Particle-Gas Interactions at High Temperatures in an Highly Reactive Atmosphere

The primary manufacture of steel is a carbon and energy intensive process, and limitation of greenhouse gas emissions is extremely difficult because coal is a key ingredient for the reduction of iron ore in the blast furnace. Therefore any pragmatic research to reduce the carbon footprint of iron and steel making must involve the fundamentals of the reaction pathways of coal in the blast furnace. As such, the iron and steel making industry aims to reduce its reliance on coke, by using a direct coal injection technologies, coupled with the use of more diverse sources of carbon. This project is therefore aligned with the EPSRC themes of Energy Efficiency, Manufacturing Technologies and Process systems. The scientific aim of the research is to characterise the combustion and partial oxidation behaviour of untreated coals in relation to the raceway of a blast furnace, where burnout must be rapid and efficient. This will be achieved via controlled chemical reactions in a drop tube furnace, thermogravimetry and the measurement of ash properties in the post-reaction samples. The industrial sponsor has supplied a variety of coals for evaluation in order to determine if physically observed phenomena such as dust carry-over can be explained in terms of the fundamental properties of the coal and how this relates to industrial processes such as grinding and blending. The reactivity properties of coal and char will therefore be of key interest, especially where catalytic reactions can be used to increase the reaction rate. This will involve the careful analysis of ash and char surface chemistry, for example with X-ray spectroscopy and diffraction, in conjunction with existing considerations such as ash fusion behaviour.