阅读说明：本技术 用于生产直接还原金属的方法和装置 (Method and apparatus for producing direct reduced metal ) 是由 H·默里 于 2020-03-31 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种用于生产直接还原金属材料的方法,包括以下步骤：a)装入待还原的金属材料进入炉空间(120)；b)排出炉空间(120)中的现有气氛,以便在炉空间(120)内部实现负压；c)在主加热步骤中,向炉空间(120)提供热量和氢气,使得加热的氢气将所装入的金属材料加热到足够高的温度,使得金属材料中存在的金属氧化物被还原,继而导致形成水蒸气；以及d)冷凝并收集步骤c中形成的水蒸气,该水蒸气形成在在位于所装入的金属材料下方的冷凝器(160)中；本发明的特征在于,在步骤c中提供所述氢气而没有氢气的再循环,并且该方法还包括随后执行的从炉空间(120)中移除还原金属材料并在惰性气氛下储存和/或运输还原金属材料的步骤。(A method for producing a direct reduced metallic material, comprising the steps of: a) charging a metallic material to be reduced into a furnace space (120); b) -evacuating the existing atmosphere in the furnace space (120) in order to achieve a negative pressure inside the furnace space (120); c) in the main heating step, heat and hydrogen are supplied to the furnace space (120) such that the heated hydrogen heats the charged metallic material to a sufficiently high temperature such that metal oxides present in the metallic material are reduced, which in turn results in the formation of water vapor; and d) condensing and collecting the water vapor formed in step c, the water vapor being formed in a condenser (160) located below the charged metal material; the invention is characterized in that said hydrogen is provided in step c without recirculation of hydrogen, and the method further comprises a step performed subsequently of removing the reduced metallic material from the furnace space (120) and storing and/or transporting the reduced metallic material under an inert atmosphere.)

1. A method for producing a direct reduced metallic material, comprising the steps of:

a) charging a furnace space (120) with a metallic material to be reduced;

b) -evacuating gas present in the furnace space (120) to achieve a negative pressure inside the furnace space (120);

c) supplying heat and hydrogen to the furnace space (120) in a main heating step such that the heated hydrogen heats the charged metallic material to a sufficiently high temperature to cause reduction of metal oxides present in the metallic material to form water vapour; and

d) condensing and collecting the water vapour formed in step c in a condenser (160) located below the charged metal material;

characterized in that said hydrogen is provided in step c without recirculation of said hydrogen, and that said method further comprises a step performed subsequently of removing reduced metallic material from said furnace space (120) and storing and/or transporting said reduced metallic material under an inert atmosphere.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein steps c and d are performed at least until an overpressure of the hydrogen atmosphere is reached inside the furnace space (120), and wherein no hydrogen is discharged from the furnace space (120) before the overpressure is reached.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the material charged in step a is at most 50 tons, preferably at most 25 tons, preferably 5 to 10 tons of such material.

4. The method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that steps a-d of the method are performed in a system (200) directly provided at a mining site, whereby the steps are used to produce directly reduced metallic material at the mining site, which is then packed under a protective atmosphere and which is then transported to a different site for further processing.

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising cooling the charged material after step d by circulating the hydrogen gas through the charged material, whereby the hydrogen gas is heated by the charged material and cooled by heat exchange using a heat exchanger.

6. Method according to claim 5, characterized in that the cooling of the charged material is performed until the charged material reaches a temperature below 100 ℃.

7. The method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inert atmosphere is a nitrogen atmosphere.

8. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the method further comprises the step of providing the reduced metallic material into a first transport container filled with an inert gas, wherein a plurality of such first transport containers are provided into a second transport container which in turn is filled with an inert gas in a space surrounding the first transport container.

9. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein step c further comprises providing heat and hydrogen to the furnace space (120) in an initial heating step, such that the heated hydrogen heats the charged metallic material to a temperature above the boiling temperature of water contained in the metallic material, thereby evaporating the contained water.

10. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the hydrogen provided in step c is preheated in a heat exchanger (160), the heat exchanger (160) being arranged to transfer thermal energy from the evaporated water to the hydrogen provided in step c.

11. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the main heating step of step c and the condensation in step d are performed until a predetermined pressure is reached.

12. Method according to any of claims 1-10, characterized in that the main heating step in step c and the condensation in step d are performed until a steady state is reached, since it is no longer necessary to provide more hydrogen in order to maintain a gas pressure within the furnace space (120) that reaches a steady state.

13. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the main heating step in step c and the condensation in step d are performed until the charged metallic material to be reduced reaches a predetermined temperature.

14. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein during performing step c there is a net flow of water vapour down through the charged metallic material.

15. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising the step of

e) After steps c and d are completed, cooling the hydrogen atmosphere to at most 100 ℃; and

f) after step e is completed, the hydrogen atmosphere is evacuated from the furnace space (120) and the hydrogen of the evacuated hydrogen atmosphere is collected.

16. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein steps c and d are performed for at least 0.25 hours.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing direct reduced metal, and in particular to a method and apparatus for direct reduction of iron (also known as sponge iron). In particular, the invention relates to the direct reduction of metal ores under a controlled hydrogen atmosphere (atmosphere) to produce such direct reduced metals.

Background

The use of hydrogen as a reducing agent for the production of direct reduced metals is known per se. For example, in SE7406174-8 and SE7406175-5, methods are described in which a metal ore charge is subjected to a hydrogen atmosphere flowing through the charge, as a result of which it is reduced to form a direct reduced metal.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention is particularly suitable for the case of batch-wise charging and treatment of the material to be reduced.

The prior art suffers from several problems, including efficiency with respect to heat loss and the use of hydrogen. There are also control problems since it is necessary to measure when the reduction process is complete.

The present invention solves the above problems.

Accordingly, the present invention relates to a method for producing a direct reduced metallic material, comprising the steps of: a) charging a metal material to be reduced into a furnace space; b) discharging the atmosphere present in the furnace space so as to achieve a negative pressure inside the furnace space; c) supplying heat and hydrogen to the furnace space in a main heating step such that the heated hydrogen heats the charged metallic material to a sufficiently high temperature to cause reduction of metal oxides present in the metallic material, thereby forming water vapor; and d) condensing and collecting the water vapor formed in step c, the water vapor being formed in a condenser located below the charged metal material; the method is characterized in that said hydrogen is provided in step c without recirculation of hydrogen, and the method further comprises a step performed subsequently of removing the reduced metallic material from the furnace space (120) and storing and/or transporting the reduced metallic material under an inert atmosphere.

Drawings

The invention will be described in detail below with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof and the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1a is a cross-sectional view of a simplified furnace for use in a system according to the present invention during a first operating condition;

FIG. 1b is a cross-sectional view of the simplified furnace of FIG. 1a during a second operating condition;

FIG. 2 is a schematic overview of a system according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method according to the present invention; and

FIG. 4 shows a furnace space H in accordance with the invention which is heated₂A graph of possible relationships between pressure and temperature.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1a and 1b share the same reference numerals for the same components.

Thus, fig. 1a and 1b show a furnace 100 for producing direct reduced metallic material. In fig. 2, two such furnaces 210, 220 are shown. The ovens 210, 220 may be the same as the oven 100 or may differ in detail. However, it should be understood that anything described herein with respect to furnace 100 is equally applicable to furnaces 210 and/or 220, and vice versa.

Moreover, it should be understood that everything described herein with respect to the inventive method is equally applicable to the inventive system 200 and/or furnace 100; 210. 220 and vice versa.

Thus, the oven 100 has many similarities to the ovens described in SE7406174-8 and SE7406175-5, and reference is made to these documents with regard to possible design details. However, an important difference between these furnaces and the inventive furnace 100 is that during one and the same batch processing of the charged material to be reduced, the inventive furnace 100 is not arranged to operate in such a way that hydrogen is recirculated through the furnace 100 and back to a collecting container arranged outside the furnace 100, and in particular not arranged to operate in such a way that hydrogen leaves the furnace 100 (or the heated furnace space 120) and then returns to the furnace 100 (or the heated furnace space 120) in the form of a hydrogen recirculation.

In contrast, as will be apparent from the description below, the furnace 100 is arranged for batch reducing a batch of charged material at once, and operates as a closed system during a single batch process, in the sense that hydrogen is supplied to the furnace 100 during the batch reduction step, but is not removed from the furnace 100.

In other words, during the reduction process, the amount of hydrogen present in the furnace 100 is always increased. After the reduction is complete, hydrogen is vented from the furnace 100, but there is no recycle of hydrogen during the reduction step.

Thus, the furnace 100 is part of a closed system, comprising a furnace space 120, which furnace space 120 is arranged to withstand a pressure exerted thereon, such as at least 5 bar, or at least 6 bar, or at least 8 bar, or even at least 10 bar. The upper portion 110 of the furnace 100 has a bell shape. Which can be opened for loading the material to be treated and can be closed in an airtight manner using fastening means 111. The furnace space 120 is enclosed with refractory material, such as brick material 130.

The oven space 120 is arranged to be heated using one or several heating elements 121. Preferably, the heating element 121 is an electrical heating element. However, a radiator burner tube or similar fuel heating element may also be used. However, heating element 121 does not generate any combustion gases that chemically interact directly with furnace space 120, and chemical control must be maintained for this purpose. Preferably, the only gaseous substance provided into the furnace space during the main heating step described below is hydrogen.

The heating element 121 may preferably be made of a heat-resistant metal material, such as a molybdenum alloy.

Additional heating elements may also be disposed in heated furnace space 120. For example, heating elements similar to element 121 may be provided at the side walls of furnace space 120, for example at a height corresponding to the charged material or at least to container 140. Such heating elements may not only help to heat the gas, but also to heat the enclosed material by thermal radiation.

