Simulation and Optimization of Hydrogen‐Enriched Shaft Furnace
Jingwen Cui, Guohan Yu, Enhui Wang, Yansong Shen, Tao Yang, Kuo‐Chih Chou, Xinmei Hou
Abstract
ABSTRACT Hydrogen‐enriched shaft furnaces serve as the central reactors in hydrogen metallurgy. The accuracy of the furnace design critically influences the internal operating conditions, including the dynamic variations in the gas distribution, pressure, temperature, and metallization rate. Particular attention should be paid to the injection angle of the reducing gas, which is a key operational parameter that significantly affects the system performance. In this study, a computational fluid dynamics model was established to simulate the internal working conditions of an industrial‐scale ENERGIRON shaft furnace, revealing complex heat and mass transfer phenomena. Based on the simulation results, the upper wall of the reduction zone (within the height range of 16.0–16.5 m) withstands a significant temperature difference of 200 K, whereas the lower wall of the reduction zone (at a height of 1.5–2.5 m) experiences a substantial pressure difference (500 kPa). The metallization rate was approximately 93%. In the special cases where the reducing gas blowing angle was deflected from 90° to 30° or 150°, the wall temperature difference increased by approximately 100 K, the maximum pressure difference decreased by approximately 250 kPa, and the metallization rate increased by approximately 0.8%. Considering the balance between the service environment of the furnace wall and the metallization rate, a reducing gas blowing angle of 45° was selected as optimal.