MODERN BLAST FURNACE (BF) AND CONVERTER (BOF)

GAS CLEANING – A REPORT OF STATE-OF-THE-ART

TECHNOLOGY1
Franz Reufer2
Christian Davidi3

Abstract
Since almost 15 years, Paul Wurth Umwelttechnik in Essen, Germany, is dedicated
to blast furnace gas cleaning. The technology developed, applied and improved over
the years is the so called Annular Gap Scrubbing technology. This wet gas cleaning
technology, in combination with our patented Axial Cyclone development, represents
a very efficient blast furnace gas cleaning. The axial cyclone is removing up to 85%
of the dust in the BF gas. Compared to a standard dust catcher, which is still the
main dry dust separation stage in the chain of BF gas cleaning, it is a significant
increase in dust separation and leads to a minimized amount of dust separated in the
wet stage. Less water consumption, higher energy output with TRT operation, and
less valuable BF dust which has to be dumped are the logic consequences of this BF
gas cleaning arrangement. This results in sustainable cost savings and reduces
significantly the environmental impact. The dry dust can be recycled via sinter plant.
The zinc fraction of the blast furnace gas which shall not be recycled to the blast
furnace will be removed in the annular gap scrubber.
Key words: Environmental technology; BF and BOF gas cleaning; Annular gap
scrubber; Axial cyclone.

1
Technical contribution to the 43rd Ironmaking and Raw Materials Seminar, 12h Brazilian Symposium
on Iron Ore and 1st Brazilian Symposium on Agglomeration of Iron Ore, September 1st to 4th, 2013,
Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
2
Paul Wurth Umwelttechnik GmbH, Essen, Germany; franz.reufer@paulwurth.com and
christian.davidi@paulwurth.com.
1 INTRODUCTION

The development of a modern gas cleaning technology started in the year 1970 with
the first installation of an annular gap scrubber in Arbed steel plant, Esch-Belval, in
south of Luxembourg (Figure 1).

Figure 1. BF A and BF B Arbed, Esch-Belval, Luxembourg, 1970.

Since that time, the technology was improved by Paul Wurth over the years based on
customer needs and operational requirements. Design studies and process
calculation in combination with the intensive exchange between operational and
maintenance personnel lead to the present design. Today the state-of-the-art gas
cleaning technology consists of an axial type cyclone, annular gap scrubber with
external swirl type demister (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Gas Cleaning Plant AHMSA BF 6, 2010.

In the early 1970s most of the new and revamped blast furnaces were operated
under higher pressure to increase the operational results. Due to this fact it was
necessary to adapt the gas cleaning system in a way that besides the cooling and
cleaning of the BF gas also the top gas pressure control function was enabled. The
very common venturi scrubbers were not able to fulfill this function, and only in
combination with an additional septum valve it was possible to ensure this pressure
control. The combination of a venturi with internal movable cone, the so-called
annular gap element, evolved into the ideal solution for the BF gas cooling, cleaning
and top pressure control. High velocity inside the annular gap between the dust
particles and injected droplets ensures the optimum separation of even finest
particles. The shape of the inner cone and outer venturi (Figure 3) generates the
possibility to make the top pressure control more precise compared to the old system
with septum valve. Nowadays, most of the BF in the world are operating this system
to achieve optimum BF top pressure control and cleaning to ensure the highest
productivity of the blast furnace.

Figure 3. Annular gap element.

2 BF DRY AND WET GAS CLEANING STAGE

In 1999, Paul Wurth was able to take the next step for another improvement of the
gas cleaning technology. The first installation of an axial type cyclone was made at
ArcelorMittal Bremen at BF No. 2 (Figure 4). The axial cyclone substitutes the dust-
catcher technology. It was possible to increase the separation of dust in the first gas
cleaning step and to decrease the amount of sludge from the water treatment system
of the next wet cleaning step.
 Figure 4. Gas cleaning plant ArcelorMittal, Bremen BF 2, 1999.

