LU100075B1

LU100075B1 - Method of Operating a Pelletizing Plant

Info

Publication number: LU100075B1
Application number: LU100075A
Authority: LU
Inventors: Georg Strüber; Gilles Nouaille-Degorce
Original assignee: Wurth Paul Sa
Priority date: 2017-02-10
Filing date: 2017-02-10
Publication date: 2018-10-02
Also published as: BR112019016523A2; TW201835341A; EA201991841A1; WO2018146183A1; EP3580362A1; CN110300809A; US20200032369A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of operating a pelletizing plant for additional treatment of iron making, steelmaking and pellet plant residues. The pelletizing plant comprises an indurating furnace in which green pellets are charged and fired to produce hard pellets. The method includes: preparing iron ore green pellets; and charging and firing said green pellets in an indurating furnace. The method is remarkable in that agglomerates of by-products are charged and fired with the green pellets in the indurating furnace, thereby producing hardened pellets and hardened agglomerates of by-products. A pelletizing plant is also presented, which comprises a pelletizing section (16), an indurating furnace (12), an agglomerating section (40) for producing agglomerates of by-products. A feeding arrangement is configured to charge agglomerates of by-products into said indurating furnace, together with the green pellets. (Fig.1)

Description

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METHOD OF OPERATING A PELLETIZING PLANT

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates te the field of Iron making. Moro particularly, it relates to the agglomeration of iron ore by pelletization and specifically tn a method of operating a pelletizing plant.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As it is wall known in the art, the blast furnace is a counterearrent gas-solid reactor in which the solid charge materials move downward while the hot reducing gases flow upward. The bast possible contact between the solids and the reducing gas is obtained with a permeable burden, which permits net only a high rate of gas flow but also a uniform gas flow, with a minimum of channeling of the gas.

In this context, agglomeration prouesses have been developed in order to enable the use of fine material, improve the burden permeability and thereby reduce blast furnace coke rates and Increase the rate of reduction. They also permit reducing of the amount of fine material blown out of the blast furnace into the gas recovery system. Furthermore, in ironmaking furnaces, agglomerated materials, when they have the proper chemical composition, can substitute for lump ores used as charge ores.

Sintering and pelletizing processes are today the two major agglomeration processes, especially for the blast furnace. Sintered ore is made by partially melting and sintering coarse Iron ore 0,5 to 3 mm in size into products having a size of 5 tn 5Q mm. The sintering process uses ths combustion heat of coke breeze (fuel).

Pellets are made from iron ore that is finer than that used for sintered ere. The fine-grained ore can be relatively easily formed into spheroids, called green balls, typically with a diameter ranging from 9 to 18 mm. Ths green balls are fired into hard product pellets, so-called Indurated pellets or simply pellets.

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These pellets have attracted greet interest since they are well adapted for use es raw materials for blast furnaces, but also for direct radactiën furnaces.

In general, the pelletizing process is desirable for agglomeration of finely divided concentrates because they ere normally of such fine size that they will form into a green ball with liftte difficulty. Concentrates and high grade ores that are not suitable In size for pelletizing are in some cases ground to the required size.

The interest for pallets has increased In modern countries, where pelletizing plants have been built with the goal of producing material for blast furnace under strong environmental regulations.

This being said, sinter remains an attractive process since it allows the flexibility to process ares as well as by-products of iron making and steel making industries (oxide and metallic dusts)., commonly refer to as "revert materials!

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved concept of pelletizing plant, which can more flexibly handle iron ores and by-products produced either by an integrated plant, or a direct reduction unit of a pallet plant.

This object is achieved by a method as claimed in claim 1.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

With this objective in mind, the present invention proposes a method of operating a pelletizing plant with traditional ore feed and some by-products. The pelletizing plant comprises an indurating furnace in which green pellets are charged and fired to produce hard pellets. The method comprises the steps of preparing iron ora based green pellets: and charging and tiring the green pellets in the indurating furnace.

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According to an important aspect of ths invention, by-products previously agglomerated are charged and fired with the green pellets in the indurating furnace, whereby hardened pellets and hardened agglomerates of by-products are produced in the indurating furnace. A remarkable aspect of the present invention Is thus the processing of agglomerates of by-products in the indurating furnace, together with green pellets. In other words, agglomerates of by-products and green pellets undergo concurrently/slmultaneously the same thermal treatment for their hardening in the indurating furnace.

The term 'by-products5 is herein used to generally designate the ironmaking, the steelmaking, the pelletization and the direct reduction waste materials, and may typically include one or more of: steelmaking slag, .mill scale, scrap fines, oxide fines, dust and sludges collected in offgas lines, fines fractions from the screening units, sludges iron- or flux-beenng blast furnace by-products. These by-products, also known as ‘reverts’, may typically have a size in the range of 0,045 to 5 mm.

