Iron bath smelting - current status and understanding

Conference · Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1990

OSTI ID:7011921

Fruehan, R J

Currently there is a worldwide effort to develop an iron and steelmaking process which uses coal directly rather than coke for reduction and energy. The most promising of the new processes is Bath Smelting in which coal, iron ore and oxygen or air are reacted in an iron bath. Research and development of the process is underway in Europe, Australia, Japan and the USA; while other countries are planning work for the near future. A brief description of the processes and the current state of their development is briefly discussed. The current state of knowledge on the critical basic phenomena which control bath smelting are reviewed. The major production limiting processes, reduction of iron oxide, heat transfer and slag foaming are discussed. A simple reduction model is presented which predicts how the production rate will vary with operating parameters and estimates the rate itself. From the foam index for smelting slags, and the gas generation for the specific operating conditions, the foam height in the process can be estimated. Coke in the slag can significantly reduce slag foaming. Future developments are briefly discussed. 15 refs., 16 figs., 1 tab.

• Research Organization: Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/CE
• DOE Contract Number: FC07-89ID12847
• OSTI ID: 7011921
• Report Number(s): EGG-M-90055; CONF-9006163-1; ON: DE90009643
• Resource Relation: Conference: Elliot symposium -- ISS-AIME, Boston, MA (USA), 10-13 Jun 1990
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
COAL
SMELTING
METAL INDUSTRY
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
STEELS
PRODUCTION
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
COST
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ECONOMICS
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
FOAMS
GASES
GASIFICATION
HEAT TRANSFER
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
OPERATION
OXYGEN
PERFORMANCE TESTING
PROCESS CONTROL
REDUCTION
SLAGS
VARIATIONS
ALLOYS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COLLOIDS
CONTROL
DISPERSIONS
EFFICIENCY
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENERGY TRANSFER
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
INDUSTRY
IRON ALLOYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
MATERIALS
NONMETALS
TESTING
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
320303* - Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization- Industrial & Agricultural Processes- Equipment & Processes
360101 - Metals & Alloys- Preparation & Fabrication
291000 - Energy Planning & Policy- Conservation
990200 - Mathematics & Computers
010500 - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Products & By-Products