A charging system for a shaft smelt reduction furnace includes a frame structure for mounting on a top charge opening of a shaft smelt reduction vessel; a center shaft arrangement supported by the frame structure and for removing off-gas gases from the furnace and to introduce granular charge materials to form a stack of materials in the furnace. The center shaft arrangement includes a center hood for off-gas extraction; a pair of first and second feed channels for first and second materials. The center hood includes a pair of facing off-gas panels defining an off-gas channel. The partition walls include lower portions that extend towards each other below the center hood to define a center feed passage, whereby material descending through the first feed channels may accumulate on lower portions according to the angle of repose of the material, permitting self-adjustment of the first material stock-line in the shaft arrangement.

The invention relates to a plant complex for steel production comprising a blast furnace for producing pig iron, a converter steel mill for producing crude steel and a gas-conducting system for gases that occur when producing the pig iron and/or producing the crude steel. According to the invention, the plant complex additionally has a chemical plant or biotechnological plant, connected to the gas-conducting system, and also energy storage for covering at least part of the electricity demand of the plant complex. Also the subject of the invention is a method for operating the plant complex.

Controlling circumferential variability in a blast furnace may include generating a predictive model that sets up a relationship between a standard deviation of a selected state variable, state variables and one or more control variables in blast furnace operation for predicting the standard deviation. A number of circumferential sections of the blast furnace is defined, and the predictive model associated with the selected state variable for each of the circumferential sections is trained based on process data of the blast furnace. A plurality trained predictive models is generated associated with different circumferential sections and different selected state variables. One or more future control variable set points that minimize a sum of the plurality of predictive models, is determined. One or more future control variable set points is transmitted to a control system to control the blast furnace operation.

Controlling circumferential variability in a blast furnace may include generating a predictive model that sets up a relationship between a standard deviation of a selected state variable, state variables and one or more control variables in blast furnace operation for predicting the standard deviation. A number of circumferential sections of the blast furnace is defined, and the predictive model associated with the selected state variable for each of the circumferential sections is trained based on process data of the blast furnace. A plurality trained predictive models is generated associated with different circumferential sections and different selected state variables. One or more future control variable set points that minimize a sum of the plurality of predictive models, is determined. One or more future control variable set points is transmitted to a control system to control the blast furnace operation.

Controlling circumferential variability in a blast furnace may include generating a predictive model that sets up a relationship between a standard deviation of a selected state variable, state variables and one or more control variables in blast furnace operation for predicting the standard deviation. A number of circumferential sections of the blast furnace is defined, and the predictive model associated with the selected state variable for each of the circumferential sections is trained based on process data of the blast furnace. A plurality trained predictive models is generated associated with different circumferential sections and different selected state variables. One or more future control variable set points that minimize a sum of the plurality of predictive models, is determined. One or more future control variable set points is transmitted to a control system to control the blast furnace operation.

Controlling circumferential variability in a blast furnace may include generating a predictive model that sets up a relationship between a standard deviation of a selected state variable, state variables and one or more control variables in blast furnace operation for predicting the standard deviation. A number of circumferential sections of the blast furnace is defined, and the predictive model associated with the selected state variable for each of the circumferential sections is trained based on process data of the blast furnace. A plurality trained predictive models is generated associated with different circumferential sections and different selected state variables. One or more future control variable set points that minimize a sum of the plurality of predictive models, is determined. One or more future control variable set points is transmitted to a control system to control the blast furnace operation.

The invention relates to a plant complex for steel production comprising a blast furnace for producing pig iron, a converter steel mill for producing crude steel, a gas-conducting system for gases that occur when producing the pig iron and/or the crude steel, and a power-generating plant for electricity generation. The power-generating plant is designed as a gas-turbine power-generating plant or gas-turbine and steam-turbine power-generating plant and is operated with a gas that comprises at least a partial amount of the blast-furnace top gas that occurs in the blast furnace and/or a partial amount of the converter gas. The plant complex additionally comprises a chemical plant and a biotechnological plant, the power-generating plant, the chemical plant and the biotechnological plant being arranged in a parallel setup with regard to the gas supply. The gas-conducting system comprises an operationally controllable gas-distributing device for dividing the streams of gas.

The invention relates to a method for producing syngas in combined operation with a metallurgical plant which comprises at least one blast furnace for producing crude iron, a converter steel mill and a coke-oven plant. Part of the blast-furnace top gas that is produced in the production of crude iron and/or part of the converter gas that occurs in the converter steel mill and/or part of the coke-oven gas that is produced in the coke-oven plant are mixed. By choosing the gas streams that are brought together to form a mixed gas and/or by changing the mixing ratios of the gas streams that are brought together, at least two streams of useful gas are produced, differing with regard to their composition and respectively prepared to form streams of syngas.

The invention relates to a plant complex for steel production comprising a blast furnace for producing pig iron, a converter steel mill for producing crude steel, a gas-conducting system for gases that occur in the production of pig iron and/or in the production of crude steel, and a power-generating plant for electricity generation. The power-generating plant is operated with a gas that comprises at least a partial amount of the blast-furnace top gas that occurs in the production of pig iron and/or a partial amount of the converter gas. According to the invention, a chemical or biotechnological plant is provided and connected to the gas-conducting system and arranged in parallel with the power-generating plant with respect to the gas supply. Externally obtained electricity and power-generating plant electricity are used to cover the electricity demand of the plant complex.

A device for mounting and/or dismantling staves on/from an inner wall of a shaft furnace, the device including a circular monorail for supporting at least one stave positioning hoist, where the monorail is divided into at least four separate arc portions, where each arc portion is connected to a neighboring arc portion by means of a rotatable connection, the arc portions are moveable between an unfolded position, in which the arc portions form a circular monorail, and a folded position, in which the overall size of the monorail is, in one direction, reduced.