A Dynamic Mathematical Model of the Complete

Grate/Kiln Iron-Ore Pellet Induration Process

J.A. THURLBY

Induration (drying and hardening) of iron ore pellets is an energy-intensive feed preparation step for
both the blast furnace and direct reduction routes to iron. It is commonly carded out by a 'grate/kiln'
process. A mathematical model of the process is described, in which mechanistic models of the grate
furnace, kiln, and cooler are linked to enable simulation of the entire process. The model includes
equations for the gas stream pressure balances and process controller responses, and provides dynamic
solutions. The validation of the model for an operating plant is discussed and steady-state solutions
are compared with data from the plant.

I. INTRODUCTION moist balled ore, a rotary kiln, and an annular moving grate
cooler. Figure 1 depicts the process for a two-pass grate
A S with many other metallurgical processes, induration furnace, as used at Whyalla. Green pellets are deposited
process developments have largely been through direct plant as a 180 mm deep bed on the grate and are subjected to
observations coupled with laboratory testwork on specific downdraft drying by gases at 350 ~ before passing into
aspects. Routine measurement of some key plant variables the preheat furnace. Here, drying is completed; partial de-
is impractical and steady-state operation is hard to achieve composition of carbonate fluxes and oxidation of magnetite,
due to instabilities in green feed preparation, 1 high solid mill scale, and supplementary fuel such as coke breeze in
residence times, and recycling of gases. Consequently, anal- the pellets, also occurs. The mean pellet temperature is
ysis of plant behavior is often difficult and inconclusive. increased to about 1000 ~ ensuring sufficient intergranular
Physical simulation gives valuable information on ore pro- bridging for the pellets to withstand tumbling in the kiln.
cessing characteristics and on specific problems, but has
limitations as a means of representing a whole process. 2'3 For acid pellets considered in the present work, the pellets
are heated to about 1330 ~ in the gas or oil-fired kiln. The
In their recent review of fundamental aspects of sintering
and induration processes, Wynnyckyj and Batterham4 con- two-stage cooler subsequently recovers most of their sensi-
cluded that future developments can and should proceed ble heat, either as high-temperature secondary air for the
kiln or in a medium-temperature air stream used in the
from the theoretical base which is now well established. A
drying furnace. Air flow through the pellet bed in the cooler
number of models of the complete Lurgi straight-grate pro-
is updraft, provided by fans discharging into two separate
cess have been validated to varying degrees against oper-
ating plants. 5'6'7 Plant-validated shaft process models have windboxes.
also been reported, s However, there is only one published Two 'preheat' fans draw kiln offgas through the bed in
model of the complete Allis-Chalmers grate-kiln process, the preheat furnace. They deliver this, together with air out
that of Young, Cross, and Gibson. 9 The three main equip- of the 'heat recuperation' duct from the second stage of
ment items (grate furnace, rotary kiln, and product cooler) the cooler, to the hood of the drying furnace. Gases are
are mathematically linked in this steady state model, but drawn through the bed in the drying furnace by two 'waste
influences on gas flowrates were not included. Without gas' fans.
these, and validation against an operating plant, only ten-
tative conclusions could be drawn from simulations.
This paper describes a dynamic model of the grate/kiln III. MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF PROCESS
process, which includes gas flow resistances and character-
istics of the process fans and control systems. Its devel- Dynamic models have been developed for each of the
opment was undertaken by CSIRO in collaboration with the three main plant items--the grate furnace, kiln, and cooler.
B.H.P. Steel International Group-Long Products Division, These are solved repeatedly in sequence. Boundary con-
to improve the efficiency of the B.H.P. plant at Whyalla, ditions for each model are provided by previous solutions
South Australia. Results of simulations for recorded plant of the other models, full account being taken of the gas
conditions are presented. pressure/flow relationships within the process.
Companion papers 1~ report results of studies aimed
principally at reducing energy consumption. A. Equationsfor Grate Furnace and Cooler
Assumptions made in modeling these items are as follows:
II. GRATE/KILN PELLET INDURATION (i) The bed is initially homogeneous, the gas flow does not
vary across the bed, and heat losses from the sides of the bed
The Allis-Chalmers grate/kiln process employs a fur- are negligible. It follows that all state variables are constant
nace with a moving grate for drying and preheating the across the bed.
(ii) The velocity of the gas is much higher than the grate
J.A. THURLBY is Principal Research Scientist, Division of Mineral
Engineering, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organi- speed.
sation, Clayton, Victoria, Australia. (iii) Radiant heat transfer, and conduction within the bed,
Manuscript submitted June 24, 1986. can be ignored. 6
METALLURGICALTRANSACTIONSB VOLUME19B,FEBRUARY1988--103
 PRIMARY PRIMARY
AIR OIL GAS AIR

