Preheating of scrap in the converter is an actual area of research in modern metallurgy. The growing requirements for energy efficiency and the reduction of raw material costs encourage the development of new technological solutions to increase the share of scrap metal in the charge of converter production. Traditional methods are often limited to the use of no more than 25% of scrap, which is associated with difficulties in its uniform heating and the possible formation of a liquid phase as a result of local overheating. The work evaluates the effectiveness of traditional and experimental technological solutions, such as two-tier and fuel-oxygen nozzles. The stages of ignition and burning of lump coal and pulverized coal fuel and their influence on the uniformity of scrap heating were studied. Experimental studies have shown that with a specific oxygen consumption of 1-1.35 m³/kg of pulverized coal fuel, uniform heating of scrap metal is ensured without the risk of melting the upper layers. During the use of a fuel-oxygen lance, the following features of heating scrap metal using pulverized coal fuel, which was blown in an oxygen ring shell, were discovered: - during the combustion of coal dust in an oxygen environment, due to the significant total surface of coal particles, the bulk of volatile СmНn does not have time to separate before the beginning particle ignition, and carbon burns at the same rate as volatiles. This contributes to the formation of high-temperature torches with great luminosity, which effectively affect the surface of the scrap; - the coefficient of use of blown oxygen and pulverized coal fuel is significantly higher than when using lump gas coal during heating of any duration. This is due to the greater luminosity of the formed torches, which contributes to the intensive absorption of thermal energy by the surface of the scrap; - the time required to heat the surface of the scrap metal to the specified temperature is reduced, which allows you to avoid the formation of a liquid component that can lead to undesirable consequences, such as uneven heating or damage to the converter lining. Based on the results of experimental studies, the relationship between the specific oxygen consumption and the flame temperature was established. The ability to control the temperature regime during the heating of scrap metal indicates the prospects of using a fuel-oxygen nozzle made of PVP to optimize the converter production process. For the full implementation of the technology, additional research and industrial testing are needed to optimize processes and increase production efficiency.
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