Combustion characteristics of pulverized coal injection into blast furnace and structural optimization of oxygen-coal lance

Pulverized coal injection (PCI) is a vital operation of blast furnace, reducing coke consumption and carbon emission. The structure of the oxygen-coal lance (OCL) significantly impacts PCI effectiveness. In this article, a three-dimensional PCI combustion model of blast furnace is established by numerical method. Results indicate that increasing the OCL insertion depth decreases PC burnout, potentially increasing tuyere nozzle abrasion. When the OCL insertion angle tilts from +5° to −15°, the temperature of the tuyere nozzle increases first and then decreases. When the OCL is tilted downward by 8°, the PC burnout near the tuyere nozzle becomes the most uniform with a higher temperature of 2218 K. Conclusions have illustrated that appropriately increasing the OCL insertion depth and downward increasing angle will be beneficial to PCI operation of blast furnace.