Characterisation of Carbons Formed in Coal-injected Blast Furnaces

Blast furnace is the dominant route for iron-making worldwide. Coal injection into blast furnaces to substitute for some of the metallurgical coke becomes widely practiced because of the increasing price of metallurgical coke and need to reduce the environmental impact of the coke-making process. However, coal injection at rates higher than 200 kg coal/tonne of hot metal, which are still less than the theoretical limit, has been often found to cause furnace operational problems. Whilst many research efforts have already been made, the fate of injectant coal in the furnace is still not fully understood. The extent of coal consumption cannot be regularly measured either at present. This book introduces our research work to gain a better understanding of coal consumption in blast furnaces and to develop analytical methods for faster estimation of the consumption extent. In particular, a quantitative method based on Raman spectroscopy has been developed to differentiate between a wide range of carbons. This book is useful to blast furnace operators, researchers who are interested in heavy carbonaceous materials, and anyone else in the field of coal science and technology.