DRY,NG I PREHEAT ~ / /
FURNACE I FURNACE I _ I ~ != i I
GREEN
BALLS
~ l-l-l l l l l l l ~- -I-/- l l l l l l /
-- / ~ . KILN l " - ~ " PARALLEL FLOW DUCT

,,.
i", li J , " "
] 11st STAGE [2rid STAGE I

--r -- / COOLER [ = PRODUCT

TO SCRUBBERS
& STACK

WASTE PREHEAT COOLING AIR FANS

GAS FANS FANS
Fig. 1 - Grate/kiln induration process.

(iv) Pellets are initially homogeneous. Concentrations of pellet constituents are given directly by:
(v) Temperature gradients developed within pellets can be
ignored. OXj _ R i [6]
(vi) Heat liberated (or required) by reactions within pellets O0 Pb
is absorbed (or supplied) solely by the solids. and heats of reaction (excluding condensation and dry-
(vii) Heat liberated on condensation of water is absorbed ing) by:
solely by the gas.
The cooler model is the same as the grate furnace model, qcr = E Rj AHrj [71
except for the omission of equations for drying and calci-
nation of limestone and dolomite. Also, as cooling is up- Of the rate terms required for solution of the differential
draft, heat transfer to and from the grate is negligible. Eqs. [1] to [6], heat transfer by convection is given by:
At any point z m below the top of the bed, the gas tem-
perature gradient is given by:* qcv = h A (Tg - Tp) [8]
* A list of symbols is given at the end of the paper. The remaining terms are discussed below. Calculation of
heat and mass transfer coefficients, and reaction rate con-
OTg _ qcv + qca [1] stants, is discussed in Appendix I.
Oz GCg 1. Drying and condensation
Throughout the course of drying of single pellets under
and the rate of change of the solids temperature by: constant conditions in the industrial range, it has been
OTs _ qcv + qcr - qdr [2] found 13 that the heat used in drying remains essentially at
a fixed fraction of the heat transferred to the pellet. This
O0 pbCs
fraction, fd, depends primarily on the gas temperature and
The pressure gradient is given by the Ergun Eq. [12], hence changes continuously during the nonisothermal dry-
i.e.: ing in a bed. For gas temperatures below 100 ~ it has a
value close to unity. In this temperature range the humidity
0__p_P= 150 (1 - 6)2~g G 1.75 (1 -- e)G2 [3] of the gas is usually quite high and diffusion of water vapor
Oz ~2 d2 83pg ~) de 3pg limits the drying rate. Thus,

As the gas passes through the bed, the total flowrate and Rdr = fdqcv for Tg >-- 100 ~ [9a]
the concentration of individual species change (due to AHdr
reaction, drying, or condensation), according to Eqs. [4] or
and [5].
Rd,.
=(\ mat- )
_H__~atH . fdqcv for Tg < 100 ~
OG AHar
-- E e i [4]
0z [9b]

8xl 1[ x OG] [5]

and
Oz - G Ri- ' Oz qdr = RdrhHdr [10]

104--VOLUME 19B, FEBRUARY1988 METALLURGICALTRANSACTIONSB

 If the gas temperature decreases to the dewpoint, con- 9 ~drt
densation occurs, the gas remaining saturated at Rc = ,~rrp~ t-d--~ [14]

Xwv = Xs.t = f ( T g ) [111 , ~ dr2

Combining Eqs. [4], [5], and [11] gives:
Rm = ~ 2"~ [15]

[ Tg Of(T~) These oxidation rates ignore effects of carbon dioxide liber-

Red B
1 G
--Xw~ Oz +f(Tg)~z ] [12]
ated by calcination, a reasonable assumption for acid pellets.
Calcination of limestone or dolomite (CaCO3 9 MgCO3)
and hence, is reaction controlled for most of the reaction period. Hence,
qed = ARcd [13] limestone decomposition is represented by:

