Pulverized coal injection (PCI) is a process that involves blowing finely ground coal into a blast furnace along with hot air or oxygen to generate heat and reduce iron ore to produce liquid iron.
Traditionally, the primary fuel is coke in blast furnaces to provide the necessary as and reduction agent for the iron-making process. However, coke is becoming more expensive and scarce, leading to the development of alternative fuel sources such as PCI.
In the PCI process, coal is pulverized into a fine powder and then injected into the blast furnace through tuyeres, or small nozzles, in the furnace wall. The coal particles mix with the hot blast air or oxygen and are rapidly burned and are reducing the iron ore to liquid iron.
The advantages of PCI include lower fuel costs, increased productivity, and reduced emissions. Since coal is generally cheaper than coke, using PCI can lead to significant cost savings for steelmakers. Additionally, since the coal is injected directly into the furnace, it burns more efficiently than coke, resulting in increased productivity and reduced emissions of greenhouse gases.
However, PCI also presents some challenges. The quality of the coal must be carefully monitored to ensure that it burns efficiently and doesn’t produce too much ash or slag, which can clog the tuyeres and reduce furnace productivity. Here an accurate metering of the injected masses is of great importance.
The intergration of our CABLOC flow meters is possible in various PCI designs. Overall, upgrading to our flow meter technology can provide significant benefits, such as improved accuracy, reliability, and efficiency.
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