Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation of the Hydrogen Reduction of Magnetite Concentrate in a Laboratory Flash Reactor

A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed to study the hydrogen reduction of magnetite concentrate particles in a laboratory flash reactor representing a novel flash ironmaking process. The model was used to simulate the fluid flow, heat transfer, and chemical reactions involved. The governing equations for the gas phase were solved in the Eulerian frame of reference while the particles were tracked in the Lagrangian framework. The change in the particle mass was related to the chemical reaction and the particle temperature was calculated by taking into consideration the heat of reaction, convection, and radiation. The stochastic trajectory model was used to describe particle dispersion due to turbulence. Partial combustion of H₂ by O₂ injected through a non-premixed burner was also simulated in this study. The partial combustion mechanism used in this model consisted of seven chemical reactions involving six species. The temperature profiles and reduction degrees obtained from the simulations satisfactorily agreed with the experimental measurements.