2. Reactions Rt, = - k~L, [ 16]

The oxidation of magnetite and carbon (e.g., as coke
breeze) incorporated in the pellets can proceed simulta- Dolomite is assumed to behave as a mixture of CaCO3 and
neously by the reactions, MgCO3, with appropriate rate constants for each constitu-
ent.
4Fe304 + 02 ~ 6Fe203
3. Solution method
and The partial differential Eqs. [1] to [6] may be integrated
using standard integration techniques, e.g., as for the
C + 0 2~ CO 2
steady-state grate furnace and cooler models of Young,
They are considered to occur topochemically, at separate Cross, and Gibson. 9 However, such numerical methods re-
well-defined reaction boundaries as shown in Figure 2. quire very small step-sizes to achieve the required accu-
Magnetite oxidation commences at temperatures signifi- racy and are prone to instability problems. Integration must
cantly below that required for coke combustion. Hence the be highly efficient, particularly for dynamic simulations,
magnetite oxidation front may move well into the pellet where successive solutions for the complete bed are re-
before coke combustion starts. Equations for the rate of quired. It is also desirable that fixed step-sizes be used as
movement of the two interfaces, taking diffusion resistances this avoids interpolation of state variables. These objectives
into account, are derived in Appendix II. From these, the are met by expressing the D.E's in finite difference form
rates of reaction of coke and magnetite are as follows: rearranging, and solving them sequentially.

GAS FILM

COKE C O M B O S T , O N
,,TE.FAOE "%
MAG.ET,TE
OXIDATION
INTERFACE /

n-
I-
Z
LU
0
Z
o
o
r
o

LAYER (1) Fe 2 0 3
LAYER (2) Fe 2 03+coke ( P c kg m-lpellet)
CORE Fe2 0 3 + c ~ Pm kg m -1 pellet)
Fig. 2--Simultaneouscoke combustionand magnetiteoxidation.

METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS B VOLUME 19B, FEBRUARY 1988-- 105