The by-products are preferably agglomerated by a compacting process via pressurized rollers, as is known in the art, to form the agglomerates of byproducts. The by-products may be processed in an extrusion or roll device, optionally together with an additive (e.g. limn, binder, etc.), to form lumpy products of predetermined shape and size. A so-called briquetting machine can be used for the preparation of briquette-like agglomerates having a non-spherical shape with dimensions greater than pellets. Preferably, the briquettes/agglomerstes of by-products have a minimum size of 20 mm (in ail dimensions). For example, the briquettes may be 20 x 30 x 30, or 20 x 20 x 40, ail expressed in mm, or even larger, e.g, 50 x 40 x 100.

It shell be appreciated that, in the process according to the present invention, the briquetting-type agglomerating process is used to produce agglomerates of by-products that are charged together with the green pellets in the indurating furnace. This is to be put in contrast with conventional plants, where briquettes

I are not thermally hardened and directly charged into the blast furnace or the electric furnace. A great advantage of the present invention Is to provide a palletizing process and plant that is adapted to completely substitute a sinter plant in a coal-based iron making installation. Another great benefit is for gas-based iron making plants, where the present process provides a circular technology. Indeed, as sinter plants are more and more being challenged with higher amounts of finer iron ora, the present invention offers an attractive alternative process route for customers operating blast furnaces. The invention may be of particular interest for gas-based iron making plants operating with iron ora pellets, where the present process makes It possible to produce pellets and treat ail by-products with one technology - whereas current gas-based iron making plants transfer such iron waste into other facilities, outside the plant boundaries. The present invention thus constitutes an attractive solution addressing also environmental aspects and namely waste management strategy in a circular technology.

The pellets are conventionally prepared In a balling section of the plant, using balling equipment that produces spheroidal or ball-like aggregates referred to as green pellets or green balls. Any appropriate equipment may be used, In particular a bailing drum or a disc pelletizer. Pellets are prepared from a fined grained mixture that includes mainly iron bearing material, in particular iron ore,, and some additive(s), in particular a binder (e.g. bentonite). The material ready for balling has a grain size below 0.15 mm with about 80% thereof below 45 pm (be. minus 325 mesh).

In the present process, the green pellets typically preferably contain at least 61% iron ore, and have a diameter in the range of 9 to 18 mm, preferably 9-14 mm, typically with a mean diameter of about 12 mm.

The indurating furnace nan be based an any appropriate technology, e.g. traveling grate furnace, grste-kiln-eociar, or circular induration furnace.

Preferably, the agglomerates of by-products and green pellets are loaded on the charge conveyer of the indurating furnace in two superposed layers, the

I upper layer mainly comprising the agglomerates of by-products and the lower layer mainly comprising the green pellets.

The charging is advantageously made by means of a segregating unit receiving the green pellets and agglomerates of by-products and distributing the latter into the upper and lower layers, based on particle size.

These and other features of the present process are also recited in the appended dependent claims.

According to another aspect, the invention concerns a pelletizing plant comprising: a pelletizing section for producing green pellets comprising fine iron are: an indurating furnace for firing said green pellets into hardened pellets; a feeding arrangement configured to charge said green pellets unto a charge conveyor of said indurating furnace; and characterized in that it further comprises an agglomerating section for producing agglomerates of by-products, and in that said feeding arrangement is further configured to charge said agglomerates of by-products into said indurating furnace, together with said green pellets.

The above and other features of the present pelletizing plant are also recited in ths appended dependent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which;

Figure 1; is a process flow diagram of a pelletizing plant according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As it is wail known, pelletizing plants fur the iron making industry involve generally the following processes:

I - matenal pre-processing, in particular grinding; - balling: - Indurating.

The pelletizing plant according tn the present invention, an embodiment of which is shown in the figure, also relies on these three processes, which are briefly described below.

In the material pre-processing stage, the iron ore is ground into Ones having qualities required for the subsequent balling process. The pretreatment may typically include concentrating, dewatering, grinding, drying and prewetting. In general, law-grade iron ore is ground into fines to upgrade the quality nf the iron ore, remove gangues containing sulfur and phosphorus, and control the size of the grains.

Conventional grinding methods are roughly categorized as to the following three as pects : 1) wet grinding - dry grinding; 2) open-circuit grinding - closed circuit grinding; 3) single stage grinding - multiple stage grinding.

These methods are used in combination depending on the types and characteristics of the are and the mixing ratio, taking Inta account the économie feasibility.

Next, the goal of the balling process Is to produce spheroid-type green pellets (also referred to as green balls) from the pre-wetted material prepared in the previous process. The balling equipment may comprise a balling drum ar a disc pelletizer, which are the must widely used fur forming green balls.

