Advances in Energy Conservation of China Steel Industry

The course, technical progresses, and achievements of energy conservation of China steel industry (CSI) during 1980–2010 were summarized. Then, the paper adopted e-p method to analyze the variation law and influencing factors of energy consumptions of large- and medium-scale steel plants within different stages. It is pointed out that energy consumption per ton of crude steel has been almost one half lower in these thirty years, with 60% as direct energy conservation owing to the change of process energy consumption and 40% as indirect energy conservation attributed to the adjustment of production structure. Next, the latest research progress of some key common technologies in CSI was introduced. Also, the downtrend of energy consumption per ton of crude steel and the potential energy conservation for CSI during 2011–2025 were forecasted. Finally, it is indicated that the key topic of the next 15 years’ research on the energy conservation of CSI is the synergistic operation of material flow and energy flow. It could be achieved by the comprehensive study on energy flow network optimization, such as production, allocation, utilization, recovery, reuse, and resource, according to the energy quantity, quality, and user demand following the first and second laws of thermodynamics

Minimising Particulate Emissions From Sintering Operations

With the drive for manufacturing and foundation industries to move towards a circular economy, the steel industry is making step changes to its processes that aim to produce greener and cleaner products. The current work is focused on sintering, which can account for almost half of all particulate matter (PM) emissions produced during integrated steelmaking. Historic sintering data has been explored to understand the formation of particulate matter and has informed experimental trials, simulating the sintering process. It has shown that it is feasible to reduce PM emissions without incurring significant capital expenditures for a new end-of-line abatement. Prioritising trials was supported by an understanding of the main key levers from the historical data analysis of the sinter plant and a pilot-scale sinter rig that had been modified to capture PM emissions was commissioned and validated. To promote a more circular economy within the steel industry, experimental work showed that the use of new micropellets made from recycled materials would enhance sintering performance and reduce PM emissions. It was determined that the amount of chloride content emitted from PM emissions increased in the waste gas stream as well as decreasing the electrostatic precipitator (ESP) abatement efficiency and this influence can be reduced by washing recycled materials to remove undesirable volatile elements before sintering. It was also established that by manipulating the ratio of nuclei, adhering, and non-adhering particles in the sinter blend by controlling the size fractions, along with partially replacing raw materials, the particle size distribution can be optimised to reduce PM emissions

XVIII International Coal Preparation Congress

Changes in economic and market conditions of mineral raw materials in recent years have greatly increased demands on the ef fi ciency of mining production. This is certainly true of the coal industry. World coal consumption is growing faster than other types of fuel and in the past year it exceeded 7.6 billion tons. Coal extraction and processing technology are continuously evolving, becoming more economical and environmentally friendly. “ Clean coal ” technology is becoming increasingly popular. Coal chemistry, production of new materials and pharmacology are now added to the traditional use areas — power industry and metallurgy. The leading role in the development of new areas of coal use belongs to preparation technology and advanced coal processing. Hi-tech modern technology and the increasing interna- tional demand for its effectiveness and ef fi ciency put completely new goals for the University. Our main task is to develop a new generation of workforce capacity and research in line with global trends in the development of science and technology to address critical industry issues. Today Russia, like the rest of the world faces rapid and profound changes affecting all spheres of life. The de fi ning feature of modern era has been a rapid development of high technology, intellectual capital being its main asset and resource. The dynamics of scienti fi c and technological development requires acti- vation of University research activities. The University must be a generator of ideas to meet the needs of the economy and national development. Due to the high intellectual potential, University expert mission becomes more and more called for and is capable of providing professional assessment and building science-based predictions in various fi elds. Coal industry, as well as the whole fuel and energy sector of the global economy is growing fast. Global multinational energy companies are less likely to be under state in fl uence and will soon become the main mechanism for the rapid spread of technologies based on new knowledge. Mineral resources will have an even greater impact on the stability of the economies of many countries. Current progress in the technology of coal-based gas synthesis is not just a change in the traditional energy markets, but the emergence of new products of direct consumption, obtained from coal, such as synthetic fuels, chemicals and agrochemical products. All this requires a revision of the value of coal in the modern world economy

Development of Ash Deposition Prediction Models through the CFD Methods and the Ash Deposition Indice