 The bed and grate may be represented by a series of GASTO COLUMN
(FLUX,G)
columns divided into elements as shown in Figure 3. Pellets
within a column can be considered to remain stationary for
time A0, the time a point in the bed would take to traverse
the column. During this time the mean temperatures of
pellets within a typical element increase from Tpi to Tpo
under the influence of gas entering and leaving the element T~"gi ~ ~ O
at mean temperatures of Tg~ and Tso, respectively. It is
assumed that any mass transfer to or from the gas phase
occurs at temperature Tgo, from which it follows from an
enthalpy balance, that:
qcvAz
Teo = Tg~- ~ [17]
G Cg GRATEELEMENTS : g ~ ~ '
where G is the inlet gas flux and Cp is the mean specific heat I_ ~oJ
of inlet gas over the range Tg~ to Tso. The heat transfer rate, V -I
qc~, is determined from the average temperature driving Fig. 3 - Divisionof bed and grate into columnsand elements.
force and the heat transfer coefficient at mean gas condi-
tions. When drying or condensation are not involved, the
final pellet temperature is given by: next trial values. This is done by eliminating (qcv). and
rearranging, thus:
(qcv + qcr) AO
Tpo = Tpi + pb,~XjC j [181 (Teo).+ l =
[Tpi + (KE),(qcv),][1 - (K,),] + (K2),,(K3),I2Tg,- Tpi]
and for drying or condensation:
1 - (K1).+(Kz).(K3).
pb ~ x j c j [23]
rpo = (Pb ~.XjCj + RwCwAO) Tpi +
and
qcv + R., [A + Cwv(Tqo - Tp,) + CwTB]
A0 [191
(pb E xjcj + R~C~aO) (T~o).+~ = T,, + (K3AT,,- T,,;- (Tpo).+d
1 - (K1).
where Rw = -Ra~ for drying or Rcd for condensation, and
C~, the specific heat of water, is assumed constant over the [24]
range To (datum temperature for the enthalpy calculation, This method enables large elements to be used, without
0 ~ to Tb (nominal evaporation/condensation tem- significant loss of accuracy. For the grate furnace, a time
perature). In both Eqs. [18] and [19] the pellet bulk density step of approximately 60 seconds is typical. The grate is
and constituent concentrations (Pb and Xj, respectively) are divided into two elements per column and the bed into
initial values and the specific heats, Cj, are evaluated at the elements about 35 mm deep.
initial mean pellet temperature for the element.
As mean conditions are used to determine rates and phys- B. The Kiln Model
ical properties, an iterative procedure is necessary. To be
In this work the kiln model of Thornton and Batterham 14
numerically stable, such a procedure requires that values of
was used. Assumptions made in this model are:
Tpo and Tgo are consistent for each successive iteration. This
is assured by algebraic solution of approximating equations (i) The flame can be considered to be conical, its axis coin-
which use lumped parameter values determined for the cident with the kiln axis, as depicted in Figure 4.
current iteration. Thus for iteration n (calculating (Tgo),+~ (ii) The flame is well mixed and, due to its high luminosity,
and (Tpo),+ 0, radiation can be considered to be from/to its outer surface.
(iii) Gas surrounding the flame is well mixed and is a trans-
(g,). = (Tgo).+l -- Tgi [201 lucent grey emitter/absorber.
[(Tgo).-(Tpo),,+ Tg~ - rp~] (iv) The burden surface is planar.
(v) Circumferential wall temperature variations and axial
(K2)n = (Tpo)n+l -- Tpi [21] heat transfer by conduction can be ignored.
(qo:),,+(qcr),, Thornton and Batterham developed relationships for the
(q~v). geometry of the burden cross-section and the solid resi-
(/(3). = [22] dence time in terms of the kiln diameter, slope, and speed
[(Tgo)n - - (Tpo). + Tgi- Zpi] of rotation, which matched plant observations. Not sur-
K~ is the gas temperature change per unit temperature driv- prisingly, the burden is not well mixed. It is modeled as a
ing force for convection; K2 is the pellet temperature change core of pellets surrounded by a mantle of hotter pellets
per unit of heat absorbed by the pellets, and K 3 the which moves around the core. The rate of transfer of ma-
relationship between convective heat transfer rate and tem- terial between the core and mantle is quantified by a mixing
perature driving force. time constant.
Replacing (Tso). by (Tgo).+~ and (Tpo)n by (Tpo)n+l, The model includes radiation between the wall and bur-
Eqs. [20] to [22] are then solved for (Tso)n+~ and (Tpo).+~, the den, convection from the gas to the wall and burden, con-

106--VOLUME19B,FEBRUARY1988 METALLURGICALTRANSACTIONSB
 G A S TO
PREHEAT
C. Calculation of Boundary Conditions
FURNACE
ROTATION Most of the boundary conditions (i.e., solid feed and inlet
gas temperatures and compositions, and the inlet gas flow-
rates) for the individual models depend on the process as a
OED~ARY whole and change until steady-state operation is attained.
BURDEN FUEL & The solution at each time-step also requires initial values for
WALL FEED
MARY AIR all state variables pertaining to the solids. To commence a
FROM
FURPREHEAT
!R~E~: AT simulation, the latter and boundary values for the first model
PRODUCT (the cooler) are usually provided by a computer file from a
TO COOLER
previous simulation. Subsequent boundary condition calcu-
Fig. 4 - - Schematic d i a g r a m o f kiln.
lations are discussed elsewhere. H

IV. VALIDATION OF T H E M O D E L
duction through the wall, heat losses from the kiln shell, and
transfer within the burden by mixing. For radiation, the The validity of a whole-process model such as this needs
contribution of all emissions and multiple reflections are to be assessed relative to the task for which the model is
included. This is a significant advance on most kiln models, used. In this case validation has been mainly directed toward
which ignore certain radiationpaths, e.g., reradiation from studies on steady-state optimization and process design
the burden to the wall, 15 or consider
~"
only the first few reflec- modifications, rather than dynamic control.
tions and omit the flame. 16 For the Whyalla plant, radiation and convective heat
Rate equations are integrated in finite difference form, the losses from ducts and main equipment items were de-
kiln being typically considered as 50 cylindrical zones. termined by calculating conduction rates for measured in-
With the assumption of pseudo steady-state operation of ternal and surface temperatures. This gave a set of base
each zone, the heat fluxes at the inner surface of the wall and values (Table I) which are adjusted during a simulation in
at the kiln shell are equal, and the inner wall temperature accordance with calculated internal temperatures. Grate
which satisfies this condition is determined by an iterative heat losses are determined from specified strand inlet
procedure. Calculations are completed for each zone in turn, temperatures and those calculated for the end of the pre-
starting from the discharge end of the kiln. heat fumace.