The oven 100 further comprises a lower part 150, the lower part 150 forming a sealed container together with the upper part 110 when the oven is closed using the fastening means 111.

A container 140 for the material to be treated (reduced) is present in the lower part 150 of the furnace 100. The vessel 140 may be supported on a refractory floor of the furnace space 120-in a manner that allows gas to pass under the vessel 140, for example along an open or closed channel 172 formed in the floor, which channel 172 passes from a hydrogen inlet 171, for example from a central portion of the furnace space 120 at the floor of the furnace, radially outward to a radial periphery of the furnace space 120, and thereafter upward to an upper portion of the furnace space 120. These gas flows are seen in the flow arrows shown in fig. 1a during the following initial and main heating steps.

The container 140 preferably has an open configuration, meaning that gas can freely pass through at least the bottom/floor of the container 140. This may be accomplished, for example, by forming a hole through the bottom of the container 140.

The material to be processed comprises a metal oxide, preferably iron oxide, such as Fe₂O₃And/or Fe₃O₄. The material may be in granular form, for example in the form of pellets or balls. One material to be charged suitable for batch reduction is rolled iron ore pellets that have been rolled in water into pellets having a diameter of about 1cm to 1.5 cm. If the iron ore additionally contains oxides which evaporate at a temperature below the final temperature of the charged material in the process of the invention, the oxides can be condensed in the condenser 160 and easily collected in powder form. The oxide may include metal oxides such as zinc and lead oxides.

Advantageously, the furnace space 120 is not filled with a particularly large amount of material to be reduced. Each furnace 100 is preferably charged with at most 50 tonnes, such as at most 25 tonnes, for example 5 to 10 tonnes, per batch. The charge may be held in a single container 150 inside the furnace space 120. Depending on throughput requirements, several furnaces 100 may be used in parallel, and waste heat from a batch in one furnace 220 may then be used to preheat another furnace 210 (see fig. 2 and below).

The present disclosure provides a system 200 that is suitable for direct installation and use at a mining site without the need to pay an expensive fee to transport ore prior to reduction. In contrast, directly reduced metallic materials can be produced on site, packaged under a protective atmosphere, and shipped to a different site for further processing.

Thus, in the case of water-rolled iron ore pellets, it is envisioned that the furnace 100 may be installed in connection with an iron ore pellet production system, so that the charging of the metallic material into the furnace 100 in the container 140 may be performed in a fully automated manner, wherein the container 140 filled with iron ore pellets to be reduced is automatically circulated from the iron ore pellet production system to the system 100 and back; inserted into furnace space 120; subjected to a reducing hydrogen/heat treatment as described herein; removed from furnace space 120 and emptied; returning to the iron ore pellet production system; refill, etc. More vessels 140 than furnaces 100 may be used so that in each batch changeover, the reducing charge in a particular vessel is immediately replaced in the furnace 100 with a different vessel carrying material that has not yet been reduced. Such a larger system, for example at a mining site, can be implemented as fully automated and also very flexible in terms of production capacity, using several smaller furnaces 100 instead of one very large furnace.

Below the vessel 140, the furnace 100 comprises a gas-gas type heat exchanger 160, which heat exchanger 160 may advantageously be, for example, a known tubular heat exchanger. The heat exchanger 160 is preferably a counter flow type heat exchanger. Below the heat exchanger 160, a closed trough 161 is connected to the heat exchanger 160 for collecting and containing condensate water from the heat exchanger 160. The slots 161 are also configured to withstand the operating pressure of the furnace space 120 in a gas-tight manner.

The heat exchanger 160 is connected to the furnace space 120, preferably such that the cooled/cooled gas reaching the furnace space 120 passes the heat exchanger 160 along externally/peripherally arranged heat exchanger tubes and further through said channels 172 to the heating element 121. The heated gas exiting furnace space 120 then passes through heat exchanger 160, after passing over and heating the charged material (see below), through internally/centrally disposed heat exchanger tubes, thereby heating the cooled/cooled gas. The outgoing gas thus heats the incoming gas, effectively heating the incoming gas, through heat transfer due to the temperature difference between the two, and through the heat of condensation of the condensed water vapor contained in the outgoing gas.

Condensed water formed from the outflowing gas is collected in the tank 161.

Furnace 100 may include temperature and/or pressure sensors located in tank 161(122), at the bottom of furnace space 120, e.g., below vessel 140(123), and/or at the top of furnace space 120 (124). These sensors may be used by the control unit 201 to control the reduction process, as will be described below.

171 denotes an inlet pipe for heating/cooling hydrogen. 173 denotes an outlet conduit for used cooled hydrogen.

