The paper presents the results of a comprehensive study aimed at optimizing the discharge of smelting products in furnaces for high-carbon ferrochrome production based on the application of computational fluid dynamics methods and industrial testing of a separate slag and metal tapping system. The relevance of the study is обусловлена by significant metal losses with slag and the instability of the tapping process, which substantially reduce the technical and economic performance of ferroalloy production. The research was carried out using a three-level methodology including thermodynamic modeling in the HSC Chemistry software package, CFD modeling of two-phase flow hydrodynamics in the ANSYS Fluent environment, and a techno-economic assessment of the proposed technical solutions. Based on numerical simulations, optimal geometric parameters and mutual positioning of tapping holes were determined, ensuring stable separation of slag and metal phases during discharge. The developed separate tapping system was implemented and tested under industrial conditions at an operating unit of the Aktobe Ferroalloy Plant. The results of pilot-industrial trials demonstrated a significant reduction in metal losses with slag by more than two times, to a level below 4%, as well as an increase in chromium recovery from ore by 2.89%. In addition, an improvement in the stability of the technological regime and a decrease in fluctuations of the chemical composition of the product were observed. The obtained results demonstrate a considerable economic effect (IRR approximately 97%, payback period less than 1.5 years) and confirm the feasibility of replicating the proposed technology at other ferroalloy production facilities.

SERIKBAYEV I.B.

Deputy head of workshop № 1, Aktobe ferroalloy plant, Aktobe, Kazakhstan.

E-mail: ilfat02021990@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6547-7565

1. Гасік М. І., Лякін Ю. Д. Теорія та технологія виробництва феросплавів: підручник. – Дніпропетровськ: НГУ, 2009. – 463 с.
2. Казаченок Н. М., Тимченко В. В. Гидродинамика и теплообмен при выпуске продуктов плавки из печей. – Новосибирск: Наука, 1992. – 184 с.
3. Рысс Ю. С. Производство ферросплавов: учеб. пособие. – 7-е изд., перераб. и доп. – М.: Металлургия, 1985. – 344 с.
4. Рощин В. Е., Рощин А. В. Электрометаллургия и металлургия ферросплавов. – Челябинск: ЮУрГУ, 2004. – 408 с.
5. Куликов И. С., Патрушев А. А. Теория и практика электроплавки ферросплавов. – М.: Металлургия, 1990. – 320 с.
6. Панфилов А. А. Процессы выпуска металла и шлака из руднотермических печей // Металлург. – 2018. – № 6. – с. 45–51.
7. Абишев К. А., Сулейменов Е. Н. Современные технологии производства феррохрома. – Алматы: Наука, 2015. – 276 с.
8. Roine A. HSC Chemistry® 9 [Software]. – Outotec, 2014.
9. ANSYS, Inc. ANSYS Fluent User’s Guide. – Release 2022 R2. – Canonsburg: ANSYS, 2022.
10. Panjkov A., Zhang L., Jönsson P. CFD modeling of multiphase flows in metallurgical processes: Challenges and applications // Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B. – 2022. – Vol. 53B. – p. 1–25.
11. Schoukens A. F. S., et al. Capital and operating cost estimation for ferroalloy projects // Journal of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. – 2021. – Vol. 121. – pp. 45–56.
12. Zhang H., Evans G. M. Modelling of slag–metal separation in metallurgical vessels // ISIJ International. – 2019. – Vol. 59, No. 3. – pp. 421–430.
13. Mills K. C. The influence of slag properties on furnace operations // Ironmaking & Steelmaking. – 2016. – Vol. 43, No. 2. – pp. 89–98.
14. Turkdogan E. T. Fundamentals of Steelmaking. – London: The Institute of Materials, 1996. – 331 p.
15. Szekely J., Evans J. W., Sohn H. Y. Gas–Solid Reactions. – New York: Academic Press, 1976. – 400 p.

ferrochrome, separate slag and metal tapping, CFD modeling, tapping optimization, computational fluid dynamics, metal losses, resource-saving technologies, industrial testing