Modelling of Corex process for optimisation of

operational parameters
P. Prachethan Kumar*1, L. M. Garg1 and S. S. Gupta1
A composite model for computational analysis of the Corex process of ironmaking has been
developed. The model combines a set of common material and heat balance equations. Taking
user specified inputs, the model is capable of determining the consumption of raw materials and
fluxes, the volume and composition of the slag and the volume and composition of reducing
gases from the melter–gasifier. The accuracy of the prediction of Corex operational parameters is
competitive, and the model enables computation of changes in process pathways induced by a
modification of Corex raw materials, slag composition, hot metal chemistry and other parameters.
The model allows optimisation of the operational parameters of the Corex process.
Keywords: Corex, Mass balance, Heat balance, Slag rate, Hot metal, Gas composition, Iterator, Recursion function

Introduction Corex process

Environmental pressures and the increasing scarcity of
good quality coking coal has led to the development of
ironmaking processes other than the traditional blast
furnace route. To date, Corex has emerged as one of the
most acceptable alternatives. It is the first commercially
established and industrially proven smelting reduction
process using non-coking coal as fuel. It allows for
flexible, cost effective and environmentally friendly
production of hot metal. JSW Steel Ltd in India has
adopted Corex technology, and two modules, each of
0.8 Mt/annum capacity, are operational. Often, the
major stumbling block in the implementation of new
process technologies is the absence of detailed informa-
tion about the physical and chemical processes (e.g. heat
and mass transfer, reduction and oxidation of raw
materials, gas production, etc.) occurring at different
levels of the furnace. Several kinds of thermochemical
and computational models have been developed for the
Corex process. One such thermochemical model can
analyse the effects of metallisation, slag basicity, coal
rank and heat losses on the fuel rate and slag rate to
produce hot metal of given chemistry and temperature.1
The computational models developed by Shin et al.,2,3
based on heat and mass balance equations, have
provided a theoretical basis for operational analysis.
However, these models cannot directly reveal the effect
of many critical operational parameters in the Corex
process. Therefore, a composite model combining heat
and mass balance equations has been developed to
predict the effect of various operational parameters such
as melting rate, fuel rate, coke rate, slag rate, metallisa-
tion, etc. on Corex performance.
1
JSW Steel Ltd, Toranagallu, Bellary, Karnataka, India
*Corresponding author, email prachethan.kumar@jsw.in
Corex4,5 consists of two reactors, the reduction shaft and
the melter–gasifier. Figure 1 illustrates the Corex pro-
cess schematically. The reduction shaft is located above
the melter–gasifier and reduced iron bearing materials
are extracted by a screw system. The volumes of the
reduction shaft and the melter–gasifier are ,600 m3 and
2200 m3, respectively.
Reduction shaft
Pellets, iron ore and additives (limestone and dolomite)
are continuously charged into the reduction shaft via
a lock hopper system located on top of the shaft.
An amount of coke is also added to avoid clustering
of the burden inside the shaft, owing to sticking of
ore/pellets, and to maintain adequate bed permeability.
The reduction gas is injected through the bustle,
located ,5 m above the bottom of the shaft, at
850uC and more than 3 bar pressure. The specific
reduction gas flow is ,1200 Nm3/tonne of iron
bearing burden charged to the shaft. The gas moves
in the counter current direction to the top of the
shaft and exits from the shaft at around 250–300uC. The
iron bearing material is reduced to over 70–90%
metallisation in the shaft, and is termed DRI (direct
reduced iron). Subsequently, six screws discharge the
DRI from the reduction shaft into the melter–gasifier.
The metallisation degree of the DRI and calcination of
the additives are strongly dependent on the following
parameters:
(i) amount and quality of the reduction gas flow;
especially %CO and %H2
(ii) temperature of the reduction gas
(iii) reducibility of the iron bearing burden
(iv) average particle size and distribution of the
solids charged.
The primary reactions taking place inside the shaft
include the following:

