Numerical simulation of flash reduction in a drop tube reactor with variable temperatures

Yiru Yang; Qipeng Bao; Lei Guo; Zhe Wang; Zhancheng Guo

doi:10.1007/s12613-020-2210-1

Volume 29 Issue 2

Feb. 2022

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Article Navigation > International Journal of Minerals, Metallurgy and Materials > 2022 > 29(2): 228-238

Yiru Yang, Qipeng Bao, Lei Guo, Zhe Wang, and Zhancheng Guo, Numerical simulation of flash reduction in a drop tube reactor with variable temperatures, Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., 29(2022), No. 2, pp. 228-238. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-020-2210-1

Cite this article as:

Yiru Yang, Qipeng Bao, Lei Guo, Zhe Wang, and Zhancheng Guo, Numerical simulation of flash reduction in a drop tube reactor with variable temperatures, Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., 29(2022), No. 2, pp. 228-238. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-020-2210-1

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Research Article

Numerical simulation of flash reduction in a drop tube reactor with variable temperatures

+ Author Affiliations

Corresponding authors:
Lei Guo E-mail: leiguo@ustb.edu.cn

Zhancheng Guo E-mail: zcguo@ustb.edu.cn
Received: 14 August 2020; Revised: 17 October 2020; Accepted: 19 October 2020; Available online: 20 October 2020

Abstract

Abstract

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed to accurately predict the flash reduction process, which is considered an efficient alternative ironmaking process. Laboratory-scale experiments were conducted in drop tube reactors to verify the accuracy of the CFD model. The reduction degree of ore particles was selected as a critical indicator of model prediction, and the simulated and experimental results were in good agreement. The influencing factors, including the particle size (20–110 μm), peak temperature (1250–1550°C), and reductive atmosphere (H₂/CO), were also investigated. The height variation lines indicated that small particles (50 μm) had a longer residence time (3.6 s) than large particles. CO provided a longer residence time (~1.29 s) than H₂ (~1.09 s). However, both the experimental and analytical results showed that the reduction degree of particles in CO was significantly lower than that in H₂ atmosphere. The optimum experimental particle size and peak temperature for the preparation of high-quality reduced iron were found to be 50 μm and 1350°C in H₂ atmosphere, and 40 μm and 1550°C in CO atmosphere, respectively.
- flash reduction;
- hematite particles;
- drop tube reactor;
- numerical analysis

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