Direct smelting process and apparatus
AssigneeTata Steel Limited
InventorsJacques Pilote, Rodney James Dry
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Abstract
A process and apparatus for direct smelting metalliferous material is disclosed. The invention concentrates injection of solid feed materials comprising metalliferous material and carbonaceous material into a direct smelting vessel during the course of the process into a relatively small region within a metal layer in a molten bath in the vessel in order to generate a substantial upward movement of molten material and gas from the metal layer into a region in the vessel that is above the molten bath. In particular, the invention injects the solid food materials with sufficient momentum and/or velocity via an opposed pair of lances that are oriented within the vessel and arranged to form overlapping plumes of injected material in the molten bath.
Claims11
A direct smelting apparatus for direct smelting metalliferous material and producing molten metal that comprises:
- (a) a direct smelting vessel having a hearth, including a floor and a side wall, defining a volume for containing a molten bath of metal and slag, the direct smelting vessel further having (i) at least one pair of opposed lances extending downwardly and inwardly into the direct smelting vessel through the side wall to inject solid material into the direct smelting vessel during a direct smelting process, the at least one pair of opposed lances each having an inlet end outside the direct smelting vessel for receiving the solid materials and an outlet end inside the vessel and having longitudinal axes, (ii) a tap-hole defined on the side wall of the direct smelting vessel to discharge the slag during the direct smelting process, wherein at least one pair of opposed lances are oriented such that the outlet end of each of the at least one pair of opposed lances extends below a plane of the tap-hole, and the longitudinal axes of the at least one pair of opposed lances intersect above the vessel floor, and (iii) at least one additional lance extending downwardly and inwardly into the direct smelting vessel through the side wall to inject a solid carbonaceous material into the direct smelting vessel during start-up of the direct smelting process, each of the at least one additional lance having an inlet end outside the direct smelting vessel for receiving the solid carbonaceous material and an outlet end inside the direct smelting vessel, and
- (b) a material supply apparatus in communication with a source of solid metalliferous material and in communication with a source of the solid carbonaceous material and in communication with the at least one pair of opposed lances, wherein the material supply apparatus delivers the solid metalliferous material and the solid carbonaceous material to the inlet ends of the at least one pair of opposed lances and delivers the solid carbonaceous material to each of the at least one additional lance.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.