Prospects for synthetic-fuel production in the coke-hot metal-steel cycle. Part 1

Abstract

Theoretical analysis indicates that synthesis gas for the manufacture of synthetic liquid fuel may be pro� duced by gasification of coal using a steam-oxygen blast in outofservice blast furnaces and that this pro� cess is economically viable (1). At the same time, the use of highpotential secondary energy resources formed at integrated steel works with a closed cycle seems more efficient. The secondary energy resources are gases with fixed content of fuel components (CO, H2, CH4, CmHn, etc.). Their thermal value and unit yield, as a rule, are determined by the composition of the batch, and the particular physicochemical pro� cesses employed. In all, secondary energy resources account for about 50% of the total energy balance at the steel plant (2-4). Undoubtedly, in traditional blastfurnace production with a developed infrastruc� ture (for the production of coke, hot metal, steel, and so on), the sources of secondary energy resources are geographically distributed, as a rule, operate at differ� ent time periods, and differ in their thermodynamic parameters (temperature, pressure, composition, etc.). That considerably complicates the creation of a closed system permitting energy conservation and environmental protection in steelproducing regions. However, the energy efficiency of steel production may be considerably improved by combining even a few processes (for example, steel smelting in oxygen converters and coke production) in terms of the cap� ture and use of secondary energy resources and the production of synthesis gas by means of the chemical energy from the cokeoven and converter gases. For example, cokeoven gas is sent to the gassup� ply system of the steel plant after removing the tar, raw benzene, and pyridine bases in the coke plant's chem� ical shop. It is usually employed as a fuel in various processes.