Lecture 26

Humayun Kabir, Lecturer, Dept. of MME

Processing Steps:

2 Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET

Background:

 Iron is one of the most common elements on earth. It is the fourth most common
element in the Earth's crust. Nearly every construction of man contains at least a
little iron. It is also one of the oldest metals and was first fashioned into useful and
ornamental objects at least 3,500 years ago.

 Pure iron is a soft, grayish-white metal. Although iron is a common element, pure
iron is almost never found in nature. Metallic or native iron is rarely found on the
surface of the Earth because it tends to oxidize. Most iron is found in minerals
formed by the combination of iron with other elements. Iron oxides are the most
common. Those minerals near the surface of the earth that have the highest iron
content are known as iron ores and are mined commercially.

3 Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET

 Iron ore is converted into various types of iron through several processes. The most
common process is the use of a blast furnace to produce pig iron which is about 92-
94% iron and 3.5-4.5% carbon with smaller amounts of other elements (Si, Mn, P
etc.). Pig iron has only limited uses, and most of this iron goes on to a steel mill
where it is converted into various steel alloys by further reducing the carbon content
and adding other elements such as manganese and nickel to give the steel specific
properties.

 In short, crude iron metal is produced in blast furnaces, where ore is reduced by
coke to pig iron, which has a high carbon content. Further refinement with oxygen
reduces the carbon content to the correct proportion to make steel.

4 Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET

❖What is Pig Iron?
❑Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such
as coke, usually with limestone as a flux.

❑Pig iron usually contains 3-4% of carbon, 2-4% of silicon, 1-2% of manganese and 1-
1.2% of phosphorous which makes it very brittle and not useful directly as a material
except for limited applications.

Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET

 What is a Blast Furnace?

•The purpose of a blast furnace is to

reduce and convert iron oxides into liquid
iron called “hot metal” or molten pig iron.
•The blast furnace is a huge, steel stack
lined with refractory brick.
•Iron ore, coke and limestone are put into
the top, and preheated air is blown into the
bottom.

•Once a blast furnace is started it will

continuously run for four to ten years with
only short stops to perform planned
maintenance.

Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET

 Raw Materials

Three substances are needed to enable to extraction of iron from its ore. The combined mixture is called
the charge.
Iron ore : Haematite(Fe2O3)/Magnetite(Fe3O4) - Fe2O3 often contains impurities such as sand (SiO2)
Limestone (calcium carbonate) or Dolomite– acts as flux
Coke - mainly carbon. Coke is produced by heating coal in the absence of air

The charge is placed in the blast furnace. The blast furnace is around 30 metres high and lined with fireproof
bricks. Hot air is blasted through the bottom.

Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET

The function of the limestone
 Iron ore isn't pure iron oxide - it also contains an assortment of rocky material. This wouldn't melt at
the temperature of the furnace, and would eventually clog it up. Hence, an external flux is required to
render the gangue associated with the ore and coke ash which are generally siliceous in nature, fusible
at relatively low temperatures so as to separate readily from the molten iron.

 The limestone is added to convert this into slag which melts and runs to the bottom.
 The heat of the furnace decomposes the limestone to give calcium oxide.
 CaCO3 → CaO+ CO2

 This is an endothermic reaction, absorbing heat from the furnace. It is therefore, important not to add
too much limestone because it would otherwise cool the furnace.

8 Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET

 Calcium oxide is a basic oxide and reacts with acidic oxides such as silicon dioxide present in the
rock. Calcium oxide reacts with silicon dioxide to give calcium silicate.
 CaO+SiO2 → CaSiO3

 The calcium silicate melts and runs down through the furnace to form a layer on top of the molten
iron. It can be tapped off from time to time as slag.
 Slag is used in road making and as "slag cement" - a final ground slag which can be used in cement,
often mixed with Portland cement.

9 Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET

Blast Furnace Fuel-Coke
 Coke is obtained by heating metallurgical coal out of contact with air, when the
volatile matter gets removed and carbon particles join each other to form a porous
cellular mass with sufficient strength.
 It has good strength and yet a porous structure which enables it to react with
oxygen readily for burning.

 Coke fulfills three major roles:

 It is a fuel providing heat for meeting the endothermic requirements of chemical reactions and
melting of slag and metal.
 It produces and regenerates reducing gases for the reduction of iron oxides
 It provides an open permeable bed through which slag and metal pass down into the hearth and
hot reducing gas pass upwards.