ß 2006 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining

Published by Maney on behalf of the Institute
Received 8 June 2005; accepted 23 July 2005
DOI 10.1179/174328106X80037 Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2006 VOL 33 NO 1 29
Prachethan Kumar et al. Modelling of Corex process
1 Schematic diagram of Corex ironmaking process: DRI direct reduced iron
(i) reduction of iron oxide by CO and H2 and
transformation of iron oxides to metallic iron
Fe2 O3 ?Fe3 O4 ?FeO?Fe
(ii) calcination of limestone and dolomite
CaCO3 ~CaOzCO2 (endothermic)
CaMg(CO3 )2 ~CaO:MgOz2CO2 (endothermic)
(iii) carbon deposition reaction and formation of
Fe3C
2CO?CO2 zC(exothermic)
3Fez2CO?Fe3 CzCO2 (exothermic)
Melter–gasifier
The melter–gasifier can largely be divided into three
reaction zones:
(i) gaseous freeboard zone (upper part or dome)
(ii) char bed (middle part above oxygen tuyeres)
(iii) hearth zone (lower part below oxygen tuyeres).
Owing to continuous gas flow through the char bed,
there also exists a fluidised bed in the transition area
between the char bed and the freeboard zone.
The hot DRI at about 700–800uC along with partially
calcined limestone and dolomite is continuously fed into
the melter–gasifier through downpipes. The DRI down-
pipes are uniformly distributed around the circumfer-
ence near the top of the melter–gasifier to ensure
uniform distribution of material over the char bed.
Additionally, non-coking coal, quartzite and the
required quantity of coke are continuously charged by
means of a lock hopper system. The operating pressure
in the melter–gasifier is in excess of 3 bar. Oxygen plays
a vital role in the Corex process for the generation of
heat and reduction gases. It is injected through the
tuyeres, which gasifies the coal char and generates CO.7
30 Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2006 VOL 33 NO
The hot gases ascend through the char bed. The sensible
heat of the hot gases is transferred to the char bed,
which is utilised for melting iron and slag and other
metallurgical reactions. The hot metal and slag are
collected in the hearth. The efficiency of the furnace
depends largely on the distribution of this gas in the char
bed and utilisation of the sensible heat of the gas. The
dome temperature is maintained between 1050 and
1100uC, which ensures cracking of all volatile matter
released from the coal. The gas generated inside the
melter–gasifier contains fine dust particles, which are
separated in hot gas cyclones. The dust collected in the
cyclones is recycled back to the melter–gasifier through
the dust burners, where the dust is combusted with
additional oxygen injected through the burners. There
are four such dust burners located around the circum-
ference of the melter–gasifier above the char bed. The
gas from the melter–gasifier is cooled to the reduction
gas temperature (850uC) by the addition of cooling gas.
A major part of this gas is subsequently fed to the
reduction shaft. The excess gas is used to control the
plant pressure. This excess gas and the reduction shaft
top gas are mixed before the take over point and are
termed Corex export gas.
The efficiency of the melter–gasifier depends primarily
on the following parameters:
(i) size and chemical analysis of the raw materials,
especially coal
(ii) reduction gas CO2 percentage, which must be
kept low to maintain high CO and H2 in the
reduction gas to ensure high metallisation of the
DRI, but at the same time ensure an adequate
dome temperature of 1050uC or above for
complete cracking of hydrocarbons
(iii) optimum distribution of oxygen between
tuyeres and dust burners
(iv) permeability of the char bed
(v) high system pressure
1
 Prachethan Kumar et al. Modelling of Corex process

(iii) shift reaction

COzH2 O~CO2 zH2
(iv) decomposition of unburnt limestone and
dolomite
(v) residual reduction of iron oxide
(vi) burning of coal char by oxygen. Burning of the
coal char takes place near the tuyeres. The
maximum temperature inside the melter–
gasifier exists in front of the tuyeres. The
following carbon gasification reactions take
place in the tuyere area
2CzO2 ~2CO
2COzO2 ~2CO2
CzCO2 ~2CO
2 Flow diagram showing model inputs and outputs: HM
(vii) melting and formation of hot metal and slag.
hot metal

(vi) large melting operation, i.e. large amount of hot
metal produced per hour.
The following reactions take place inside the melter–gasifier:
(i) drying of coal (100uC)
(ii) devolatilisation of coal (200–950uC) and libera-
tion of methane and higher hydrocarbons
(iii) decomposition of volatile matter.
Owing to the higher temperature prevailing in the
melter–gasifier freeboard zone, the hydrocarbons are
cracked into hydrogen and elementary carbon
Cn Hm ~nCz(m=2)H2
Further reactions in the freeboard zone are:
(i) Boudouard reaction
CO2 zC~2CO
(ii) water gas reaction
H2 OzC~COzH2
Model and computation method
A complex balance model for Corex process operation
forecast has been developed as illustrated in Fig. 2. The
typical range of inputs and typical range and initial
value of outputs are given in Tables 1 and 2, respec-
tively. The model is based on a combined set of mass
and heat balance equations. The model allows compu-
tation of the process response to changes in input
parameters. The computer program consists of the
following modules: ‘raw material and flux consumption’,
‘hot metal chemistry’, ‘slag volume and composition’,
‘generator gas volume and composition’, ‘flux consump-
tion’, ‘iterator’ and ‘non-iterative computations of
parameters’.
Raw material consumption module
This module of the program computes the consumption
of burden components (pellets, ores, fluxes, etc.), as well