Pulverised coal-fired power generation technologies are important for meeting the electricity consumption worldwide, especially for the developing countries. Changing fuels (coal blending, co-combustion, new fuels, etc.) is common practice in the power stations, which may result in the change of ash deposition behaviours. Ash deposition issues can reduce the heat transfer and have a negative effect on the long-term operation of the combustion systems. Therefore, prediction of ash deposition behaviours is significant for the efficient operation of boilers. In this thesis, new ash deposition prediction models based on particle impaction and sticking behaviours, ash melting behaviour and multi-slagging routes have been developed in order to understand ash deposit formation and predict the slagging propensities through using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods and ash deposition indices. Regarding the CFD methods, an ash deposition model has been proposed to predict the ash deposit formation on an uncooled probe for the co-combustion of South African coal and palm kernel expeller in an entrained flow reactor. A new revised particle impaction sub-model has been developed in order to minimize the numerical related errors without excessive meshing. The molten fraction model obtained from the chemical equilibrium calculations was employed to predict the particle sticking behaviour. The simulation results show that the revised particle impaction model is suitable to accurately resolve particle impaction without using a prohibitive meshing size. Particle impaction and sticking properties dictate the ash deposit formation. In addition, a CFD-based dynamic ash deposition model has been developed to predict the slagging formation on a cooled probe under high furnace temperatures of Zhundong lignite (rich in alkali and alkaline earth metal elements) combustion in a pilot-scale furnace. The developed model is based on the inertia impaction, the thermophoresis and the direct alkali vapour condensation and incorporates the influence of the heat transfer rate. The results show that particle deposition from the inertia impaction and the thermophoresis dictates ash deposit formation under high furnace temperatures. The deposition caused by the direct alkali vapour condensation is less significant. As deposition time increases, particle impaction efficiency decreases and sticking efficiency increases due to the thermophoresis and the local temperature conditions. In addition, the ash deposition characteristics are influenced under different furnace temperatures, due to the changes in the particle impaction and sticking behaviours. Further, a new method for building the ash deposition indice has been proposed to predict the slagging propensities of coals/blends combustion in utility boilers. The method is based on the initial slagging routes and the sintered/slagging route. Two types of initial slagging routes are considered, namely (i) pyrite-induced initial slagging on the furnace wall, and (ii) fouling caused by the alkaline/alkali components condensing in the convection section. In addition, the sintered/slagging route is considered by the liquids temperature, which represents the melting potential of the main ash composition and is calculated using the chemical equilibrium methods. The partial least square regression (PLSR) technique, coupled with a cross validation method, is employed to obtain the correlation for the ash deposition indice. The results obtained show that the developed indice yields a higher success rate in classifying the overall slagging potential in boilers than some of the typical slagging indices. In addition, both SiO2 and Al2O3 can reduce the slagging potential, but the drop in slagging propensity is more significant by adding Al2O3 compared to SiO2

Development of Ash Deposition Prediction Models through the CFD Methods and the Ash Deposition Indice

Pulverised coal-fired power generation technologies are important for meeting the electricity consumption worldwide, especially for the developing countries. Changing fuels (coal blending, co-combustion, new fuels, etc.) is common practice in the power stations, which may result in the change of ash deposition behaviours. Ash deposition issues can reduce the heat transfer and have a negative effect on the long-term operation of the combustion systems. Therefore, prediction of ash deposition behaviours is significant for the efficient operation of boilers. In this thesis, new ash deposition prediction models based on particle impaction and sticking behaviours, ash melting behaviour and multi-slagging routes have been developed in order to understand ash deposit formation and predict the slagging propensities through using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods and ash deposition indices. Regarding the CFD methods, an ash deposition model has been proposed to predict the ash deposit formation on an uncooled probe for the co-combustion of South African coal and palm kernel expeller in an entrained flow reactor. A new revised particle impaction sub-model has been developed in order to minimize the numerical related errors without excessive meshing. The molten fraction model obtained from the chemical equilibrium calculations was employed to predict the particle sticking behaviour. The simulation results show that the revised particle impaction model is suitable to accurately resolve particle impaction without using a prohibitive meshing size. Particle impaction and sticking properties dictate the ash deposit formation. In addition, a CFD-based dynamic ash deposition model has been developed to predict the slagging formation on a cooled probe under high furnace temperatures of Zhundong lignite (rich in alkali and alkaline earth metal elements) combustion in a pilot-scale furnace. The developed model is based on the inertia impaction, the thermophoresis and the direct alkali vapour condensation and incorporates the influence of the heat transfer rate. The results show that particle deposition from the inertia impaction and the thermophoresis dictates ash deposit formation under high furnace temperatures. The deposition caused by the direct alkali vapour condensation is less significant. As deposition time increases, particle impaction efficiency decreases and sticking efficiency increases due to the thermophoresis and the local temperature conditions. In addition, the ash deposition characteristics are influenced under different furnace temperatures, due to the changes in the particle impaction and sticking behaviours. Further, a new method for building the ash deposition indice has been proposed to predict the slagging propensities of coals/blends combustion in utility boilers. The method is based on the initial slagging routes and the sintered/slagging route. Two types of initial slagging routes are considered, namely (i) pyrite-induced initial slagging on the furnace wall, and (ii) fouling caused by the alkaline/alkali components condensing in the convection section. In addition, the sintered/slagging route is considered by the liquids temperature, which represents the melting potential of the main ash composition and is calculated using the chemical equilibrium methods. The partial least square regression (PLSR) technique, coupled with a cross validation method, is employed to obtain the correlation for the ash deposition indice. The results obtained show that the developed indice yields a higher success rate in classifying the overall slagging potential in boilers than some of the typical slagging indices. In addition, both SiO2 and Al2O3 can reduce the slagging potential, but the drop in slagging propensity is more significant by adding Al2O3 compared to SiO2

