Evaluation of a new process for ironmaking: A productivity model for the rotary hearth furnace

In order to address the key issues of capital costs and CO₂ emissions in ironmaking operations, a new process was proposed combining a Rotary Hearth Furnace (RHF) and a Bath Smelter. This paper describes the construction of a productivity model for the RHF based on previous studies concerning the reduction behavior of pellets of carbon and iron iron oxides. The model was used to estimate changes in RHF productivity according to the type of carbon used in the RHF pellets, numbers of layers of pellets, final metallization degree of the direct reduced iron (DRI) produced, and initial sizes of the pellets. The results indicate that productivity gains between 33 and 46% can be achieved replacing coal with wood charcoal, a carbon source virtually free of net CO₂ emissions. Also, the productivity of the RHF can be doubled by reducing the charge only up to 70% metallization. The model allowed the study of changes in overall energy consumption due to changes in the extent of primary oxidation of the gas at the pellet level showing that the use of wood charcoal increases the total amount of carbon consumed by less than five percent relative to operations with coal.