Development of New Charging Technique for Mixing Coke in Ore Layer at Blast Furnace with Center Feed Type Bell-less Top

Improved permeability and increased gas utilization have been desired in order to achieve low coke rate operation of blast furnaces. Coke mixed charging in the ore layer is one of the effective measures for realizing these improvements. A new charging technique for mixing small coke in the ore layer at a blast furnace with a center feed type bell-less top was developed and investigated in an experiment with a 1/18.8 scale model of an actual blast furnace at JFE Steel. By the new charging technique that small coke was charged in the determined port of the upper bunker before ore was charged in the upper bunker, the discharge pattern of the mixed small coke discharged from the bell-less top was improved, and the radial distribution of the mixed small coke ratio at the furnace top after the mixed materials were charged in the blast furnace was also improved. The new charging technique was applied to an actual blast furnace at JFE Steel, and improvement of gas permeability and a decrease in the coke rate were confirmed.