In the Indurating process, the green pellets are charged Into a furnace, in which they are fired, to increase their hardness. The following furnace systems may be used for indurating pellets: a traveling grate (straight grata) system and a grate-kiln-ouoler system. The traveling grate system consists of a single unit which moves a static layer of pellets. The system has a simple structure for drying, preheating, firing and cooling pellets. Due to its relative ease of

I operation, along with ease of scaling-up, makes the system one used by many plants. The grate-kiln-cooler system consists mainly of a grate, a kiln and a cooler, respectively designed for drying/preheating, firing, and cooling the pellets. This system allows controlling individually the residence time in each zona of the furnace.

Figure 1 shows a diagram according to one embodiment of the present pelletizing plant 10, The material pre-processing section may use the abovedescribed conventional material for grinding and handling bulk materials, or any other appropriate equipment,

Reference sign 12 designates an indurating furnace, which comprises conveyor means 14 for transferring the material throughout the furnace 10. The indurating furnace 12 is preferably of the traveling grate type. Conventionally the furnace 12 comprises zones for drying, preheating, firing and cooling (not shown). The four zones are arranged one after another. Each zone is held at a predetermined temperature, and heat exchange occurs via hot air and/or combustion gas to fire the pellets. In the travel grate furnace 12, the charge conveyor comprises an endless grate car consisting of grate bars with side walls, in which pellets are charged (typically over a layer of already flrad material). The green pellets on the grate travel through the zones for drying, preheating, firing and cooling.

At the furnace’s outlet, the hardened pellets and hardened agglomerates of byproducts are discharged together, and may be screened to separate them by particle size. it shall be appreciated that in the present pelletizing plant 10, two types of materials are fed into the indurating furnace: green pellets and briquette-like agglomerates of by-products,

In Fig. "I, one will recognize the conventional balling section 16. It comprises storage bins 18 containing fine grained material ready for bailing into associated balling equipment 20. The storage bins are located downstream of a set of raw' materials storage bins 17a and mixer equipment 17b of the pre-processing I section, A desired recipe of raw materials is prepared on a conveyer belt 17c and conveyed to the mixer equipment 17b. The mixture is then forwarded to the respective bins 18. The balling equipment 20 may be a balling drum nr a disc pelletizer. Green balls formed In the balling equipment 20 are discharged on a main collecting conveyor 22, typically a belt conveyor, to carry the nn-slze green pellets towards the furnace 12. The transfer of the green pellets onto the conveyor 22 is done by a roller screen 24, The rolls of the roller screen 24 are configured such that green pellets with desired size proceed to the main collecting conveyor 22, whereas undersized and oversized pellets as well as fines are separated and collected to be recycled back to the bins 18. The recycling route is indicated 26. Typically, the collected material is recycled back to the bins 18 or can also be conveyed to a mixing system to properly homogenize all raw materials as appropriate for balling.

The storage bins 18 contain a mixture of ready to mix materials, which depends on the desired composition tor the green pellets. Typically the mixture comprises at least one type of fine grained iron are, typically with a mesh minus 320 : and at least one additive, e.g. bentonite or limestone. Annexed Tables 1 and 2 list possible materials for the preparation of green pellets and their properties.

It. shall ba appreciated that the present pelletizing plant 16 further comprises an agglomerating section 40, for forming agglomerates of reverts-produots. As can be seen, the agglomerates formed in this section are also transferred towards the indurating furnace 12. In the shown embodiment, the agglomerates of byproducts are discharged on the main collecting conveyor belt 22, with the green pellets.

The agglomerating section 40 comprises a storage bin 42 with the by-products tc be agglomerated. The by-products may be stored in bins 41a upstream of the storage bin 42. One nr more types of by-products are discharged on a conveyor belt and forwarded to the storage bin 42, optionally via a mixlng/grinding equipment 41c. These materials are then compacted, typically via a pressurized

I rollers device 44. to form lumpy products of predetermined size. The formed aggregates are discharged from device 44 in a screen 46, where undersized material is recycled to the storage bin 42, as indicated by return line 47, while the qualified agglomerates are transferred onto the main collecting conveyor 22. Table 3, in annex, gives an exemplary list of by-products that can be used for preparing agglomerates in the context of the present process, together with typical grain sizes.

As can be seen in the Figure, the green pellets and agglomerates of byproducts are preferably charged into the furnace 12 in two superposed layers. The lower layer 50 on the traveling grate 14 comprises mainly the green pellets. The top layer 52 is mainly formed by the agglomerates of by-products.

