Developments in Blast Furnace Process Control At Port Kembla Based on Process Fundamentals

摘要

The Deadman Cleanliness Index (DCI) developed at Port Kembla is based on the under saturation of carbon in iron and the superheat of slag. Experience with DCI has clearly shown that superior blast furnace performance is associated with higher values of this index. By studying DCI responses to coke quality and operating conditions, the critical importance of continually limiting and consuming the quantity of carbonaceous debris from the raceways and trapped oxide particles has been recognised. Strategies to implement these learnings continue, and development activities to improve coke and ferrous material qualities are now being guided by DCI at Port Kembla. Partition ratios of manganese and titanium are strongly correlated to DCI and confirm that these fundamentally based indices can also be used to continuously monitor the condition of the lower zones of the furnace. Additionally, where the total furnace load of a particular partitioning element is predominantly derived from a single raw material the behaviour of the partition coefficient can allow conclusions to be drawn about the behaviour of the dripping slag derived from that material. Observations from Port Kembla suggest that little mixing of primary slags occurs in the deadman, and that most liquid mixing occurs in the hearth pools.