Coal combustion under conditions of blast furnace injection. (Quarterly) technical report, 1 December 1993--28 February 1994

摘要

A potentially new use for Illinois coal is its use as a fuel injected into a blast furnace to produce molten iron as the first step in steel production. Because of its increasing cost and decreasing availability, metallurgical coke is now being replaced by coal injected at the tuyere area of the furnace where the blast air enters. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the combustion of coal during the blast furnace injection process and to delineate the optimum properties of the feed coal. This proposal is a follow-up to one funded for the 1992--1993 period. It is intended to complete the study already underway with the Armco Inc. Steel Company and to initiate a new cooperative study along somewhat similar lines with the Inland Steel Company. The results of this study will lead to the development of a testing and evaluation protocol that will give a unique and much needed understanding of the behavior of coal in the injection process and prove the potential of Illinois coals for such use. During this quarter a sample of the feed coal that is being used for injection into the No. 7 Blast Furnace of Inland Steel has been analyzed petrographically and compared to both the Herrin No. 6 coal and Armco feed coal. Additional characterization is underway and an advanced program of pyrolysis and reactivity testing has been initiated.