CAVALCANTE, J. N. A.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/2207516624864508; CAVALCANTE, Juan Nicolas Andrade.
Resumen:
Iron ore pellets are thermally processed in industrial furnaces, and this process is crucial
for achieving the proper mechanical strength. All the properties of the agglomerates are
obtained during the firing stage, which is decisive for the quality of the final product. In the
current industry, there are several systems used for hardening iron ore pellets through firing.
Among these systems, the rotary kiln stands out due to its high energy efficiency, and its
structure contributes to the reuse of thermal energy from later stages. This allows the pellet to
reach high temperatures, consuming less fuel compared to other systems with the same purpose.
Large-scale industrial processes increasingly demand the use of technology to assist in
controlling and maintaining product quality. It is of utmost importance to study and evaluate
the impacts caused by making changes to a process already in operation. For this purpose,
process modeling and simulation, using numerical models derived from plant data, become
suitable tools. This work presents a numerical model representing a rotary kiln used by a steel
company, developed in the Python language. The main objective of the model is to allow,
through phenomenological equations, the simulation, prediction, and evaluation of temperature
profiles of the main components involved in the process: the pellet and the drag gases for
thermal exchange, in addition to considering the furnace walls and the fuels used as an energy
source. The results obtained by the model for the thermal profiles were compared with the actual
temperature data of the pellet at the entrance and exit of the furnace, obtained from the plant.
The results showed very close values, indicating that the model accurately represents the
process, with an approximate deviation error of 4%.
