TECHNICAL OPTIMIZATION OF SHAFT FURNACES FOR THE SINTERED MAGNESIA PRODUCTION

Abstract

The contemporary shaft furnaces for the production of sintered magnesia have a very good  performance. However, there are still significant possibilities of their improvement. Thermodynamic, hydrodynamic and rheological processes don’t run optimally. The purpose of the research was to determine the reasons and realization of optimization measures. One of the significant requirements was to process materials with lower granularity (20 - 40 mm). The improvement was focused on the charging system modification, burner system modification, coke utilization in the central part of the furnace, sinter heat utilization, increasing the insulation. Their verification was reached at the operational conditions. The result was conceptually new pilot shaft furnace, determined for the further research. The basic features of the new shaft furnace are distributed burners improving combustion of the secondary air flowing through the central part of the furnace. By this approach significant improvement of the temperature homogeneity through the furnace cross section is achieved.