Analysis by multiphase multicomponent model of iron ore sintering based on alternative steelworks gaseous fuels J. A. de Castro* 1,2 , N. Nath 3 , A. B. Franca 1 , V. S. Guilherme 1 and Y. Sasaki 2 This paper presents the numerical simulation of the technology of gaseous fuel utilisation for iron ore sintering. The proposed methodology is to partially replace the solid fuel by steelworks gases. A multiphase mathematical model based on transport equations of momentum, energy and chemical species coupled with chemical reaction and phase transformations was proposed to analyse temperature distributions of the process. A base case of actual industrial operation of a large sintering machine was monitored with thermocouples inserted into the sinter bed to validate the model. The model was used to predict four cases of fuel gas utilisation: feeding from N01 to N15 wind boxes with blast furnace gas (BFG); natural gas (NG); coke oven gas (COG); and a 50– 50 mixture of BFG and COG. The model predictions indicated that for all cases the sintering zone is enlarged and the solid fuel consumption could be decreased. Keywords: Sintering, Modelling, Fuels, COG, NG, Multiphase flow List of symbols A surface area, m 2 m 23 C p heat capacity, J kg 21 K 21 d final solid agglomerated, m d initial initial micropellets charged, m d m solid component diameter, m d s solid phase mean diameter, m F s g interaction force on solid phase due to gas phase, Nm 23 s 21 H enthalpy of the phase, kJ kg 21 P phase pressure, Pa Pr g ~ C p,g m g k g Prandtl number r m rates of chemical or phase transformations, kmol m 23 s R gas constant, J mol 21 K 21 Re g{s ~ r g ~ U g { ~ U s     m g d s particle Reynolds number S w source or sink terms for the w variables, (various) t time, s T temperature, K ~ U i phase velocity vector (i is the gas and solid), m s 21 x i spatial coordinates, m e i volume fractions, m 3 m 23 m phase effective viscosity, Pa s r i phase density (i is gas and solid), kg m 23 Q n mass fraction in equation (4) (calculated by the model), kg kg 21 w m solid diameter shape factor (m is the sinter feed, sinter return, limestone, fines, coke, mushy and bonding) Introduction The sintering process provides high quality material for the subsequent production of pig iron in the blast fur- nace. The process is complex and involves various phy- sical and chemical phenomena such as heat, mass and momentum transfer coupled with chemical reactions. 1–4 These phenomena take place simultaneously, increasing considerably, the complexity of process analysis. The raw materials used in the process are obtained from several sources, such as iron ore (mining sinter feed), dust recycling within the steelworks and addition of slag agents for blast furnace and enhance the sinter product quality, namely, reactivity and mechanical strength, which play a crucial role in the blast furnace perfor- mance and in reducing agent consumption. In the conventional operation, the combustion of solid fuels (coke breeze or anthracite) begins at the top layer and, as it moves, a relative narrow band of ignition zone 1 Graduate Program on Metallurgical Engineering, Federal Fluminense University, Av. Dos Trabalhadores, 420, Volta Redonda-RJ, 27255125, Brazil 2 Environmental Metallurgy Laboratory, Graduate Institute of Ferrous Technology, Pohang University of Science and Technology, San 31 Hyojay-Dong, Nam-Gu, Pohang 790-784, Korea 3 Department of Mechanical Engineering, JSPM’s Rajarshi Shahu College of Engineering, Tathawade, Pune 411033, India *Corresponding author, email adilson@metal.eeimvr.uff.br ß 2012 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining Published by Maney on behalf of the Institute Received 30 January 2012; accepted 9 February 2012 DOI 10.1179/1743281212Y.0000000008 Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2012 VOL 39 NO 8 605