the exhaust duct.
The complete combustion of unburned combustibles in the furnace may increase the temperature of the exhaust gas discharged from the furnace, so that ash or other components contained in the exhaust gas are softened or melted and adhere to the exhaust duct to clog it. However, this phenomenon can be prevented by rapidly cooling the exhaust gas to a temperature lower than or equal to the softening point or melting point of the ash and other components immediately after the exhaust gas is discharged from the compartment of the furnace. For this purpose, an apparatus having a cooling medium injection nozzle through the exhaust duct is suitably used. A cooling medium is fed to the exhaust gas through the cooling medium injection nozzle to reduce the temperature of the exhaust gas, and thus reduces damages from high temperature and adhesion of the ash and other components to the equipment.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-316992 | Oct 2005 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2006/321688 | 10/31/2006 | WO | 00 | 4/10/2008 |