Table I. Heat Loss Parameters Used in the Simulations

Source of Loss Temperature Parameter Base Loss (MJ/min) Base Temp. (~

Grate Furnace
PH fan discharge duct and drying hood preheat fan 66.3 304
Preheat hood and stack preheat hood 101.6 1160
Drying windbox to waste gas fan average dry. wbox 33.7 120
Preheat windbox PH wbox (posn. 7) 154.6 450
Preheat fan inlet preheat fan 66.2 320
HR duct from tempering tc. HRD at tc. 60.0 590
Kiln
Firing hood and PF flow duct from tc. secondary air 68.2 1050
Cooler
1st zone and PF duct to tc. secondary air 67.4 1050
2nd zone average hood 57.6 730
Heat recup, duct to HRD tempering tc HRD at cooler 10.0 610

Table II. Leakage, and Burner Primary Air Rates Used in All Simulations

kg/min.
Drying furnace: hood 30
windbox 150
Preheat furnace: hood 130
windbox 200
Preheat fan bleed-in dampers in closed position 80
Heat recup, bleed-in damper in closed position 30
Kiln: feed end 50
discharge end (includes firing hood) 200
Kiln burner primary air 170

METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS B VOLUME 19B, FEBRUARY 1988-- 107

 Duct flow resistance factors were determined from gas reported here. Average production rates were in the low to
pressure and temperature measurements taken when all moderate range for the plant: 163, 197, and 238 tonnes/h,
dampers were wide open, a full plant simulation provid- respectively.
ing the corresponding flowrates. Leakage rates (Table II) The ranges and mean values of the main variables are
were estimated from gas stream temperature differentials. shown in Table III. Variations during each period are typical
Model predictions of fan performance are based on the for grate/kiln indurators and indicate the difficulty in testing
manufacturer's curves for pressure differential and power operating strategies and hence the need for mathematical
requirement. simulation.
It is not practicable to measure simultaneously all vari- Parameters required by the model are shown in Table III
ables required for complete model verification. Data not as the independent variables. Grate speed, bed height, and
normally required for plant monitoring--for example, bed bed void fraction for the grate furnace, together with green
temperatures, temperatures and emissivities in the kiln, pellet density, are used to calculate the green pellet feedrate.
green pellet characteristics, and intermediate pellet com- For green pellet density and mean diameter, and bed void
positions were obtained at various times to validate indi- fraction, typical values (3390 kg 9 m -3, 11.8 mm and 0.39,
vidual aspects of the model. The final stage has involved respectively) were used in all simulations. Checks showed
whole-plant simulation under a range of conditions. appreciable errors in the logged figures for grate speed and
Comparative Simulations bed height, so these variables were back-calculated from
product weightometer measurements confirmed to be ac-
Logged data for three eight-hour periods of operation of curate. Mean logged values have been used for the other
the Whyalla plant were used as the basis for simulations independent variables.