In the embodiment, the furnace feeding unit 64 comprises a double deck roller screen device comprising superposed set of rolls configured to carry the agglomerates toward the furnace. The top roll arrangement 54< is configured to transfer the agglomérâtes of by-products to the furnace, whereas the lower roll arrangement 54? is configured to carry the green pellets to the furnace. As it will be understood, the spacing between the top rolls 54; is defined so that green pellets fall through the rolls onto the lower rolls 54?. Likewise, the roll spacing of the lower screen 54? is such that green pellets with a given minimum size are carried to the furnace, while undersized green pallets, particles and fines fall through the lower screen 54? and are collected.

The ends of the respective screens 64-? and 54? are positioned so that the green pellets are deposited first on the furnace conveyor 14, forming the first layer 5Q, and the agglomerates are deposited by the second screen over the first layer 5Û, to form the second layer 52.

The ratio between green pallets and agglomerates of by-products, in particular the thickness of each layer 50, 52, can be varied by adjusting the amounts of pellets and briquettes delivered onto the main collecting conveyor 22.

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The undersized green pellets, particles and Unas collected at the lower careen 54j are returned to storage din 42 via a return route 56, to be recycled into briquettes. It should be noticed that when the agglomerating section 40 is in operation, all undersized material from ths furnace feeding system 84. is preferably conveyed to the storage bin 42,

Alternatively, the pellets, particles and fines collected at the tower screen 64^ may ba recycled towards the pelletizing section 16, as indicated by return route 58 (dashed line). This is return route is namely used whan the agglomerating section 40 is not in operation.

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Claims

A method of operating a pelletizing plant for ironmaking furnaces, said pelletizing plant comprising a curing oven in which raw pellets are charged and fired to produce hard pellets, said process comprising: the preparation of raw pellets of iron ore; charging and cooking said raw pellets in a curing oven; characterized in that agglomerates of by-products are charged and fired with said green pellets into said hardening furnace, thereby producing hardened pellets and hardened by-product agglomerates.

The method of claim 1, wherein said by-product agglomerates and said green pellets are loaded onto a charge carrier of said two-layered hardening furnace, the top layer comprising mainly the by-product agglomerates and the layer. bottom material comprising mainly said green pellets.

The method of claim 2, wherein the charging of said charge carrier is effected by means of a segregation unit receiving said green pellets and said by-product agglomerates and distributing the latter in said upper and lower layers.

The method of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said process comprises a step of preparing by-product agglomerates, which includes treating by-products, in particular coarse-grained, with additives and optionally or other iron-bearing material in a compaction apparatus to form agglomerates of by-products.

The method of claim 4 dependent on claim 3, wherein said by-product agglomerates are prepared from a mixture comprising: by-products including iron and / or steel-making scrap; and collected fines from said segregation unit.

The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein said by-product agglomerates are formed as blocks or briquettes with a size greater than 16 mm, preferably greater than 20 or 24 mm.

A process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said step of preparing raw pellets comprises preparing a mixture of raw materials including: fine-grained iron ore and optional additives, particularly a binder and treating said mixture to form substantially bead-shaped pellets.

The method of claim 7, wherein said optional additives include fine by-products with 70% by weight of particles having a sieve of less than 352 mesh.

The process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said pellets consist of more than 61% by weight of particles carrying fine-grained iron, particularly iron ore particles; and preferably said pellets consist of at least 80% by weight of particles having a sieve of less than 325 mesh.

The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein said pellets have a diameter in the range of 9 to 18 mm, preferably 9 to 14 mm.

A pelletizing plant comprising: a pelletizing section (16) for producing raw pellets comprising fine iron ore; a curing oven (12) for curing said green pellets into hardened pellets; a feed arrangement (54) configured to feed said raw pellets onto a load carrier of said hardening oven; characterized in that it further comprises an agglomeration section (40) for producing agglomerates of by-products, and in that said feed arrangement is further configured to charge said agglomerates of by-products into said furnace hardening, at the same time as said raw pellets.

A pelletizing plant according to claim 11, wherein green pellets formed in said pelletizing section and agglomerates of by-products formed in said agglomeration section are discharged onto a common conveyor (22), transferring raw pellets and by-product agglomerates to said feed arrangement (54).

13. Pelletizing plant according to claim 12, comprising a first return path (26) for undersized or oversized pellets collected during the transfer thereof to said common conveyor.

The pelletizing plant according to claim 11, 12 or 13, wherein said feed arrangement (54) is configured to load the green pellets and two-layer by-product agglomerates (50, 52) with said agglomerates. by-products above.

The pelletizing plant according to any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein said feeding arrangement comprises a plurality of superposed roll screens (54i, 542).

The pelletizing plant according to any one of claims 11 to 14, comprising a second return path (58) for collecting under-sized materials and fines from said feed arrangement (54) and transferring the latter to said agglomeration section.