10 Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET

Modern Blast Furnace Plant
Main components of a modern blast furnace plant:

1. Blast furnace proper

2. Hot Blast Supply Equipments/Air Preheating Device
3. Gas Cleaning System and Gas Storage
4. Raw Material Storage and Handling
5. Liquid products disposal
6. Process control equipments

11 Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET

Main Sections of a blast furnace
 Main sections are (from bottom to top)
 Hearth
 Bosch
 Stack
 Charging is done through the top.

 The tuyeres through which hot air is blasted are situated at the joining of bosch and
hearth.

 A slaghole and a taphole is provided at the hearth

Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET

Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET
 Outline of operation
 The burden is charged in layers
 One layer comprises coke and the other one is (iron ore+flux) and so on
 A bed of coke is maintained in the tuyere region all the time
 The hot air blasted through the tuyeres, reacts with the coke, burning them, and
produces carbon monoxide
 This zone experiences the highest temperature (1800-2000 C) because combustion
takes place here
 The hot gases generated rise through the furnace and gives up its sensible heat to
the charge that is filling the stack column

Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET

Outline of operation
 As the gas rises its temperature drops because its heat is taken away by the charge.
 A temperature gradient is created, and so the temperature is highest at the tuyere
region and lowest at the top
 The alternately charged burden thus, experiences different temperatures depending
on where it is located in the furnace
 The level of the entire burden periodically drops as metal and slag are tapped from
the bottom
 This means that burden charged at the top (where, T is low) gradually experiences
higher T as it drops periodically.

 When it drops sufficiently and the temperature is suitable, iron-oxide reduction

begins
Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET
 Outline of operation
 As it drops further the ore is eventually fully reduced to metallic iron and thereafter
picks up some extra carbon (carburization – this also lowers the melting point of solid
iron)
 At some point the temperature is high enough to cause melting and the metallic drops
trickle through the bed of coke and so does the liquid slag, which has formed by now
 The molten liquids finally settle at the hearth where slag and metal forms separate
layers due to their specific gravity being different
 The coke that was charged from the top does not take part in any significant reaction
until it reaches the tuyere region
 Here, it joins the coke bed already present and serves to replenish it, which is
continually burning

Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET

 Principle reactions of iron-making

•The coke (essentially impure carbon) burns in the blast of hot air to form carbon
dioxide - a strongly exothermic reaction.This reaction is the main source of heat in
the furnace.
C(s) + O 2(g) → CO2(g)

•The heat of the furnace decomposes the limestone to give calcium oxide and carbon
dioxide:

CaCO3(s) → CaO(s) + CO2 (g)

•Carbon dioxide produced in 1 + 2 react with more coke to produce carbon

monoxide:

CO2(g) + C(s) → 2CO(g)

Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET

• It is the carbon monoxide which is the main reducing agent in the furnace.The carbon
monoxide reduces the iron in the ore to give molten iron:

Fe2O3(s) + 3CO(g) → 2Fe(l) + 3CO2(g)

• In the hotter parts of the furnace, the carbon itself also acts as a reducing agent. Notice that
at these temperatures, the other product of the reaction is carbon monoxide, not carbon dioxide.

Fe2O3 +3C →2 Fe+ 3 CO

• The limestone from 2, reacts with the sand to form slag (calcium silicate):

CaO(s) + SiO2(s) → CaSiO3(l)

Other slag forming reactions also occur.
Being lighter than metal, it floats above the metal layer in the hearth.

“IRON MAKING IS THUS A REDUCTIVE PROCESS”

Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET

Detailed Reactions (see figure on next page)
 Logical order of reactions (Note: these reactions DO NOT occur in the same
place. They occur in different parts but reaction products of one reaction may
take part in another one)
1. Burning of coke
2. Reduction of iron oxides by gas produced in 1
3. Decomposition of limestone by heat generated from 1
4. Carburization and melting of iron oxides
5. Slag formation by reactants made available from 2 and 3
6. Slag dissociation (reverse of 5)
7. Reduction reactions made possible because of 6
8. Impurity pick up due to reactions in 7

Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET

Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET
Chemical Reactions in the Stack:
 The first change involves the drying of the burden.
 Reduction of iron oxides by their interaction with carbon monoxide or with carbon directly.
 Fe2O3 + CO = Fe3O4 + CO2
 Fe3O4 + CO = FeO + CO2
 FeO + CO = FeM + CO2
 The deposition of carbon by CO or the “gasification” of carbon by CO2 in the equilibrium
reaction.
 2 CO C + CO2
 At the upper level of stack, CO in the gas has a higher reducing power than solid carbon and
this together with the low temperatures makes direct reduction seem unlikely.

