Simulation-Aided Evaluation of Alternative Reducing Agent Conversion Experiments

Abstract

The thermochemical conversion of alternative reducing agents (ARAs), such as pulverized coal, in the blast furnace raceway zone is a complex and hard-to-examine process due to the harsh conditions. Real-world experiments provide nonideal conversion conditions, e.g., inhomogeneous temperature and velocity and concentration fields. Ignoring these inhomogeneities falsifies the experimental results and can give misleading information. A digital model of an ARA test reactor is created to validate the operation conditions and evaluate potential inhomogeneities. Furthermore, the digital model will be used to reproduce experiments and perform detailed investigations of the particle states during conversion to identify bottlenecks during the ARA conversion.