Table III. Comparison of Simulation Results with Plant M e a s u r e m e n t s

Case A Case B Case C

(163 Tonnes 9 h ~ Product) (197 Tonnes 9 h -t Product) (238 Tonnes 9 h ~ Product)
Logged Calc. Logged Calc. Logged Calc.
Independent Variables
Grate speed (m 9 min -~) 1.32 to 2.51, 2.012 2.043 1.87 to 2.40, 2.20 2.351 2.06 to 3.27, 2.593 2.788
Grate furnace (mm) 163 to 185, 172 175 165 to 178, 173 184 166 to188, 175 188
bed height
Preheat hood (~ 993 to 1099, 1017 1017 1008 to 1049, 1020 1020 994 to 1065, 1014 1014
temperature
Preheat windbox (~ 416 to 536, 459 459 444 to 537, 480 480 354 to 556, 444 444
Dependent Variables
Temperatures: (~
Kiln secondary 949 to 1084, 1036 1093 1063 to 1108, 1078 1071 1067 to 1151, 1124 1072
air~1)
Recuperation duct 254 to 437, 319 318 297 to 468, 373 361 346 to 606, 490 456
air
Preheat fan 271 to 310, 293 289 297 to 340, 322 315 289 to 365, 319 317
discharge temperature
Cooler stack 110 to 170, 130 90 115 to 175, 135 147 105 to 250, 162 240
discharge
Bottom pellet element, -- 816 -- 822 -- 753
end preheat furnace
Kiln feed -- 1020 -- 1019 -- 978
Kiln burden 1330 to 1350 1334 1330 to 1350 1337 1330 to 1350 1338
(maximum)
Kiln efficiency (pct) -- 52.3 -- 55.9 -- 64.0
Pressures: (kPa)
Drying furnace - 1 . 0 3 to -2.37, - 1 . 9 3 -1.43 - 1 . 4 8 to -1.89, - 1 . 7 0 -1.56 - 1 . 4 3 to - 2 . 4 0 , - 1 . 8 0 -1.30
windbox
Preheat furnace - 0 . 5 2 to -1.93, - 1 . 3 4 -0.72 - 0 . 9 6 to -1.21, - 1 . 0 8 -1.00 - 1 . 1 3 to - 1 . 8 5 , - 1 . 4 3 -1.47
windbox
Cooler windbox, 1.26 to 3.13, 2.23 2.34 -- 2.73 1.86 to 3.54, 2.61 3.32
1st stage
Damper positions: (pct open)
Preheat fans 36 to 79, 73 42 70 to 79, 75 55 73 to 90, 82 61
Waste gas fans 70 to 100, 98 59 91 to 99, 98 68 90 to 100, 95 59
Cooling fan 3A 8 to 100, 72 63 45 to 100, 80 76 -- 100 88
3B --, 100 91 -- 60 -- 100 100
3C shut down -- -- 47 -- 84
Recuperation duct 28 to 87, 59 100 77 to 85, 83 61 32 to 67, 37 32
Fan motor power (kW)
Preheat fans 1009 1225 990 1224 1046 1208
Waste gas fans 891 887 895 905 916 905
Kiln oil (kl 9 h ~) 2.29 to 3.29, 2.82 -- 2.32 to 3.26, 2.80 2.84 to 4.37, 3.67
(GJ 9 tonne -~) 0.693 0.749 0.568 0.696 0.615 0.661
Note: (1) Calculated temperatures are for the total kiln secondary air. Logged temperatures are for the "parallel flow" duct which carries most of this air.

108--VOLUME 19B, FEBRUARY 1988 METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS B

 Other input variables include green feed composition, 700 I I I I I 1 I
cooler bed height (760 mm), cooler bed void fraction 0.42,
and kiln speed (1.25 rpm). Flame temperature, shape, and O CASE A
heat release parameters, which are not readily measurable, [ ] CASE B t LOGGED
were given realistic values enabling calculated maximum 600 -- CASE C POINTS
kiln burden temperatures to be within the measured range
of 1330 to 1350 ~
With a few exceptions, the calculated steady-state values CALCULATED
of dependent variables lie within the measured ranges, and
5013
in most instances are close to the mean values. Good agree- - -