The cyclone technology with tangential inlet was proven technology in several
industrial fields and the main idea was to combine the advantage of the high dust
separation of the cyclone with the structural advantages of a dust-catcher. With the
axial inlet of the dust-catcher, it was possible to lead all the loads and forces coming
from the down-comer pipe into the structure of the dust-catcher. With a tangential
cyclone, it would be necessary to install an additional supporting structure so that
these loads and forces can be compensated. The PW axial cyclone combined both,
high separation efficiency and structural advantage. At the inlet of the axial cyclone,
guide vanes are installed which produce the circumferential velocity of the gas to
ensure the high separation efficiency of the dust. These guide vanes can be installed
and maintained from the outside, where a platform ensures optimum accessibility.
Since 2008, another improvement was made by re-designing the inlet section of the
axial cyclone (Figure 5). The two large inlet ducts required a certain height, and the
shape of the bumped head was often difficult to fabricate if the necessary machines
for bending were not available. The new conical inlet section (Figure 6) is much
easier to fabricate and the height is reduced by 8 m. The separation efficiency of the
cyclone will not be changed by this modification, but the weight and also the cost will
be reduced by approx. 20 %. This new design is now in operation since spring 2012
for first time at BF 4 of SSAB Oxelösund, Sweden (Figure 7).

Figure 5. PW axial cyclone with inlet y-joint.

 Figure 6. New conical inlet section.

Figure 7. Gas cleaning plant SSAB, Oxelösund, BF 4, Sweden, 2012.

The higher separation of dust inside the cyclone is linked to the centrifugal forces and
high circumferential velocities inside the cyclone compared to the dust-catcher
technology. The higher velocities inside the vessel require a special protection of the
surfaces inside the vessel. A dust-catcher is very often operated without any
protection of the inner surfaces due to the low gas velocity, but the cyclone
technology requires a protection of these surfaces in order to avoid wear.
The first installation in Bremen was entirely equipped with ceramic tiles which ensure,
in general, long operational time, but made problems with high temperature
fluctuation of the gas.
Wear resistant high alumina castable, in combination with ceramic tiles at appropriate
locations, is the proven solution for this application. High temperature fluctuation can
be compensated and the abrasion resistance is high enough to ensure long
operation time. Installed by qualified personnel of the supplier, the material will last
up to one BF campaign.
Since 1999, PW installed more than 30 cyclones which fulfill the customer needs to
decrease the overall operational cost by improving productivity and lower material
cost. Compared to the dust-catcher operation, it is possible to separate up to 85 % of
the dust in the cyclone. The design of the cyclone is made in a way that only the
particles which are not linked to Zinc and Lead are separated from the BF gas
(Figure 8). These particles which are harmful for the blast furnace refractory lining are
still transported to the wet cleaning step and will be separated there from the
circulation.

Figure 8. Dependence of Zinc content on particle size.(1)

Compared to a dust-catcher, the shape of a cyclone is much thinner and smaller.

This decreases the cost for the supporting structure and the foundation in case of a
new installation or becomes possible to re-use the existing steel structure in case of
a brown field installation. In both cases, the smaller diameter of the cyclone
decreases also the storage capacity of dust to approx. 1 to 1,5 days. Due to the high
flexibility of the cyclone technology it is possible to compensate this disadvantage by
enlarging the lower dust storage section of the cyclone (Figure 9), so that it is
possible to achieve the same storage time as for the bigger dust-catcher. Long
storage times of more than 3 days can be performed in case of problems with the
dust discharge or transportation.
Figure 9. Axial cyclone with enlarged dust storage area.

Figure 10. Dust discharge system.

 Figure 11. PW GRITZKO Valve for dust discharge.

For the discharge of a high amount of dust separated inside the cyclone, it is
necessary to have an automatic and very reliable dust discharge system (Figure 10).
Below the cyclone the dust discharge will be made by means of an intermediate
hopper and two automatic PW GRITZKO valves (Figure 11). The intermediate
hopper works as a lock vessel where the dust will be purged and pressure reduction
takes place before discharging to a pug mill with water spray. This ensures the
emission free discharge of the dust into a rail truck or a lorry.

Figure 12. Schematic dust discharge system.

The higher separation of dust is not only an advantage for the dry cleaning step. If
less dust enters the next wet gas cleaning step (Figure 13), less accretions and wear
can be expected. Longer lifetime of all parts of the scrubber or water treatment plant
can be expected which will reduce the cost for maintenance and spare parts.
 Figure 13. Water Circuit Wet Gas Cleaning Step.

