Numerical simulation of thermal and iron ore reduction conditions in pre-reduction shaft furnace based on reducing gas composition and temperature

Based on the principles of mass, momentum and heat transfers between the reducing gas and the iron ore solid, a two-dimensional mathematical model for above two phases is established to study the influences of reducing gas composition on thermal and reduction conditions in pre-reduction shaft furnace with the temperature ranging from 1 023 to 1 223K. Due to the strong endothermic effect of iron ore reduction participated by hydrogen (H₂), increasing the ratio of carbon monoxide (CO) to H₂ enlarges high temperature zone under present calculation conditions, thus improves reduction efficiency inside the furnace. In addition, replacing of the reducing gas with an appropriate proportion of nitrogen (N₂) featuring the same temperature has a potential to reduce fuel consumption by as much as 6.5% while the products of similar quality are yielded.