ment on kiln secondary air temperature cannot be expected, CASE B

as not all of the air passes through the duct in which the
temperature is measured. The fact that the calculated value
is about 50 ~ higher than the mean in one case and about v
40 -- CASE
50 ~ lower in another is due to the inverse relationship uJ
tr
between secondary air flowrate and temperature and there I.-
being more than one way of obtaining required kiln burden <
n-
and preheat hood temperatures. All other tabulated tem- IJJ
n 3 0 0 --
peratures are in good agreement. Temperatures in the grate
furnace windboxes are shown in Figure 5. The only discrep- ELI
I--
ancies of note are at positions 7 and 8, close to the end of
C
the preheat furnace where air leakage into the windbox is
considerable. In the model, leakage effects are calculated 200 --
for the windbox as a whole rather than at each position;
the discrepancies therefore indicate the actual decrease in
temperature due to leakage at these positions.
Calculated windbox pressures (Table III) are quite satis- 100
factory except for the preheat furnace in Case A. The low
calculated pressure loss across the bed, considered together
with the high calculated secondary air temperature, indi-
cates that the gas flowrate through the kiln is too low in this
ol I I I I I I I II
simulation. This and the low damper opening for the preheat [ 2 4 6 8 [ 2 4 6 8
fan is a consequence of the recuperation duct damper being
wide open in the simulation solution. This, in turn, results DRYING PREHEAT
from the choice of initial conditions and controller con- WlNDBOX NUMBER
stants. With the appropriate changes, all four discrepancies Fig. 5--Comparison of calculated and logged windbox temperatures.
could be substantially reduced.
Calculated damper positions can be expected to be rela-
tively inaccurate as the damper pressure drops are affected
by all errors in the pressure balances and the damper char-
acteristics have been assumed. In this light the agreement
can be regarded as satisfactory.
The calculated motor power requirements for the waste APPENDIX I
gas fans is in excellent agreement with the measured values.
Discrepancies for the preheat fans are consistently large, Calculation of basic data
however, and the reason for this has not been found. The heat transfer coefficient for the grate and cooler beds
The model-predicted fuel consumptions are consistently is calculated using a modified R a n z 17 correlation, i.e.,
higher than indicated by the logged oil flowrates, but the
discrepancy of 7 to 8 pct for Cases A and C is quite reason- Nu = 2.0 + 0.6 ) Pr 1/3,
able. The very low 'actual' usage for Case B appears to be
anomalous.
and the oxygen mass transfer coefficient by the analogous
equation:
V. CONCLUSIONS
Sh = 2.0 + 0.6 ) Sc "3
A model of the complete grate/kiln induration process has
been developed and validated for a particular plant. All Pellet surface area per unit volume of bed is given by:
relevant phenomena appear to be included and steady-state
solutions for a range of conditions are in satisfactory agree- A - 6q52(1 - e)
ment with plant measurements. d

METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS B VOLUME 19B, FEBRUARY 1988-- 109

 The rate constant relationship for coke oxidation given by 4 17"P2~ dr2
Field et al.,lS has been rearranged and modified for coke -(dNo)l-2 = [A1.6]
bz
particles dispersed in pellets to give:
and
kcoke= 5.96 x 10 3 Xcoke(Tp + 273) e -17970/(Tp+273)
4 7r PI~ drl 4 7r I ~ dr2
For magnetite oxidation, from data of Papanastassiou and -(dNo)s-i = [A1.7]
Bitsianes, 19 bl b2

kmag= 0.264 x 10 9 (Ts + 273) e -19940/(T~+273)

which in tum are given (assuming Yo/Yo ~ 1) by:
Tp < 388 ~
km~g= 1.26 • 10-4 (Tp + 273) e -12~176 drl
- - ~--- - ( Y o l -- Y*ol)/Cl [A1.8]
Tp > 388 ~ dO
Dolomite is considered to decompose as a mixture of calcium and
and magnesium carbonates, the rate constants for which are:
dr2
kt~ = 8.3 x 10 6 e -18300/(Ts+273) - - = -(Yoz - Y*o2)/C2 [A1.9]
dO

k.~ = 0.25 x 106 e -11200/(Ts+273) where

CI = p~/(bl k~) and C2 = pz/(b2 ka)
APPENDIX II
Simultaneous coke combustion and Magnetite oxidation As the flowrate of oxygen to the first interface equals that
from the bulk stream, Eqs. [A1.1] and [A1.7] may be com-
Consider the general reaction, bined to give:
A(gas) + bB(solid) = cC(gas) + dD(solid),
which applies to the combustion of coke and, with no gas- ddrl ~dr2 1
AI 1dO + A2 2dO I = (rob - Yos)
eous product, to the oxidation of magnetite. Referring to -

J
Figure 2, the rates of diffusion of oxygen (species A) [A1.10]
through the gas boundary layer and the outer layer of Fe203
(species B) of a pellet, respectively, are given by:
where
( ~ 0 ~ )B-s = 4 7r ~ k,,(YoB- Yos) [AI.1] Al = pl/(bl km ~) and Az = pz/(b2km ~)

and Combining Eqs. [A1.4] and [A1.7] gives:

