[[THE GOAL OF THE PROJECT IS TO BUILD A STRONG TECHNICAL FOUNDATION REGARDING SLAG DESIGN FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF THE HERTHA GREEN IRON & STEEL PRODUCTION PROCESS. ENSURING THE OPTIMAL SLAG
MEDIUM IS FUNDAMENTAL TO SUCCESSFUL PROCESS IMPLEMENTATION.]]
3.1 OBJECTIVES
[[THE PROJECT HAS A NUMBER OF OBJECTIVES STEMMING FROM THE ROLE THAT THE SLAG PLAYS IN ENSURING
AN EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE SMELTING PROCESS.]]
3.1.1 SLAG COMPOSITION OPTIMIZATION
[[THE CORE OBJECTIVE IS TO OPTIMIZE THE COMPOSITION OF THE SLAG BATH FOR HYDROGEN REDUCTION OF
IRON OXIDE IN A DC EAF. THIS REQUIRES ATTENTION TO A NUMBER OF SPECIFIC SUB-OBJECTIVES:]]
3.1.1.1 IRON OXIDE ASSIMILATION IN THE BATH
[[TO DESIGN A SLAG WITH THE ABILITY TO QUICKLY ASSIMILATE THE IRON OXIDE FEED THROUGH DISPERSION AND
DISSOLUTION.]]
3.1.1.2 IRON OXIDE REDUCTION RATE
[[TO OPTIMIZE THE SLAG COMPOSITION FOR RAPID HYDROGEN-SLAG REACTION KINETICS TO MAKE MOST
EFFICIENT USE OF THE HYDROGEN REDUCTANT.]]
3.1.1.3 SLAG HEAT TRANSFER
[[TO ENSURE THE SLAG HAS APPROPRIATE PROPERTIES TO EFFECTIVELY TRANSFER HEAT FROM THE AREA OF
CONCENTRATED HEAT GENERATION AT THE ELECTRIC ARC TO THE IRON OXIDE FEED AND HYDROGEN REDUCTANT.]]
3.1.1.4 SLAG BATH CONTAINMENT
[[TO DEVELOP A SLAG COMPOSITION THAT ALLOWS FOR A SUSTAINABLE SLAG FREEZE LINING COMPATIBLE WITH
THE DESIRED REFRACTORY FURNACE LINING.]]
3.1.1.5 SLAG-METAL SEPARATION
[[TO OPTIMIZE CONDITIONS FOR THE SEPARATION OF METAL AND SLAG WITHIN THE CONSTRAINTS OF PROCESS
FLUID DYNAMICS.]]
3.1.2 EVALUATION OF REFRACTORY COMPATIBILITY
[[TO UNDERSTAND THE REACTION MECHANISMS BETWEEN DIFFERENT REFRACTORY MATERIALS AND SLAG
COMPOSITIONS. THIS WORK WILL BE CONDUCTED BY IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORY.]]
3.1.3 INTEGRATED SLAG-PROCESS MODEL
[[TO CONSTRUCT A PROCESS MODEL OF THE SLAG BATH WHICH INTEGRATES ALL CRITICAL FEATURES COVERED IN
THIS PROJECT TO QUANTITATIVELY PREDICT THE STATE OF EACH AS A FUNCTION OF SLAG COMPOSITION AND
OPERATING CONDITIONS.]]
3.1.4 PILOT TESTING
[[TO DEMONSTRATE 300 KG PER DAY SCALE OPERATION OF GREEN IRON PRODUCTION THROUGH THE NOVEL
HYDROGEN-ELECTRIC SMELTING REDUCTION FURNACE. SUCCESS WILL BE DEMONSTRATED BY PILOT TESTS WHICH
ASSESS SLAG DESIGN FOR THE INTEGRATED PROCESS WHERE ALL PHENOMENA ARE PRESENT.]]$1,651,316
· FY2023 · Department of Energy