Between the tank 161 and the inlet conduit 171 there may be an overpressure equalization channel 162 with a valve 163. In the event that there is an overpressure in the trough 161, this overpressure can then be released to the inlet conduit 171 due to the large amount of water flowing into the trough 161. The valve 163 may be a simple overpressure valve, the valve 163 being arranged to open when the pressure in the groove 161 is higher than the pressure in the duct 171. Alternatively, the valve may be operated by the control device 201 (below) based on measurements from the pressure sensor 122.

The condensate may be directed out of the condenser/heat exchanger 160 and may be directed down into the trough via a spout (spout)164 or the like, out the bottom of the trough 161, e.g. at a local low point 165 of the trough, preferably such that the orifice of said spout 164 is arranged completely below the main bottom 166 of the trough 161, as shown in fig. 1 a. This will reduce liquid water turbulence in the tank 161, providing more controlled operating conditions.

Advantageously, the trough 161 is sized to receive and contain all of the water formed during the reduction of the charged material. The dimensions of the slots 161 can thus be adapted to the type and volume of the batch of reduced material. For example, when 1000kg of Fe is completely reduced₃O₄When 310 liters of water are formed, and 1000kg of Fe are completely reduced₂O₃At this time, 338 liters of water were formed.

In fig. 2, a system 200 is shown in which a furnace of the type shown in fig. 1a and 1b may be used. In particular, one or both of the ovens 210 and 220 may be of the type shown in fig. 1a and 1b, or at least according to claim 1.

And 230 denotes a gas-gas type heat exchanger. And 240 denotes a gas-water type heat exchanger. And 250 denotes a fan. 260 denotes a vacuum pump. And 270 denotes a compressor. 280 denotes a container for used hydrogen. 290 denotes a container for fresh/unused hydrogen. V1-V14 represent valves.

201 denotes a control device, which control device 201 is connected to the sensor 122, the sensor 123, the sensor 124 and the valves V1-V14, and which control device 201 is generally arranged to control the process described herein. The control device 201 may also be connected to a user control device, such as a graphical user interface presented by a computer (not shown) to a user of the system 200 for supervision and further control.

Fig. 3 shows a method according to the invention using a system 100 of the type generally shown in fig. 3, in particular a furnace 100 of the type generally shown in fig. 1a and 1 b. In particular, the method is used for producing directly reduced metallic materials using hydrogen as a reducing agent.

After such direct reduction, the metallic material may form a sponge metal. In particular, the metallic material may be an iron oxide material, and the resulting product after direct reduction may then be sponge iron. Such sponge iron can then be used in subsequent process steps for the production of steel or the like.

The method starts with a first step.

In a subsequent step, the metallic material to be reduced is charged into the furnace space 120. This loading may be performed by placing the loaded container 140 into the furnace space 120 in the orientation shown in fig. 1a and 1b, and then the furnace space 120 may be closed and sealed in a gas-tight manner using the fastening means 111.

In a subsequent step, the existing atmosphere is evacuated from the furnace space 120, so that a negative pressure is achieved in the furnace space 120 compared to the atmospheric pressure. This can be achieved by closing valves 1-8, 11 and 13-14 and opening valves 9-10 and 12, and the vacuum pump sucking out and thus exhausting the atmosphere contained within furnace space 120 via the conduits through 240 and 250. Then, with oven space 120 filled with air, valve 9 may be opened to allow such exhaust gas to flow out into the surrounding atmosphere. If furnace space 120 is filled with used hydrogen, it will instead be vented to container 280.

In this example, the atmosphere of the furnace is exhausted via a conduit 173, although it will be appreciated that any other suitable outlet conduit disposed in the furnace 100 may be used.

In this venting step, as well as in other steps described below, control device 201 may be used to control the pressure in furnace space 120, for example based on readings from pressure sensors 122, 123, and/or 124.

The evacuation can be carried out until a pressure of at most 0.5 bar, preferably at most 0.3 bar, is reached in the furnace space 120.

In a subsequent initial heating step, heat and hydrogen are provided to furnace space 120. Hydrogen may be supplied from the vessels 280 and/or 290. Since the furnace 100 is closed, as described above, substantially no supplied hydrogen escapes during the process. In other words, the hydrogen loss (other than the hydrogen consumed in the reduction reaction) will be very low or even non-existent. Instead, only the hydrogen that is chemically consumed in the reduction reaction during the reduction process will be used. Furthermore, the only amount of hydrogen needed during the reduction process is the amount needed to maintain the necessary pressure and chemical equilibrium between the hydrogen and the water vapor during the reduction process.

As described above, vessel 290 contains fresh (unused) hydrogen while vessel 280 contains hydrogen that has been used in one or more reduction steps and has been collected in system 200. The first time the reduction process is performed, only fresh hydrogen gas supplied from vessel 290 is used. During the subsequent reduction process, the reused hydrogen from vessel 280 is used, supplemented as necessary by fresh hydrogen from vessel 290.