()),, 4 [A1.2]
--Bl'l dO + B2 12 dO ~ - = (Yos - rOl)

Integrating Eq. [A1.2],

(dNo fr~dr [A1.I1]
[A1.3]
-\ dO )s_lJro r2 where
4 ~r O,l (Yos - YoO

(l 0) [A1.41 B1 = pl/(bl Del)

Combining Eqs. [A1.5] and [A1.6], assuming

and B2 = p2/(b2 Del)

As for Eq. [A1.4], the rate of diffusion through the second D~2 = D~I, gives:
product layer (hematite and carbon) is:

- ( ~00 ) 1-2 =4rcDe2(YoE-YoO1

1 [11.5] 2dO ~-~ = (Iio2- Yo0 [AI.12I

r2 rl
Oxygen concentrations at the surface (Yos) and solid
The amounts of oxygen which have passed through the interfaces (Yol and Yo2) can be eliminated by combining
layers are directly related to the changes of the interface Eqs. [AI.ll] and [A1.9], and Eqs. [A1.12] and [A1.8],
radii, i.e., respectively, to give:

l l0--VOLUME 19B, FEBRUARY 1988 METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS B

 [(A, + B,D,)~ + C,](YoB - I:o2) - [(AI q- B,D,)r~](YoB - ~o1)
[Al.13]
dO [(AI + B1DI)~ + CI][(A2 + B2D2)~ + C2] - (AI + B,D,)(A2 + B 2 D , ) ~

and FOB, Yos, oxygen concentration in bulk gas, at surface,

Yo,, Yo2 and at reaction interfaces, respectively
2 dr2 (mole 9 m -3)
dr, YoB -- Yo, + (A2 + B2D,) r2--~ Y*ol, Y*02 equilibrium oxygen concentration at reaction
dO (A, + BtDI) r~ + C, interfaces (mole 9 m -3)
vertical distance in bed from gas entry point (m)
[A1.14] z
anar heat required to convert water at temperature Tp
where to vapor at temperature Tg (kJ 9 kg-')
a~ heat of reaction, in terms of component j
1 1 1 1 (kJ 9 kg-')
D,- D2-
rl ro r2 r0 E void fraction of pellet bed (-)
A latent heat of water (kJ 9 kg -l)
4, pellet shape factor (-)
SYMBOLS viscosity of gas (kg 9 m -1 s-')
~8
A Surface area of pellets per unit volume of bed Pb bulk density of solid (kg 9 m -3)
(m-b Pc, P~ mass of coke and magnetite, respectively, per
b stoichiometric coefficient (-) unit volume of shell (kg 9 m -3)
Cg, C,, heat capacity of gas, solid, and pellet Pg density of gas (kg 9 m -3)
C~ component species j, respectively 0 time (s)
(kJ" kg-' ~
d mean pellet diameter (m)
De,, De2 effective oxygen diffusivity (m 2 s -l) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
f~ fraction of convective heat used in drying (-)
G gas flux (kg" m -2 s-') Thanks are due to the management of the B.H.P. Steel
h convective heat transfer coefficient International Group-Long Products Division for permission
(kJ ' m -2 s-' ~ to publish this work and to the staff of the pellet plant at
H , H sa' humidity and saturation humidity, respectively Whyalla for assistance with plant testwork and providing
(-) other plant data. The author is particularly indebted to J. M
thermal conductivity of gas (kJ 9 m-' s-' ~ -l) Fitzpatrick, formerly Pellet Plant Superintendent, for his
mass transfer coefficient (m 9 s-') practical contributions and active support; to Dr. R.J.
km
reaction rate constant (m 9 s-' or s-') Batterham of CSIRO who instigated and supervised the
kr
No number of moles of oxygen (-) project; and to G. J. Thornton for valuable discussions and
Nu Nusselt number, hd /kg (-) provision of the kiln simulation program.
P pressure (Pa)
Pr Prandtl number, tzsCg/kg (-)
qcd rate of sensible heat transfer to gas by REFERENCES
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qcr
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112- - VOLUME 19B, FEBRUARY 1988 METALLURGICALTRANSACTIONS B