Solids injection lance

{
  "publication_number": "US10619927B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Solids injection lance",
  "abstract": "A method for injecting a solid feed material through a solids injection lance includes creating flow conditions in an injection passageway of the lance so that at least a part of the feed material flowing along the passageway forms a buffer zone between a wall of a tube that defines the passageway and feed material flowing along a central section of the passageway.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A method for injecting solid metalliferous material and solid carbonaceous material that includes injecting a solid metalliferous material via a metalliferous material inlet into a passageway extending from a rearward end to a forward end of a lance and creating a flow of metalliferous material along the lance, and injecting solid carbonaceous material in a direction that is transverse to a direction of movement of the metalliferous material via a carbonaceous material inlet into the passageway downstream of the metalliferous material inlet to the passageway so that at least a part of the carbonaceous material forms a buffer zone between a wall of a tube that defines the passageway and the metalliferous material flowing along the passageway.",
    "2. A solids injection lance that includes a tube that defines a passageway for solid metalliferous material and solid carbonaceous material to be injected through the tube and has a rear inlet for solid metalliferous material at a rear end, a separate tube wall inlet arranged transversely to the rear inlet, for solid carbonaceous material injection in a direction that is transverse to a direction of movement of the solid metalliferous material injected at the rear inlet, in a wall of the tube downstream of the rear inlet, and an outlet for discharging solid feed material at a forward end, and wherein at least a part of the carbonaceous material forms a buffer zone between a wall of a tube that defines the passageway and metalliferous material flowing along the passageway.",
    "3. The lance defined in claim 2 includes more than one tube wall inlet downstream of the rear inlet, in the wall of the tube.",
    "4. The lance defined in claim 3 wherein the tube wall inlets in the wall of the tube are selected at locations around and/or along the length of the wall of the tube to promote the formation of the buffer zone.",
    "5. The lance defined in claim 3 wherein the plurality of the tube wall inlets is spaced around the circumference of the wall of the tube.",
    "6. The lance defined in claim 2 wherein the solids injection tube includes a venturi in a rearward section of the tube for accelerating solid metalliferous material and solid carbonaceous material flowing through the venturi, with the venturi including a section that tapers inwardly from a wider rear end to a narrower forward end.",
    "7. The lance defined in claim 6 wherein the tapered section of the venturi is downstream of the rear inlet at the rear end and downstream of the tube wall inlet at the wall of the tube so that in use the buffer zone extends at least partly along the length of the tapered section.",
    "8. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the carbonaceous material is at ambient temperature and the metalliferous material is pre-heated.",
    "9. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the carbonaceous material and the metalliferous material are at ambient temperature.",
    "10. The method defined in claim 1 includes forming the buffer zone so that the buffer zone extends at least partly along the length of a tapered section of a venturi in a section of the tube that accelerates solid metalliferous material and solid carbonaceous material flowing in the passageway.",
    "11. The method defined in claim 1 includes forming the buffer zone so that the buffer zone extends along the whole of the length of a tapered section of a venturi.",
    "12. The method defined in claim 8 includes forming the buffer zone so that the buffer zone extends along the whole of the length of a tapered section of a venturi and forwardly of the tapered section.",
    "13. The method defined in claim 1 includes establishing a flow of feed material in the form of metalliferous material along the passageway and supplying a flow of other feed material into the passageway in a direction that is transverse to the direction of movement of the metalliferous material along the passageway whereby the flow of metalliferous material diverts the flow of the other feed material into the passageway to form the buffer zone.",
    "14. The method defined in claim 13 wherein the other feed material is a carbonaceous material only, a metalliferous material only, or a mixture that includes carbonaceous material and metalliferous material.",
    "15. The method of claim 13 wherein the supplying a flow of another feed material into the passageway in a direction that is perpendicular to the direction of movement of the metalliferous material along the passageway."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "The present invention relates to injecting a solid feed material through a solids injection lance.\n\nThe present invention relates particularly, although by no means exclusively, to injecting a solid metalliferous material, typically a hot solid metalliferous material, and a solid carbonaceous material, typically a solid carbonaceous material at ambient temperature, through a solids injection lance.\n\nThe present invention relates particularly, although by no means exclusively, to injecting a solid feed material selected from one or more than one of a solid metalliferous material, typically a hot solid metalliferous material, and a solid carbonaceous material, typically a solid carbonaceous material, through a solids injection lance into a direct smelting vessel, such as a molten bath-based direct smelting vessel for producing molten metal, such as iron, in a direct smelting process.\n\nA known molten bath-based smelting process is generally referred to as the “HIsmelt” process and is described in a considerable number of patents and patent applications in the name of the applicant.\n\nThe HIsmelt process is applicable to smelting metalliferous material generally but is associated particularly with producing molten iron from iron ore or another iron-containing material.\n\nIn the context of producing molten iron, the HIsmelt process includes the steps of:\n\nThe term “smelting” is herein understood to mean thermal processing wherein chemical reactions that reduce metal oxides take place to produce molten metal.",
  "cpc": [
    "F27D 3/0033",
    "C21C 5/4606",
    "C21C 5/5217",
    "F27B 2014/002",
    "F27B 3/18",
    "F27D 2003/168",
    "F27D 2003/169",
    "F27D 3/0025",
    "F27D 3/0026",
    "F27D 3/16",
    "F27D 3/18",
    "Y02P 10/20",
    "Y02P 10/216"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "F27D 3/00",
    "F27D 3/16",
    "F27D 3/18",
    "C21C 5/46",
    "C21C 5/52",
    "F27B 3/18"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Tata Steel Ltd"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Jacques Pilote",
    "Rodney James Dry",
    "Mark Preston Davis"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2014-05-02",
  "publication_date": "2020-04-14",
  "grant_date": "2020-04-14",
  "priority_date": "2013-05-16",
  "application_number": "US-201414891112-A",
  "family_id": "51897504",
  "cited_by_count": 2,
  "citations": [
    "WO1996031627A1",
    "US6398842B2",
    "WO2006105578A1",
    "US20110308354A1",
    "US20120067171A1",
    "WO2014179825A1",
    "US20160116215A1"
  ]
}