During the optional initial phase of the initial heating step, which is a phase of hydrogen introduction, which is carried out without any heat being supplied to the furnace space 120 until a pressure of about 1 bar is reached, the valves 2, 4-9, 11 and 13-14 are closed, while the valves 10 and 12 are opened. Depending on whether fresh or recycled hydrogen is to be used, valves V1 and/or V3 are opened.

When the pressure in the furnace space 120 reaches or approaches atmospheric pressure (about 1 bar), the heating element 121 is switched on. Preferably, heating element 121 provides the heat to furnace space 120 by heating the supplied hydrogen, which in turn heats the material in container 140. Preferably, the heating element 121 is arranged at a position where the hydrogen gas provided to the furnace space 120 flows through, such that the heating element 121 will be substantially submerged in (completely or substantially completely surrounded by) the newly provided hydrogen gas during the reduction process. In other words, heat may advantageously be provided directly to the hydrogen, which is simultaneously provided to furnace space 120. In fig. 1a and 1b, a preferred case is shown where the heating element 121 is arranged in the top part of the furnace space 120.

However, it is contemplated that heat may be provided to furnace space 120 in other ways, such as, for example, directly to the gas mixture inside furnace space 120 at a location remote from where the provided hydrogen enters furnace space 120. In other examples, heat may be provided to the provided hydrogen as a location outside of furnace space 120 prior to allowing the thus-heated hydrogen to enter furnace space 120.

During the remainder of the initial heating step, valves 5 and 7-14 are closed, while valves 1-4 and 6, together with compressor 270, are controlled by the control means to achieve a controlled supply of reuse hydrogen and/or fresh hydrogen, as described below.

Thus, during this initial heating step, the control device 201 is arranged to control the heat and hydrogen providing means 121, 280, 290 to provide heat and hydrogen to the furnace space 120 in such a way that the heated hydrogen heats the charged metallic material above the boiling temperature of the water contained in the metallic material. As a result, the contained water is evaporated.

Control of hydrogen at control means 201 throughout the initial heating step and the main heating step (see below)And is supplied slowly. Thus, there will be a continuous, relatively slow but steady flow of hydrogen gas passing vertically downward through the charged material. Typically, the control means is arranged to continuously add hydrogen in order to maintain a desired increasing (such as monotonically increasing) pressure profile within the furnace space 120, and in particular to counteract the decreasing pressure at the lower part of the furnace space 120 (and the lower part of the heat exchanger 160) caused by constant condensation of water vapour in the heat exchanger 160 (see below). The total energy consumption depends on the efficiency of the heat exchanger 160, and in particular on the ability of the heat exchanger 160 to transfer thermal energy from the condensed heat of the hot gas and condensed water vapor flowing through the heat exchanger 160 to the incoming hydrogen. In Fe₂O₃In the exemplary case of (1), the theoretical energy required to heat the oxide, to thermally compensate for the endothermic reaction and to reduce the oxide is per 1000kg of Fe₂O₃About 250 kWh. For Fe₃O₄Corresponding to Fe₃O₄The theoretical energy value is about 260kWh per 1000 kg.

An important aspect of the present invention is that no hydrogen is recycled during the reduction process. This is discussed generally above, but in the example shown in fig. 1a this means a supply of hydrogen, for example, via a compressor 270 through an inlet conduit 171 into the top part of the furnace space 121, where it is heated by the heating element 121 and then slowly passed downwards, through the metallic material to be reduced in the container 140, further downwards through the heat exchanger 130 and into the tank 161. However, there is no outlet opening available from the oven space 120, in particular from the slot 161. The conduit 173 may be closed, for example, by closing valves V10, V12, V13, V14. Thus, the supplied hydrogen will be partly consumed during the reduction process and partly lead to an increase of the gas pressure in the furnace space 120. The process then continues until complete or desired reduction of the metallic material occurs, as will be described in detail below.

Thus, heated hydrogen in furnace space 120, which is present above the charged material in container 140, will be entrained into the charged material by the slow supply of hydrogen to form a slow downward moving gas stream. At vessel 140, the hydrogen gas will form a gas mixture with water vapor from the charged material (see below).

The resulting hot gas mixture will form a gas stream that enters downwardly and passes through the heat exchanger 160. In heat exchanger 160, heat exchange will then take place of the heat of the hot gas from furnace space 120 to the cold freshly supplied hydrogen from conduit 171, wherein the latter will be preheated by the former. In other words, the hydrogen provided in the initial and main heating steps is preheated in the heat exchanger 160.

Due to the cooling of the hot gas stream, water vapour contained in the cooling gas will condense. This condensation produces liquid water that collects in the tank 161 and also produces heat of condensation. Preferably, the heat exchanger 160 is further arranged to transfer such condensation heat energy from the condensed water to the cold hydrogen gas to be provided into the furnace space 120.

The condensation of the contained water vapor will also lower the pressure of the hot gases flowing downward from furnace space 120, thereby providing space for more hot gases to pass downward through heat exchanger 160.