Table 1 Typical range of input parameters

Module Input Unit* Typical range

Raw material and flux consumption Fe in iron bearing materials % 63–67

Al2O3 in iron bearing materials % 2–2.8
SiO2 in iron bearing materials % 2.5–3.5
Fixed carbon in coal % 60–64
Ash in coal % 9–12
Fixed carbon in coke % 85–88
Moisture in coal % 4–6
Ash in coke % 11–14
CaO in fluxes % 20–45
MgO in fluxes % 6–20
SiO2 in quartz % 90–98
Iron ore fines % 0–10
Lump ore % 0–10
Slag volume and composition Al2O3 in slag % 14–19
MgO in slag % 11–14
CaO/SiO2 in slag ??? 0.9–1.2
Hot metal (HM) chemistry HM Si % 0.4–2.0
HM temperature uC 1450–1550
Gas volume and composition Oxygen rate Nm3/thm 300–450
Metallisation % 60–90
Calcination of CaCO3 % 40–60
Calcination of MgCO3 % 80–100
Coke rate kg/thm 100–250
*thm is tonnes of hot metal.

Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2006 VOL 33 NO 1 31

Prachethan Kumar et al. Modelling of Corex process

as the amount and chemical composition of the slag.

The module solves a system of balance equations for Fe,
Mn, MgO, Al2O3 and CaO/SiO2. The inputs for the
burden module are: (a) raw material analysis, (b)
specified consumption of coke and oxygen, (c) Si content
and temperature of the hot metal and (d) CaO/SiO2,
MgO and Al2O3 contents in the slag, or the total amount
of raw materials in the burden. In the former case, the
necessary amount of raw materials, slag rate and
composition, hot metal composition and gas volume
and composition are calculated by the module. In the
latter case, the chemical composition of the burden is
determined. The fuel rate is calculated from a regression
equation using inputs: moisture (%) and volatile matter
(%) in the coal blend, char strength of the coal blend and
slag rate.
Flux consumption module
This module calculates the necessary amounts of fluxes
to be charged in the melter–gasifier, and pellets and
lump ore. In addition, the module recalculates the
composition of the pellets. Quartzite is determined
taking Si amount in the hot metal and targeted basicity
required in the slag.
Slag volume and composition module
The slag rate is calculated from the total amount of
Al2O3 coming from raw materials and %Al2O3 required
in the slag. The module determines slag composition
from CaO/SiO2 and %MgO of the slag, and assuming
that CaOzMgOzSiO2zAl2O3596.5%. This is based
on the assumption that the balance 3.5% components in
the slag are Na2O, K2O, MnO, S, etc.
Hot metal
The hot metal chemistry is calculated assuming that all
phosphorus from inputs enters the hot metal, while
sulphur in the hot metal is calculated using the following
equations6
LS (sulphur distribution coefficient)~(%S)
log LS ~1:35(1:79|%CaOz1:24|%MgO)=
(1:66|%SiO2 z0:33|%Al2 O3 )
{0:709{8130=Tz4:15
where T is the absolute hot metal temperature, and
½%S
~(input S (kg=thm){S in gases (kg=thm)
|100)=(LS |slag rate)z1000
where thm is tonnes of hot metal, and ‘S in gases’ is
assumed to be 0.5% of the total sulphur input.
Generator gas and composition module
The volume and composition of generator gas from the
melter–gasifier is calculated from the mass balance of
carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen. The composi-
tion is also calculated by solving heat balance equations
for CO and CO2 using a recursion function.
Heat balance
The heat balance equations are solved first by calculat-
ing the ‘heat out’ in hot metal, slag, gas and sludge and
heat losses by radiation and through stave water
cooling. The ‘heat in’ is from input materials and net
heat from exothermic and endothermic reactions.
Metallisation of iron bearing materials in the reduction
shaft is assumed to be 80%, and calcination of CaCO3
50% and MgCO3 100% in limestone and dolomite before
entering the melter–gasifier at 850uC. The equations are
solved through iteration until ‘heat out’ and ‘heat in’ are
matched. The gas composition and volume predicted by
this are well within ¡10%.
Recursion function
The raw material consumption, slag rate and gas
composition and volume are calculated using the
recursion function, also termed iteration. To start with,
for model development, a known appropriate initial
value for slag rate, fuel rate, fluxes, etc. is taken, which
later is recalculated using the recursion function until
values converge. Figure 3 shows the principle behind

