CFD modelling and optimization of oxygen supply mode in KIVCET smelting process
(1. School of Energy Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China;
2. Zhuzhou Smelter Group Company Limited, Zhuzhou 412004, China;
3. School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China;
4. Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation, Purdue University Northwest, 2200 169th Street, Hammond, IN 46323, USA;
5. Changsha Nonferrous Metallurgy Design and Research Institute Company Limited, Changsha 410019, China)
2. Zhuzhou Smelter Group Company Limited, Zhuzhou 412004, China;
3. School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China;
4. Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation, Purdue University Northwest, 2200 169th Street, Hammond, IN 46323, USA;
5. Changsha Nonferrous Metallurgy Design and Research Institute Company Limited, Changsha 410019, China)
Abstract: The influence of oxygen supply mode on the KIVCET (a Russian acronym for flash-cyclone-oxygen-electric-smelting) process was investigated using numerical simulation. The mass rate ratio (MRR) of central oxygen to lateral oxygen of the central jet distributor (CJD) burner was defined to express the oxygen supply mode, and the KIVCET process with an MRR ranging from 0.09 to 0.39 was simulated. The results show that there are four efficient reaction regions that correspond to four CJD burners. A higher central oxygen flow improves the mixing between particles and oxygen, thus enhancing reactions and shortening the reaction regions. However, a higher dust rate is induced due to the spread of the particle columns. The optimal MRR for a KIVCET furnace with a smelting capacity of 50000 kg/h is suggested to be 0.31. In this case, the chemical reactions associated with the feed are completed with an acceptable dust rate.
Key words: KIVCET furnace; central jet distributor (CJD) burner; computational fluid dynamics (CFD); central oxygen; lateral oxygen; optimization