ABSTRACT
The direct utilization of iron ore concentrate in a flash reactor requires a sufficiently fast reduction reaction because a flash reactor that could realistically be used in flash ironmaking provides a maximum residence time of 10–20 seconds. Without the reduction reaction being completed in this time scale at an industrially feasible temperature and pressure, the application of flash reaction to ironmaking is not possible.
Thus, the first step in the development of the flash ironmaking technology is the verification of a sufficiently high reduction rate of concentrate particles. The results of the measurements of the reduction rate in wide ranges of conditions including the range of operating conditions of an industrial ironmaking flash furnace are presented in this chapter. In addition, the results of the rate measurements have been converted to quantitative rate equations that were used for systematic analyses of experimental measurements and the design of the furnaces used in industrial scale.