Optimising Carbon Type Differentiation Techniques to Reduce Dust Emissions in Blast Furnace Ironmaking

The manufacturing process of iron, using the blast furnace (BF) generates dust as a by-product, which is recycled, however, the generation of the dust in excess is undesirable. A comprehensive review of the dust has determined that each of the raw materials for blast furnace ironmaking contributes to its formation, including several forms of carbon thus addressing the hypothesis ‘The raw materials that feed the blast furnace are expelled into the gas stream and all influence the blast furnace dust.’ The current technique for quantifying coal originating carbon type mostly in the form of coal char, referred to as the nominal term Low Order Carbon (LOC) within BF dust consists of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) however, this technique does not allow for samples of dust to be analysed in a timely manner, in line with the ever-changing conditions of the blast furnace. In this work, the TGA method has been trialled for use with BF dust, with improvements offered to the heating profile, allowing for faster analysis. Moreover, alternative techniques have been trialled, in combination with various characterisation methods such as X-ray diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, total carbon and Optical Emission Spectroscopy. The ‘Winkler Method’ which was originally designed to quantify charcoal in soil sediment has been successfully adapted and optimised to suit LOC quantification in BF dust, showing a good correlation with the original benchmark technique. This answered the hypothesis, ‘Thermal techniques can be used to differentiate carbon sources in dust generated in blast furnaces that use granulated coal injection.’ The techniques for LOC quantification were applied to dust samples spanning a 9 month period. to determine the process parameters that influence the LOC presence within the dust. It was found that the resolution of sampling is key to identify relationships between process parameters and LOC within the dust. A novel technique to continuously monitor the dust output of the furnace found that the dust output and the LOC within the dust are related, where the increasing dust output leads to increasing concentrations of LOC within the carbon profile of the dust itself. Process parameters including blast pressure, blast volume, and production rate were considered to increase the dust output from the furnace based on the work of the dust probe, thus answering the hypothesis ‘Coal combustion in the raceway can be impacted by process parameters and the evidence can be found in the fingerprint of blast furnace dust.’ A node mapping exercise was used to model an ideal set of process conditions for low dust operations. The foundations to make macro advances in carbon and dust output reduction in blast furnace ironmaking are laid out in this thesis

Green Technologies for Production Processes

This book focuses on original research works about Green Technologies for Production Processes, including discrete production processes and process production processes, from various aspects that tackle product, process, and system issues in production. The aim is to report the state-of-the-art on relevant research topics and highlight the barriers, challenges, and opportunities we are facing. This book includes 22 research papers and involves energy-saving and waste reduction in production processes, design and manufacturing of green products, low carbon manufacturing and remanufacturing, management and policy for sustainable production, technologies of mitigating CO2 emissions, and other green technologies

A Systems Engineering Reference Model for Fuel Cell Power Systems Development

This research was done because today the Fuel Cell (FC) Industry is still in its infancy in spite over one-hundred years of development has transpired. Although hundreds of fuel cell developers, globally have been spawned, in the last ten to twenty years, only a very few are left struggling with their New Product Development (NPD). The entrepreneurs of this type of disruptive technology, as a whole, do not have a systems engineering \u27roadmap , or template, which could guide FC technology based power system development efforts to address a more environmentally friendly power generation. Hence their probability of achieving successful commercialization is generally, quite low. Three major problems plague the fuel cell industry preventing successful commercialization today. Because of the immaturity of FC technology and, the shortage of workers intimately knowledgeable in FC technology, and the lack of FC systems engineering, process developmental knowledge, the necessity for a commercialization process model becomes evident. This thesis presents a six-phase systems engineering developmental reference model for new product development of a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Power System. For this work, a stationary SOFC Power System, the subject of this study, was defined and decomposed into a subsystems hierarchy using a Part Centric Top-Down, integrated approach to give those who are familiar with SOFC Technology a chance to learn systems engineering practices. In turn, the examination of the SOFC mock-up could gave those unfamiliar with SOFC Technology a chance to learn the basic, technical fundamentals of fuel cell development and operations. A detailed description of the first two early phases of the systems engineering approach to design and development provides the baseline system engineering process details to create a template reference model for the remaining four phases. The NPD reference template model\u27s systems engineering process, philosophy and design tools are presented in great detail. Lastly, the thesi