Otimização da operação do alto-forno 1 da V&M do Brasil com "STAVE COOLER" através da distribuição de carga no topo do forno.

Abstract

V&M Brazil Blast Furnace 1 is the first charcoal operating furnace in the world with copper "stave cooler". As a new technology, for this type of reactor, the furnace operation was started taking in account some basis already used in coke Blast furnaces. But, it was not enough; and after start up, we observed a great variation in thermal losses of refrigeration closed circuit, mainly in the region of "stave cooler", causing production losses, specific charcoal consumption increase and other operational problems, such as, bleeders openings. Due to this fact, it became necessary to make a study to better understand Blast furnace 1 operation, mainly in relation to furnace load distribution, a important factor to reach the desired pig iron production levels and specific charcoal consumption. So, the objective of the present study is to determine the best charging sequence to use at the blast furnace top taking into consideration some important operational parameters, such as: production levels, charcoal consumption, thermal losses in the "stave cooler" system and pulverized charcoal injection.