Energy & Fuels, Vol.28, No.11, 7268-7273, 2014
Experimental Simulation and Analysis of Agricultural Waste Injection as an Alternative Fuel for Blast Furnace
Focus on environmental issues has greatly increased in recent years. This development has led to a competitive advantage for innovative processes that are less harmful to the environment, because they satisfy the environmental consciousness of todays consumers, enable entrance into more competitive new markets, can even lead to direct profits in accordance with environmental conservation, and earn carbon credits by recycling greenhouse gases. such as CO2 and CH4. The present paper shows the feasibility of using biomass, such as rice husk, sugar cane bagasse, elephant grass, coffee husk, and eucalyptus bark, as substitute materials for powder coal injection into a blast furnace, thereby leading to the replacement of part or even all of coal injected, which is not renewable and causes great environmental impact during mining and extraction. To simulate the possibility of injecting biomass materials, physical modeling, which has been developed for this purpose, is used. Further analyses are particle size classification, surface area, calorific value, and proximate and ultimate analyses. It has been concluded that, using these biomass materials, it is possible to reduce the specific carbon consumption in the blast furnace burden, which enhances the environmental commitment of the steel plant, and, moreover, to use waste generated in agriculture.