christopher price, green iron technology
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IRON ORE BENEFICIATION AFRICA 2014Presentation by: Christopher Price - Green Iron Technology (Pty) Ltd.
This presentation contains protected Intellectual Property (IP) and “Know-How” and is protected by Patent Law. Use of this information in commerial applications is strictly prohibited, unless approval is granted in writing by the IP owner, sight of this literature is acknowledgement of its protected status on the part of the recipient.
PATENT NO. 2010/04810
The future is bright
“The cost of producing steel can be reduced
by 30%”
Christopher Price -CEO Green Iron Technology
“The carbon footprint of steel production can
be reduced by 30%”
Christopher Price -CEO Green Iron Technology
“Imagination is more important
than knowledge ....Knowledge
is limited to all we know and
understand...... Imagination
embraces the entire World and
all there will ever be to know
and understand”
Albert Einstein
We need to think outside of the box
The ones who are stupid enough to
think that they can change the world,
are the ones that do
Steve Jobs
At the 1968 Olympics Bob Beamon made a leap in the Long jump that minutes before would have been considered impossible.
He broke the previous world record by nearly two feet, previously the record had progressed by fractions of an inch.
Our industry needs to take a quantum leap –
Noun: An abrupt change, especially in method
Iron Beneficiation
It’s not new
It is not difficult to achieve
It need not be expensive
It is not new
The iron age in Africa dates back
2500 years when early forms of
steel were produced.
Zimbabwe Ruins –
African Iron Age City
It is not difficult
Iron-age man produced iron with
iron rock, wood and fire.
The method is simple, the
ingredients are few, cheap and
readily available.
“Everything should be as
simple as it can be”
Albert Einstein
The Direct Reduction ProcessIron ore is beneficiated by altering it’s chemistry so that iron oxide is converted into elemental iron, to achieve this oxygen is extracted from the ore using a reductant under high temperature conditions (700ºC – 1250ºC ).
Reduction* can be achieved without melting the ore, this is termed “solid state reduction” .
* Reduction means: reducing the amount of oxygen
Common reductants are coal and natural gas – the choice of which is driven by the cost and location of the reductant source relative to the iron ore deposit.
Reduction is normally a process step carried out in an industrial setting e.g. at a steel mill – it is possible given suitable equipment to carry out reduction, which provides a significant value uplift, at the mine site.
This is true beneficiation
Coal
+ Heat
+ Iron Ore
= HBI
Current solid state reduction processes
Rotary Hearth
Rotary Kiln
Shaft Furnace
Heavy steel construction – thick as amour
Conventional iron reduction plant is constructed from very heavy steel plate
Strong enough to support huge rotating masses
Refractory linings – thick as Castle WallsThick refractory linings are:
Heavy
Expensive
Poor insulators
Have high thermal mass
Large expensive mechanics
Expensive gearing
High component wear
Large rotating mass
High component wear
The solution
Space age materials
Light-weight
Ultra high temperatures
Reduced costs
Reduction time
Small particles = fast
1mm = 5 minutes
Large particles = slow
12mm = 10 hours
Rotary Kiln
High velocity gas flow
Not suitable for fines
Fines get blown out
High Titanium and low-grade ores
These ores present processing difficulties and increased costs to the steel maker.
South Africa has substantial deposits of these ores, which would be of significant commercial benefit to the country if they could be beneficiated locally.
High percentages of titanium are deleterious to blast furnace operation.
Low-grade ores need to be ground to small particle sizes to liberate and concentrate the iron content, after grinding these ores cannot be used in commercial scale production plants.
The solution:
Pre-reduce – Briquette - Melt in an arc furnace = pig iron
Process time is temperature dependent
Low temperature = slow
High temperature = fast
Rotary kilns operate at low temperatures
CO
CO
CO
1600ºC
1250ºC
Fe₂O₃+C
CO + O₂ = CO₂ + HEAT
250ºC
CO₂O₂O₂
H₂CH₄
O₂
1100ºC
850ºC
AIR 20ºC
Fe
Fe
HBI
CO
COCO
CO
CO
CO
COCO
CO
O₂O₂
O₂
O₂
O₂ O₂
O₂CO₂
CO₂CO₂CO₂
CO₂O₂
O₂
O₂
O₂ O₂
O₂
O₂
CO₂
CO₂
CO₂
O₂
O₂O₂ O₂ O₂O₂
Static slope furnace
Has a fixed slope down which fine ore feed slides under gravity
Makes use of the principal of the angle of repose of granular solids
Controlled residence time governed by rate of removal of DRI
Thermal coal fines are used as the reducing agent
Suitable for ore fines without further pre-treatment
Furnace constructed from light-weight materials
It has no moving parts within the furnace hot zone
Allows heating from above and below the hearth- result is high production rates
Special hearth floor has very high thermal conductivity
Very low power requirement – can operate off a generator
Lowest production cost of any process
Modular - projects can commence with low capital investment
Proof of concept completed – ready for commercial applications
Key facts
Steel construction is 1/6th of the weight of conventional equipment
Space age insulation is 1/10th of the weight of industry standard
Temperatures of 1550ºC are possible
Extremely short residence time – 5-10 minutes
All energy is used in the process – no CO emissions
Very low maintenance costs
Packaged concept
A packaged design has been designed for use in remote locations
Built off-site in a factory setting
Modular
Can be relocated
Built in power supply
Modules from 25kt/yr
High return on investment – R.O.I. of over 50%
Equipment built into standard 12m shipping containers for easy transport
Capital $450
Inputs $150
Outputs $400
Profit $250R.O.I + 50%
HBI Production
“It seems impossible until it’s done“
46664Nelson Mandela
Thank You