Title

BF PROCESS TECHNOLOGY ENHANCED BY CHARGING CONTROL, PROCESS MONITORING AND MATHEMATIC MODELS

BF PROCESS TECHNOLOGY ENHANCED BY CHARGING CONTROL, PROCESS MONITORING AND MATHEMATIC MODELS

Authorship

Simoes, Jean-Paul; Tockert, Paul; Hausemer, Lionel; Bodeving, Claude; Bermes, Philipp; Oliveira, Victor

Simoes, Jean-Paul

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Tockert, Paul

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Hausemer, Lionel

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Bodeving, Claude

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Bermes, Philipp

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Oliveira, Victor

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DOI

10.5151/2594-357X-23948

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Abstract

Today’s market conditions impose high flexibility to the blast furnace process (raw materials, production level, fuel injection) while minimizing production cost and maximizing availability as well as life time of the equipment. In addition, increasingly stringent regulations in the areas of environment and governance require careful acquaintance of resources consumption and production of waste or emissions. The Bell Less Top® (BLT®) while introduced more than 40 years ago continues to create great opportunities to improve blast furnace operation. Indeed it starts “at the top” in one of the most critical stages of the process through controlled and precise burden distribution. Its success is underscored by implementation on furnaces of various sizes and a worldwide market presence of more than 60 %. Blast furnaces equipped with TMT probes and measuring devices acquire a precise representation of the process. Process data can be advantageously used as input for mathematical models and expert systems of Paul Wurth BFXpertTM. In turn, BFXpert facilitates prediction of future process states, advises potential optimizations, reduces information overload for key decision makers and minimizes costly and risky trials. Attempting to leverage all this potential creates a need for a complete solution capable of ensuring the symbiosis of all innovations. This paper demonstrates how charging and measurement systems coupled with data analysis and mathematical modelling, become an integral tool in the cost efficient and stable hot metal production.

Today’s market conditions impose high flexibility to the blast furnace process (raw materials, production level, fuel injection) while minimizing production cost and maximizing availability as well as life time of the equipment. In addition, increasingly stringent regulations in the areas of environment and governance require careful acquaintance of resources consumption and production of waste or emissions. The Bell Less Top® (BLT®) while introduced more than 40 years ago continues to create great opportunities to improve blast furnace operation. Indeed it starts “at the top” in one of the most critical stages of the process through controlled and precise burden distribution. Its success is underscored by implementation on furnaces of various sizes and a worldwide market presence of more than 60 %. Blast furnaces equipped with TMT probes and measuring devices acquire a precise representation of the process. Process data can be advantageously used as input for mathematical models and expert systems of Paul Wurth BFXpertTM. In turn, BFXpert facilitates prediction of future process states, advises potential optimizations, reduces information overload for key decision makers and minimizes costly and risky trials. Attempting to leverage all this potential creates a need for a complete solution capable of ensuring the symbiosis of all innovations. This paper demonstrates how charging and measurement systems coupled with data analysis and mathematical modelling, become an integral tool in the cost efficient and stable hot metal production.

Keywords

BF top charging; Process; Charging model; Expert system.

BF top charging; Process; Charging model; Expert system.