Simulated investigations concerning the influence of the thermal parameters of the blast on the energy characteristics of a blast-furnace plant and the energy system of ironworks

The share of a blast furnace plant in the consumption of energy within the ironworks amounts to about 60%. Therefore every change of blast parameters affects considerably the energy balance of the ironworks. The thermal parameters analyzed in the present paper comprise: blast temperature, enrichment of the blast with oxygen and the addition of auxiliary fuels injected together with the blast into the tuyere zone. In order to analyze them a theoretical-empirical balance method was applied. The final results of direct and indirect changes in the energy system of ironworks are changes in the supply of fuels and energy from outside. These are system changes which decide about the energy effectiveness of the proposed changes of the blast parameters. In order to determine them a mathematical model of the energy balance of the industrial plant has been applied basing on the 'input-output analysis'. The paper contains the results of the process and system analyses of the largest Polish ironworks possessing blast furnaces with a volume of 3200 cbm.