Due to the slow supply of additionally heated hydrogen and due to the relatively high thermal conductivity of hydrogen, the loaded material will reach the boiling point of the liquid water contained in the loaded material (which should be slightly above 100 ℃) relatively quickly (e.g. in 10 minutes or less). Thus, the contained liquid water evaporates, forming water vapor that mixes with the hot hydrogen.

Condensation of water vapor in the heat exchanger 160 will reduce the partial pressure of water vapor at the lower end of the structure, causing water vapor generated in the loaded material to flow downward on average. In addition to this effect, water vapor also has a significantly lower density than hydrogen gas mixed with the water vapor.

Thus, the water of the loaded material in the container 140 will gradually evaporate, flow down through the heat exchanger 160, cool and condense in the heat exchanger 160, and rise in liquid form in the tank 161.

Preferably, the cold hydrogen supplied to the heat exchanger 160 is at or slightly below room temperature.

It will be appreciated that this initial heating step (in which the charged material is thus dried from any contained liquid water) is a preferred step in the process of the invention. In particular, this makes it easy to produce and provide the charged material as a granular material, e.g. in the form of rolled balls of material, without having to introduce costly and complicated drying steps before charging the material into the furnace space 120.

However, it will be appreciated that already dried material or already dried material may be charged into furnace space 120. In this case, the initial heating step as described herein will not be performed, but the method will immediately jump to the main heating step (below).

In one embodiment of the present invention, hydrogen is slowly supplied to furnace space 120 during the initial heating step, to such an extent that pressure equilibrium is substantially maintained throughout the performance of the initial heating step, preferably such that substantially equal pressure is always present throughout furnace space 120 and the portion of tank 161 that is not filled with liquid. In particular, the supply of hydrogen may be controlled such that the equilibrium gas pressure does not increase, or only slightly increases, during the initial heating step. In this case, the hydrogen supply is then controlled to increase the furnace space 120 pressure over time only after all or substantially all of the liquid water has evaporated from the charged material in the container 140. For example, the point in time at which this occurs may be determined as an upward change in slope of the temperature-time curve measured by temperature sensors 123 and/or 124, where the point represented by the change in slope is the point at which substantially all of the liquid water has evaporated but reduction has not yet begun. Alternatively, the hydrogen supply may be controlled to increase the pressure once the measured temperature in the furnace space 120 as measured by the temperature sensors 123 and/or 124 has exceeded a predetermined limit, which may be between 100 ℃ and 150 ℃, for example between 120 ℃ and 130 ℃.

In a subsequent main heating step, heat and hydrogen are further supplied to furnace space 120 in a manner corresponding to the supply during the initial heating step described above, so that the heated hydrogen heats the charged metallic material to a sufficiently high temperature for reducing the metal oxides present in the metallic material, with consequent formation of water vapor.

During this main heating step, therefore, additional hydrogen is supplied and heated at an increasing pressure within the furnace space 120, so that the charged metallic material is in turn heated to a temperature at which the reduction chemical reaction is initiated and maintained.

Thus, in the embodiment shown in fig. 1a and 1b, the uppermost charged material is heated first. In the case of iron oxide materials, hydrogen will start to reduce the charged material at about 350-400 ℃ to form metallic iron, forming refractory (pyrophic) iron and water vapor according to the following formula:

Fe₂O₃+3H₂＝2Fe+3H₂O

Fe₃O₄+4H₂＝2Fe+4H₂O

the reaction is endothermic and is driven by thermal energy provided by hot hydrogen flowing down from above in the furnace space 120.

Therefore, water vapor is generated in the charged material during the initial heating step and the main heating step. The formed water vapor is continuously condensed and collected in a condenser disposed below the charged metal material. In the example shown in fig. 1a, the condenser is in the form of a heat exchanger 160.

According to the invention, the main heating step, including said condensation, is carried out until an overpressure corresponding to atmospheric pressure is reached in the oven space 120. For example, pressure may be measured by pressure sensors 123 and/or 124. As mentioned above, according to the present invention, no hydrogen is vented from furnace space 120, and preferably no hydrogen is vented from furnace space 120, until the main heating step is fully completed, before the overpressure is reached.

More preferably, the supply of hydrogen and the condensation of water vapour in the main heating step are performed until a predetermined overpressure is reached in the furnace space 120, which predetermined overpressure is at least 4 bar, more preferably at least 8 bar, or even about 10 bar, calculated as absolute value.

Alternatively, the supply of hydrogen and the condensation of water vapor in the main heating step may be performed until steady state is reached, since there is no longer a need to provide more hydrogen to maintain a steady state gas pressure within furnace space 120. The pressure may be measured in a corresponding manner as described above. Preferably, the steady state gas pressure may be at least 4 bar, more preferably at least 8 bar, or even about 10 bar. In this way, the object of knowing when the reduction process is completed is achieved in a simple manner.

