NOVEL APPROACH TO MODELING OF IMPERIAL SMELTING FURNACE BEHAVIOR

Abstract

A mathematical model based on the heat and mass balance of the Imperial Smelting Furnace (ISF) has been proposed. This model can be used by operating engineers to evaluate furnace behavior without the necessity of generating an exhaustive data bank for rate parameters. The model formulation is based on Rist's model of iron blast furnace, consisting of separate reaction zones. In the adapted approach, the ISF has been conceived as a combination of a lead reduction zone and a zinc reduction zone, separated by an equilibrium zone. The mass and energy balances comprising oxygen balance, heat demand, and heat supply analyses lead to the construction of an operating line for the furnace describing its behavior. The model has been validated by 1) predicting furnace coke consumption based on analytical heat balance for an actual smelter operation as reported in the literature and 2) estimating the coke ratio as a function of the oxygen content of the blast. Both of these parameters have been satisfactorily correlated with available data. The model has been used for predictions of furnace behavior, accounting for: 1) the effect of increasing blast temperature on coke savings, and 2) the effect of change in the operating mode of oxygen enrichment on a specific carbon rate.