21 Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET

Chemical Reactions in the Stack:
 But in the lower level, solid carbon has a higher reducing power than the CO in the gas.
However, the CO still can reduce the iron oxides in this region.
 At the lower levels of stack, reduction can be quite complete and some carburization of the
iron begin.
 Fe + CO = Fe3C + CO2
 Fe + C = Fe3C
 Calcium and Magnesium Carbonates can dissociate according to the following reaction.
 CaCO3 = CaO + CO2
 MgCO3 = MgO + CO2

22 Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET

Chemical Reactions in the Bosh and Hearth:
 The gangue of the ore and coke combine with the basic oxides (CaO, MgO etc.) from the
limestone to form a liquid slag over the molten pig iron in the hearth.
 SiO2 + Al2O3 = Al2O3 . SiO2
 SiO2 + CaO = CaO . SiO2
 P2O5 + CaO = CaO . P2O5
 MnO + SiO2 = MnO . SiO2
 As the materials of the charge move downward into the bosh zone with its higher
temperatures and strongly reducing conditions, some oxides more stable than iron oxides
are reduced.
 SiO2 (in slag) + 2C(s) =Si (in liquid Fe) + 2CO
 P2O5 (in slag) + 5C (s) = 2P (in liquid Fe) +5CO
 MnO (in slag) + C (s) = Mn (in liquid Fe) + CO

23 Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET

•Spongy iron absorbs carbon, melts and rains down through the layer of liquid slag
to join the layer of liquid pig iron in the bottom of the hearth.

• The iron takes up Mn, Si, S, and P in varying amounts.

• Slag dissociation reaction may occur in this region.

•Both the slag and iron are drained from the bottom of the furnace.

•The slag is mainly used to build roads.

•The iron whilst molten is poured into moulds and left to solidify - this is called pig
iron and is used to make railings and storage tanks.

•The rest of the iron is used to make steel.

Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET
1. Iron ore + limestone sinter 9. Tapping of molten pig iron 15. Feed air for Cowper stoves (air pre-
2. Coke 10. Slag pot heaters)
3. Elevator 11. Torpedo car for pig iron 16. Powdered coal
4. Feedstock inlet 12. Dust cyclone for separation of solid 17. Coke oven
5. Layer of coke particles 18. Coke
6. Layer of sinter pellets of ore and limestone 13. Cowper stoves for hot blast 19. Blast furnace gas downcomer
7. Hot blast (around 1200 °C) 14. Smoke outlet (can be redirected to
8. Removal of slag carbon capture & storage (CCS) tank)

Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET

The Gas Cleaning Plant
•The Blast furnace gas contains considerable amount of dust picked up from the
furnace and necessitate cleaning if it is used in stoves and boilers.

•Most of the dust could be separated and removed if it was given a chance to
settle down and such a chance occurs when the velocity of the gas is materially
reduced accompanied by a sudden change in the direction of its flow.

•The dustcatcher can be considered as a big enlargement of the downcomer.

•From the dustcatcher, the gas is further cleaned by being passed up through tall
towers where it is washed by a spray of water and is then used in stoves and
boilers.

26 Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET

The Stoves (for preheating blast)
 Something that increases the thermal efficiency of the furnace greatly is the use of gas
coming out of the furnace itself (Blast burnace gas-BFG)
 This gas contains some percentages of unburnt CO (~20%) and so can be used as a fuel
 This gas is burnt inside the cowper stoves (which works like regenerators) heating them up
 Once heating is complete, BFG is shut off and fresh air is then passed through the hot stoves
 This heated air is then sent to the furnace which we have referred to as the hot blast before
 When the temp (T) of the stove drops too much fresh air is shut off and fuel is passed again
 Thus one stove cannot continuously supply hot air, because it works in a cyclic heating-
cooling operation
 In fact, three or more stoves are generally required because the time it takes to heat up one
stove is not the same as the time it takes to cool it
 So two stoves would be inadequate and a third would be needed

Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET

Humayun Kabir, Dept of MME, BUET