Table 2 Typical range and initial value of output parameters

Module Ouput* Unit Range Typical initial value

Raw material and flux consumption Iron bearing materials kg/thm 1400–1550 1480
Pellets kg/thm 1200–1400 1300
Fuel rate kg/thm 900–1300 1000
Limestone kg/thm 80–250 100
Dolomite kg/thm 100–200 150
LD slag kg/thm 0–100 50
Quartzite kg/thm 0–100 25
Slag volume and composition Slag rate kg/thm 300–500 375
CaO % 32–38 36
SiO2 % 30–34 32
S % 0.8–1.2 1
Hot metal chemistry C % 3–5 4.5
S % 0.02–0.06 0.04
P % 0.05–0.15 0.1
Gas volume and composition Generator gas Nm3/thm 1200–1800 1500
CO % 55–70 67
CO2 % 5–15 7
H2 % 15–30 22
CH4 % 1–3 2
N2 % 1–3 2
*LD is Linz–Donawitz.

32 Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2006 VOL 33 NO 1


3 Mathematical principle of solution
recursion. As long as the initial value is appropriate, the
model never diverges, and carries out about 1000–10 000
iterations as per set values.
The following equations explain the recursion
function.
Tangent line at (Xn–1, f(Xn–1))
Y {f (Xn{1 )
~f 0 (Xn{1 )
X {Xn{1
Intersection point at X axis
0{f (Xn{1 )
~f 0 (Xn{1 )
Xn {Xn{1
therefore Xn5Xn–1–f(Xn–1)/f9(Xn–1).
Model validation and discussion
The model has been validated for slag rate and %CO in
the generator gas; these two parameters explain the
complete model as all variables are linked to these two
outputs. The slag rate is calculated from input Al2O3 for
all raw materials, targeted CaO/SiO2 and MgO in the
slag. Thus, slag rate validation explains the validity of all
other raw material consumption and corresponds well
with the actual data with minimal error. The slag rate
(average of the day) validation is shown in Fig. 4, and is
in good agreement with actual data. Similarly, %CO
(average of the day) in the generator gas corresponds
well (as shown in Fig. 5) with actual data. Agreement
between the actual and predicted CO values is good only
when the heat balance, hot metal chemistry and gas
4 Actual (average of day) and predicted slag rates
Prachethan Kumar et al. Modelling of Corex process
5 Actual (average of day) and predicted CO in generator
gas
volume are predicted to the nearest values. The major
variables impacting upon slag rate are fuel rate and
variation in raw material analysis of pellets, particularly
Al2O3, ranging from 2.2 to 2.8%, and moisture and
volatile matter of the coal blend, which are analysed
once every 8 h. For example, for a 0.1% increase of
Al2O3 in pellets, the slag volume increases by 8 kg/thm.
Similarly, the variation in %CO is a result of variation in
raw material analysis, particularly fixed carbon in coal,
and also variation in fuel rate. The variation in %CO is
also due to deviation from assumed values for the
calcination of CaCO3 (50%) and MgCO3 (100%) in the
reduction shaft, and if the degree of calcination varies
significantly, the gap between predicted and actual
values will increase. For example, for a 10% increase
in the degree of calcination of CaCO3, CO will reduce by
0.4%, and for a 10% increase in the degree of calcination
of MgCO3, CO will reduce by 0.25%. The model shows
convergence as long as the initial value is appropriate.
The model has been tested offline only, as the frequency
of each input available in plant practice is different, and
hence each input has been averaged for the day. The
model can be used on a real time basis, as the
computation time of consequence is in the range 30–
45 min.
Conclusion
The present model is based on mass and heat balance,
and can be used to investigate the process response to
changes in input parameters. The model has been
validated in actual plant practice and responds well to
changes in variables, and is in good agreement with key
outputs. The model allows optimisation of the process
and is a valuable tool for Corex operation. The model
can also be used as a strategic tool in decision making.
References
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1999, 28, 17.
2. M.-K. Shin, J.-K. Yoon and M. Tokuda: ISIJ Int., 1993, 33, 385.
3. M.-K. Shin, S. Joo and I. O. Lee: ICSTI/ISS Ironmaking Conf.
Proc., 1998, 57, 1815.
4. J. K. Tandon, M. K. Mitra, R. Singh and D. Gupta: Proc. Asia
Steel Int. Conf., Beijing, China, September 2000, Paper 20, 140.
5. P. Prachethan Kumar, A. Kumar, D. Gupta and S. S. Gupta: Proc.
Asia Steel Int. Conf., Jamshedpur, India, April 2003, Paper 1, 1.
6. S. S. Gupta and A. Chatterjee: ‘Blast furnace iron making’, 140–
179; 1991, New Delhi, SBA Publications.
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