Fuel Economiser (Raw-material Pre-heating System)

Technology Features

In this process, a stationary chamber called fuel economizer is installed on the top of the feed chute of DRI rotary kiln. Iron ore continuously travels downward due to gravity inside the chamber and gets dried up/preheated by hot gas of the kiln before entering the kiln up to a temperature of around 700oC while the dolomite and coal follow the conventional route. The difference between the pre-heating kiln technology and the fuel economizer is that while the pre-heating kiln is a rotary kiln, the economizer is a stationary chamber installed parallel to the After-Burning Chamber (ABC) on the top of the feed chute of the kiln

Benefits

(for 100 tpd kiln):
1. Energy saving: 35 TJ/year
2. CO2 emission reduction: more than 3000 t/year

Co-Benefits

1.Reduced coal consumption
2.Increased productivity
3.Reduced cost of production

Cost

Investment Cost: approx. Rs 150 Lakh

Sources

1.Ministry of Steel - UNDP-GEF/Aus-Aid-Steel Project : Energy efficient technologies for small-scale steel sector in India – a Ready Reckoner
2.Published literature