Blast furnace iron production with integrated power generation
AssigneeAir Products and Chemicals, Inc.
InventorsMichael Dennis Lanyi, Joseph Anthony Terrible, Maarten Geerdes, Roman Vaynshteyn
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Abstract
An integrated system for blast furnace iron making and power production based upon higher levels of oxygen enrichment in the blast gas is disclosed. The integrated system leads to; 1) enhanced productivity in the blast furnace, 2) more efficient power production, and 3) the potential to more economically capture and sequester carbon dioxide. Oxygen enhances the ability of coal to function as a source of iron reductant and to be gasified within the blast furnace thereby generating an improved fuel-containing top gas.
Claims22
A method for producing iron comprising:
- introducing iron ore, coke and coal into a blast furnace, whereby the coal is gasified in the presence of steam and super-enriched air that are introduced into a blast furnace,
- recovering from the blast furnace a top gas and using the top gas to generate power;
- and,
- recovering hot metal from the blast furnace;
- wherein the super enriched air is introduced into the blast furnace at a temperature of less than about 1250 C and hot metal is produced at a reducing agent to iron ratio of greater than or equal to about 0.40 kg of carbon per kg of iron produced.
A method for generating power comprising:
- providing at least a portion of top gas from an iron producing blast furnace wherein the top gas comprises carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and nitrogen each in concentrations such that the top gas has a calorific value, without supplemental fuel, that is sufficient to operate a gas turbine,
- compressing and supplying this top gas to the gas turbine, and;
- introducing an exhaust from the gas turbine into a heat recovery steam generator under conditions sufficient to operate a steam turbine.
A method for producing iron and gasifying coal comprising:
- introducing iron bearing materials, and coke into a blast furnace, introducing coal into the iron blast furnace, and;
- introducing air enriched in oxygen into the blast furnace,
- wherein the conditions within the blast furnace are sufficient to produce iron and convert at least a portion of the coal into a gas comprising carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen;
- removing a portion of the gas from the furnace;
- removing at least a portion of the carbon dioxide from the gas and supplying the gas to at least one of:
- i) a combined cycle power generation system and supplying steam generated by the combined cycle power generation system to the blast furnace, and ii) a water shift reactor to produce hydrogen;
- and,
- recovering iron from the iron blast furnace.
An integrated system for producing iron and producing power comprising:
- an iron blast furnace and a top gas system for receiving the top gas from the iron blast furnace,
- a coal delivery system that supplies coal to the iron blast furnace,
- a carbon dioxide removal system that removes carbon dioxide from gas received from the top gas system,
- a combined cycle power generation system,
- a steam delivery system for supplying steam from the combined cycle power generation system to the iron blast furnace;
- and,
- an air separation unit and a delivering system for supplying oxygen from the unit to the blast furnace and nitrogen from the unit to the combined cycle power generation system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.