Alternatively, the supply of hydrogen and heat and the condensation of water vapour in the main heating step may be performed until the charged metallic material to be reduced has reached a predetermined temperature, which may be at least 600 ℃, for example between 640-680 ℃, preferably about 660 ℃. The temperature of the loaded material may be measured directly, for example by measuring thermal radiation from the loaded material using a suitable sensor, or indirectly by temperature sensor 123.

In some embodiments, the main heating step comprising said condensing of the formed water vapor is performed during a continuous period of time of at least 0.25 hours, such as at least 0.5 hours, such as at least 1 hour. During this entire time, both the pressure and the temperature of furnace space 120 may increase monotonically.

In some embodiments, the main heating step may also be performed iteratively, with the control means 201 allowing a steady state pressure to be reached within the furnace space 120 before an additional amount of hydrogen is supplied into the furnace space in each iteration. The heat supply may also be iterative (pulsed), or in an on-state during the entire main heating step.

It should be noted that during the performance of the initial heating step and the main heating step, and in particular at least during substantially the entire length of these steps, there is a net downward flow of water vapor through the enclosed metallic material in the container 140.

During the initial and main heating steps, the compressor 270 is controlled by the control means 201 to maintain or increase the pressure at all times by supplying additional hydrogen. This hydrogen is used to compensate for the hydrogen consumed during the reduction process and also to gradually increase the pressure to the desired final pressure.

The formation of water vapour in the charged material locally increases the gas pressure, and in fact the formation of water vapour generates a pressure variation between furnace space 120 and channel 161. As a result, the formed water vapor will sink through the charged material and condense in heat exchanger 160, in turn lowering the pressure on the distal (relative to furnace space 120) side of heat exchanger 160. These processes thus produce a net downward movement of gas through the charged material, with the newly added hydrogen compensating for the pressure loss in furnace space 120.

The heat content of the gas exiting furnace space 120, particularly the heat of condensation of the water vapor, is transferred to the incoming hydrogen in heat exchanger 160.

Thus, the process is maintained as long as there is metallic material to be reduced and water vapour thus generated, resulting in said downward gas movement. Once water vapor generation ceases (since substantially all of the metallic material has been reduced), the pressure equilibrates throughout the interior of the furnace 100, and the measured temperature is similar throughout the furnace space 120. For example, the measured pressure difference between a point in the inflated portion of the channel 161 and a point above the enclosed material will be less than a predetermined amount, which may be at most 0.1 bar. Additionally or alternatively, the measured temperature difference between a point above the charged material and a point below the charged material but on the furnace space 120 side of the heat exchanger will be less than a predetermined amount, which may be at most 20 ℃. Thus, when such homogeneity (homogeneity) of pressure and/or temperature is reached and measured, the main heating step may be ended by switching off the hydrogen supply and switching off the heating element 121.

Thus, the main heating step may be performed until a predetermined minimum temperature and/or pressure has been reached, and/or until a predetermined maximum temperature difference and/or maximum pressure difference has been reached in the heated volume in the furnace 100. Which criterion or criteria to use depends on prerequisites such as the design of the furnace 100 and the type of metallic material to be reduced. Other criteria may also be used, such as a predetermined main heating time or the end of a predetermined heating/hydrogen supply sequence, which may also be determined empirically.

In a subsequent cooling step, the hydrogen atmosphere in furnace space 120 is cooled to a temperature of at most 100 ℃, preferably about 50 ℃, and thereafter discharged and collected from furnace space 120.

In case a single furnace 100/220 is not connected to one or several furnaces, the loaded material can be cooled using a fan 250 arranged downstream of the air-water cooler 240, which fan 250 in turn is arranged to cool the hydrogen gas (hydrogen gas is circulated by the fan 250 in a closed loop, in the loop past valve V12, heat exchanger 240, fan 250 and valve V10, exits the furnace space 120 via outlet conduit 173, and enters the furnace space 120 again via inlet conduit 171). This cooling cycle is illustrated by the arrows in fig. 1 b.

Thus, the heat exchanger 240 transfers thermal energy from the circulating hydrogen gas to water (or a different liquid) from which the thermal energy may be put into use in a suitable manner, for example in a district heating system. A closed circuit is achieved by closing all valves V1-V14 except valves V10 and V12.

Since hydrogen is circulated through the loaded material in vessel 140 in this case, the hydrogen absorbs thermal energy from the loaded material, providing effective cooling of the loaded material while the hydrogen is circulated in a closed loop.

In various examples, the heat energy obtained from the cooling of furnace 100/220 is used to preheat various furnaces 210. This is then achieved by the control device 201, in contrast to the above-described cooling closed circuit, closing the valve V12 and opening the valves V13, V14. Thus, the hot hydrogen from the furnace 220 is brought to a gas-gas type heat exchanger 230, which heat exchanger 230 is preferably a counter-current heat exchanger, wherein the hydrogen supplied in the initial or main heating step performed with respect to the other furnace 210 is preheated in the heat exchanger 230. Thereafter, the slightly cooled hydrogen from furnace 220 may be circulated through heat exchanger 240 for further cooling before being reintroduced into furnace 220. Again, hydrogen from the furnace 220 is circulated in a closed loop using a fan 250.