In case of the operation with an axial cyclone it is possible to reduce the amount of
injected water to the wet scrubber system. The water consumption required for the
cleaning of the gas can be reduced by approx. 20 %. The lower amount of water
enables the installation of a smaller thickener at the water treatment plant or to
increase the retention time in case of an existing system. This will help to reduce the
investment and operation costs.
The reduction of injected water will influence the cooling process of the gas and will
increase the gas outlet temperature. In case where the gas passes a top gas
recovery turbine (TRT), it is possible to generate approx. 2 % higher energy output.
To summarize the benefit of the installation of an axial cyclone for the complete gas
cleaning system, the operational costs for a medium size blast furnace are listed
hereafter (Table 1).

Table 1. Operational cost comparison dust-catcher vs. axial cyclone

BF data
Top gas volume flow m³./h (STP) 550.000
Top pressure bar, g 2,5
Top gas temperature °C 150
Yearly operation Days 340
GCP with GCP with Savings
Dust-catcher Axial-Cyclone
€/year
Dust Inlet content g/m³ (STP) 15 15
Efficiency % 50 85
Material to sinter plant g/m³ (STP) 7,5 12,75
Benefit €/t 25 25 589.050
Amount of sludge g/m³ (STP) 7,5 2,25
Landfill €/t 5 5 117.810
Required cleaning
m³/h 1000 800
water
Gas outlet temperature °C 45 48
Energy output TRT MW 13,8 14,1 73.440
Energy cost €/kWh 0,03 0,03
Total 780.300
3 BOF GAS CLEANING – THE LOGICAL NEXT STEP

The wet scrubbing technology on the basis of annular gap elements is not only state-
of-the-art for blast furnace plants, but also applicable for basic oxygen furnace plants
(BOF converter). In this case, the converter gas, which is generated by oxygen
blowing process, is cleaned. The dust particles are removed from the gas flow
significantly below dust concentrations of 50 mg/m³ (STP). The difference to blast
furnace gas cleaning is that BOF gas is not continuously produced but with a higher
temperature, only during the blowing period. The pressure drop necessary for the
gas cleaning is generated by a fan which sucks the gas through the scrubber and
demister. The converter gas is a high calorific gas and is normally stored in a gas
holder for further processing or for heating purposes inside the steel mill. A typical
3D-scheme of a BOF converter primary gas cleaning is shown in Figure 14. The
arrangement shows a plant which is installed at BOF shop 1 at ArcelorMittal
Gent/Belgium. Three further installations (for three BOF converters) are nowadays
under construction at the Arcelor-Mittal Temirtau works in Kazakhstan
(Figures 15 and 16).

Figure 14. Typical 3D-scheme of a BOF Converter primary gas cleaning.

Details in Fig. 16

Figure 15. BOF gas cleaning of ArcelorMittal steel plant, Temirtau works, Kazakhstan.
 Pre-scrubber / Quench
Demister
AG-scrubber
Figure 16. Plant items of the new AMT Kazakhstan Steel plant dedusting facility.

These three new BOF primary dedusting facilities will lead to a significant
improvement of the environmental situation of the whole steel works. In a final step
the BOF gas could be collected in a gas holder in order to improve the energy
balance of the steel works (3 x 300 t converters with a gas cleaning capacity of
166.000 m³/h (STP) each.

4 CONCLUSION

Gas cleaning facilities based on the annular gap technology are widely spread over
the world. In the recent 15 years, Paul Wurth Umwelttechnik installed almost 100 gas
cleaning systems for BF and BOF operations which are fulfilling the given emission
limits and contribute to a clean environment. The main advantages of this gas
cleaning technology compared to other options are that there is a high flexibility and
a wide range of possible inlet gas temperatures, corrosive gas components like
chlorides and similar will be washed out with the water and are consequently no
longer harmful to any kind of downstream installation or even to the ambiance. The
annular gap technology is the ideal pressure control equipment for all sizes of blast
furnaces. Both, gas cleaning and pressure control with the same plant equipment
was a real breakthrough in the past.
A major gas cleaning step in particular for the blast furnace gas cleaning is the dry
gas cleaning step based on the axial cyclone technology. The introduction of this kind
of dust separation equipment has offered a real step forward in recycling of blast
furnace dust back into the hot metal production chain and consequently has
contributed to the reduction of water consumption and dumping of the residual dust.
Furthermore, it has been shown that an axial cyclone can save significantly operation
cost by the recycling of the dust (iron and coke/coal carrier), reduction of water
consumption and an increased energy output if operating an expansion turbine
(TRT).

REFERENCES

1 T.MURAI et al. Blast furnace gas dry cleaning system and dry removal system of zinc in
dry dust. The Sumitomo Search, 1986, n. 22, 1-7.