Operational Research to Optimize the Iron Raw Materials for Blast Furnace Burden

摘要

Different burden mixtures of a blast furnace may have cost equivalent with regard to the raw material used to their composition. Eventually, an iron ore load of higher costs could be used in place of another with lower costs, because the lower expenses associated with the energy consumed in the process (fuel rate) can balance the higher costs of raw materials. In this context, for determining the cost of hot metal, we should consider spending on the energy used in the process, because it represents a significant portion of the final costs of this product. With this in mind, the objective of this paper is the use the operational research to optimize the ore mixture (raw materials) that constitute the load of blast furnace taking into account the costs of specifics components of the load and the energy consumption required for the process. Thus, it this intended to minimize the final cost per ton hot metal produced.