PROMISING DIRECTIONS FOR THE USE OF NATURAL THERMOANTHRACITE IN METALLURGICAL PROCESSES

Abstract

Natural thermoanthracite (NTA) from the Bulur deposit of the Omsukchan coal basin, in terms of its material and mineral composition, physicochemical and thermomechanical properties, is a unique carbonaceous raw material for technological use in many industries and, above all, in metallurgical industry. The quality of the NTA classes 75‒50, 50‒25, 25‒13, 13‒6 and 6‒0 mm was studied in a wide range of indicators. Based on experimental data on the quality of individual classes of NTA, on the degree of its compliance with the requirements of individual industries and using a system of industrial analogues, the promising areas for the use of NTA in metallurgy have been determined for: ‒ foundry production as a fuel for iron smelting in cupola furnaces; ‒ blast furnace production in lump form and as a mixture for a pulverized coal fuel; ‒ steelmaking as a carbonizing agent to improve the performance of converter smelting and to obtain special steels with a reduced nitrogen content; ‒ ferroalloy production as a carbonaceous reducing agent for smelting ferroalloys, especially in slag processes; ‒ production of thermoanthracite as a carbon raw material for the production of electrode mass and the production of electrodes for various purposes; ‒ to obtain briquettes (from small classes) with their subsequent use in a number of metallurgical industries; ‒ the agglomeration of iron and non-ferrous ores as a process fuel.