Key Takeaways & Executive Findings
- •• Hydrogen injection can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 16.6% when partially replacing pulverized coal injection, but it also decreases coal burnout. • Co-injection of hydrogen and PCI increases wall temperatures near the raceway and tuyere outlet, necessitating enhanced cooling to prolong blast furnace service life. • Increasing oxygen enrichment by 3% compensates for hydrogen-induced temperature drops, raising burnout by 4.2% and average raceway temperature by 43 K. • Optimization of pulverized coal particle size distribution can further improve burnout during hydrogen co-injection.
Abstract
Hydrogen displays the potential to partially replace pulverized coal injection (PCI) in the blast furnace, and it can reduce CO2 emissions. In this paper, a three-dimensional mathematical model of hydrogen and pulverized coal co-injection in blast furnace tuyere was established through numerical simulation, and the effect of hydrogen injection and oxygen enrichment interaction on pulverized coal combustion and raceway smelting was investigated. The simulation results indicate that when the coal injection rate decreased from 36 to 30 t/h and the hydrogen injection increased from 0 to 3600 m3/h, the CO2 emissions decreased from 1860 to 1551 kg/t, which represents a 16.6% reduction, and the pulverized coal burnout decreased from 70.1% to 63.7%. The heat released from hydrogen combustion can not only promote the volatilization of pulverized coal but also affect the combustion reaction between volatilization and oxygen, which resulted in a decrease in the temperature at the end of the raceway. Co-injection of hydrogen with PCI increased the wall temperature near the upper half part of the raceway and at the outlet of the tuyere, which required a high cooling efficiency to extend the service life of the blast furnace. The increase in oxygen level compensated for the decreased average temperature in the raceway due to hydrogen injection. The increase in the oxygen content by 3% while maintaining constant hydrogen and PCI injection rates increased the burnout and average raceway temperature by 4.2% and 43 K, respectively. The mole fraction of CO and H2 production increased by 0.04 and 0.02, respectively. Burnout can be improved through optimization of the particle size distribution of pulverized coal.
1. Introduction
As a green carbon-free fuel, hydrogen can reduce coke consumption in the blast furnace process [1]. Via hydrogen injection through the tuyere, CO2 emissions and energy consumption for hot-metal production can be reduced [2]. Compared with pulverized coal injection (PCI) only in the tuyere, the mixed injection of hydrogen and PCI affects the temperature and gas distribution at the tuyere and raceway and the normal production of the blast furnace [3–7]. Therefore, studies should gain insights into the combustion characteristics of hydrogen and PCI and the temperature and gas composition distribution in tuyere and raceway.
Liu et al. [8] studied the injection process of COREX-off gas into a blast furnace under various oxygen enrichment conditions. When the combustion rate of coal increased from 0 to 580 m3/min, the combustibility of coal increased from 74% to 79%. H2 can increase the raceway temperature to promote coal gasification. Wang et al. [9] established a two-dimensional raceway model and examined the influence of coal and hydrogen co-injection on the raceway. As the hydrogen injection volume increased by 160 m3/min, the theoretical combustion temperature decreased by approximately 16 K, the amount of gas in the bosh was increased by approximately 46.91 m3, the content of hydrogen increased from 1.61% to 7.79%, and the coke injection rate was reduced by 8.66%. However, given the limitation of the two-dimensional model, the details of the raceway cannot be accurately described. Zhuo et al. [10] established a three-dimensional transient model to investigate the combustion behavior of hydrogen in the raceway, and the results reveal that hydrogen injection in the blast furnace can produce a large raceway volume. However, the model disregards the effect of oxygen on the combustion of pulverized coal. On this basis, the influence of various oxygen contents on the co-injection of pulverized coal and hydrogen in tuyere was investigated in this paper. Liu et al. [11] simulated the chemical reaction among hydrogen, pulverized coal, and coke, and the simulation results revealed that hydrogen injection increased the average temperature in the raceway. However, the model did not show the effect of hydrogen injection on important gases, such as CO2 and O2. On this basis, this paper describes the production of important gas products, such as CO2, O2, H2O, and H2, with the changes in the contents of hydrogen and oxygen during injection. Ren et al. [12] studied the effects of hydrogen fraction in the co-injection gas on the combustion characteristics in the raceway, and the findings unveiled that the increase in hydrogen content of the co-injection gas ac...
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Huan Liu, Li Huang, Zhenyang Wang, Alberto N. Conejo, Jianliang Zhang, Dawei Lan (2025). Numerical simulation of the effect of hydrogen injection and oxygen enrichment interaction on PCI in a blast furnace. Int. Journal of Minerals, Metallurgy and Materials (矿物冶金与材料学报). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-024-3080-8
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the effect of hydrogen injection on CO2 emissions in a blast furnace?
The study shows that when the coal injection rate decreased from 36 to 30 t/h and hydrogen injection increased from 0 to 3600 m3/h, CO2 emissions decreased from 1860 to 1551 kg/t, a 16.6% reduction.
How does hydrogen injection affect pulverized coal burnout?
Hydrogen injection reduces pulverized coal burnout from 70.1% to 63.7% under the tested conditions, indicating a trade-off between lower CO2 emissions and combustion efficiency.
What is the role of oxygen enrichment in hydrogen co-injection?
Increasing oxygen content by 3% while maintaining constant hydrogen and PCI injection rates compensates for the temperature drop caused by hydrogen, raising burnout by 4.2% and average raceway temperature by 43 K.
What are the implications for blast furnace operation?
Co-injection of hydrogen increases wall temperatures near the raceway and tuyere outlet, requiring enhanced cooling to extend the service life of the blast furnace.
Can burnout be improved during hydrogen co-injection?
Yes, burnout can be improved through optimization of the particle size distribution of pulverized coal, as suggested by the simulation results.
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