Thus, as described above, the cooling of the hydrogen in the cooling step may be performed via heat exchange with the hydrogen supplied to the different furnace 210 spaces 120, so as to perform the initial and main heating steps and condensation in connection with the different furnace 210 spaces 120.

Once the hydrogen is not hot enough to heat the hydrogen supplied to the furnace 210, the control 201 again closes valves V13, V14 and again opens valve V12 so that the hydrogen from the furnace 220 is brought directly to the heat exchanger 240.

Regardless of how its thermal energy is processed, the hydrogen from furnace 220 is cooled until the hydrogen (or more importantly, the charged material) reaches a temperature below 100 ℃ to avoid re-oxidation of the charged material upon subsequent exposure to air. The temperature of the charged material may be measured directly using a suitable means (e.g. one of the means described above) or indirectly by measuring the temperature of the hydrogen gas exiting via the outlet conduit 173 using a suitable means.

The cooling of the hydrogen can occur while maintaining an overpressure of hydrogen, or once valves V10 and V12 are opened, the pressure of the hydrogen can be reduced by allowing the hot hydrogen to occupy a larger volume (of closed loop piping and heat exchanger).

In a subsequent step, the hydrogen is vented from the furnace 220 space 120 and collected in a container 280. This venting may be performed by the vacuum pump 260, possibly in combination with the compressor 270, whereby the control device opens valves V3, V5, V6, V8, V10 and V12 and closes the other valves and operates the vacuum pump 260 and compressor 270 to displace the cooled hydrogen to the vessel 280 for used hydrogen. The discharge is preferably performed before a pressure of at most 0.5 bar, or even at most 0.3 bar, is detected within the furnace space 120.

Since furnace space 120 is closed, only the hydrogen consumed in the chemical reduction reaction is removed from the system, and the remaining hydrogen is the hydrogen necessary to maintain the hydrogen/water vapor balance in furnace space 120 during the main heating step. This exhausted hydrogen is completely useful for the running of subsequent batches of freshly charged metallic material to be reduced.

In a subsequent step, the oven space 120 is opened, for example by releasing the fastening means 111 and opening the upper part 110. The container 140 is removed and the container 140 is replaced with a container containing a new batch of charged metallic material to be reduced.

In a subsequent step, the removed reduced material may be placed under an inert atmosphere (e.g., nitrogen atmosphere) to avoid reoxidation during transport and storage.

For example, the reduced metallic material may be disposed in a flexible or rigid transport container filled with an inert gas. A plurality of such flexible or rigid containers may be arranged in the transport container, and then the space around the flexible or rigid containers may be filled with an inert gas. Thereafter, the reduced metallic material can be safely transported without the risk of re-oxidation.

The following table shows hydrogen H for different temperatures within furnace space 120₂With water vapor H₂Approximate equilibrium between O:

at atmospheric pressure, about 417m is required³Hydrogen gas H of₂To reduce 1000kg of Fe₂O₃And requires about 383m³Hydrogen gas H of₂To reduce 1000kg of Fe₃O₄。

The following table shows the reduction of 1000kg of Fe at atmospheric pressure and in an open system (according to the prior art), but at different temperatures, respectively₂O₃And Fe₃O₄Amount of hydrogen required:

the following table shows the reduction of 1000kg Fe at different pressures and different temperatures, respectively₂O₃And Fe₃O₄Amount of hydrogen required:

as mentioned above, the main heating step according to the present invention is preferably performed at high pressure and high temperature. During the majority of the main heating step, it has been found that an advantageous combination is to use a heated hydrogen temperature of at least 500 ℃ and a pressure of at least 5 bar of the furnace space 120.

The preferred embodiments have been described above. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that many modifications to the disclosed embodiments are possible without departing from the basic inventive concepts herein.

For example, the geometry of the furnace 100 may be different according to detailed prerequisites.

The heat exchanger 160 is depicted as a tube heat exchanger. While this has been found to be particularly advantageous, it should be appreciated that other types of gas-to-gas heat exchangers/condensers are possible. The heat exchanger 240 may have any suitable configuration.

The waste heat from the cooled hydrogen can also be used in other processes requiring thermal energy.

The metallic material to be reduced is described as iron oxide. However, the method and system of the present invention may also be used to reduce metal materials that vaporize at temperatures below about 600 ℃, such as the metal oxides mentioned above, e.g., zinc and lead.

The direct reduction principle of the present invention can also be used to reduce metallic materials having a temperature higher than that of iron ore, after appropriate adjustments to the structure of the furnace 100, for example, for the structural materials used.

The invention is therefore not limited to the described embodiments but may be varied within the scope of the appended claims.