A burner comprises a central passageway and outlets for fuel and for stabilizing oxidant arranged peripherally around the central passageway, and comprises outlets within the burner through which biasing gas, such as gas comprising oxygen, can be injected to enable control of the direction of the flame that is generated by combustion of the fuel and the oxidant at the face of the burner.

Integrated PGM converting process. The process includes smelting a catalyst material in a primary furnace, smelting the primary furnace slag in a secondary furnace, converting the collector alloys from the primary and secondary furnaces in a converter to recover PGM enriched alloy and converter slag, separating the recovered converter slag into first and second converter slag portions, and supplying the first converter slag portion to the secondary furnace for smelting with the primary furnace slag. The process can also include low- or no-flux converting; refractory protectant addition; magnetic slag separation; partial feed pre-oxidation; staged slagging; and/or jacketing the converter.

The process includes melting an initial collector alloy charge to start a converter cycle, introducing feed and injecting oxygen into the alloy pool, allowing ferrous slag to collect, terminating feed introduction and oxygen injection to tap the slag, repeating the feed introduction/oxygen injection/slag tapping sequence a plurality of times, and then tapping the alloy to end the cycle. A delay before non-final slag tappings allows any entrained alloy to settle back into the alloy pool, but the final slag tapping is commenced promptly and alloy is optionally entrained. Slag from the final tapping that may contain entrained alloy can be recycled to the converter, e.g., in a subsequent cycle. The process can also include low- or no-flux converting; refractory protectant addition; slag separation; partial feed pre-oxidation; smelting the slag in a secondary furnace with primary furnace slag; and/or jacketing the converter.

A burner-lance unit (1) includes at least two gas connections (2a, 2b, 2c), a burner tube (3), and a lance tube (4) that is placed concentrically in the burner tube (3). The burner tube (3) and the lance tube (4) both have a gas inlet end and a gas outlet end (15). The lance tube (4) has a de Laval nozzle (4a) at the gas outlet end thereof. The de Laval nozzle (4a) is releasably connected to the lance tube (4). The burner tube (3) has a burner nozzle (3a) which is releasably connected to the burner tube (3).

To clearly observe the inside of a furnace where an object is heated by a burner. The burner includes: a lens; an imaging device; and a multiple pipe structure including: an inner pipe that surrounds the lens; an outer pipe that surrounds the inner pipe, separated from the inner pipe by a lens coolant passage; a gaseous fuel pipe radially outward of the outer pipe and operable to inject gaseous fuel; a combustion-supporting gas pipe radially outward of the outer pipe and operable to inject combustion-supporting gas; and a cooling pipe outermost in the multiple pipe structure that surrounds the gaseous fuel pipe and the combustion-supporting gas pipe.

A method that, regarding a process of refining molten iron, can increase the thermal margin and the amount of cold iron source to be used. A burner having jetting holes for jetting a fuel and a combustion supporting gas is provided at a leading end part of one lance that top-blows an oxidizing gas to molten iron contained in a converter-type vessel, or at a leading end part of another separate lance. A powdery auxiliary raw material or an auxiliary raw material processed into a powder form that is blown into the molten iron from the one lance or the other lance passes through a flame formed by the burner. This top-blowing lance for a converter is configured to secure a predetermined heating time and powder-fuel ratio. Also, a method for adding an auxiliary raw material and a method for refining of molten iron that use this top-blowing lance.

A molten iron refining method having, an auxiliary material, and an oxidizing gas supplied through a top-blowing lance, to a cold iron source and molten pig iron that are contained/fed in a converter-type vessel, and molten iron is subjected to a refining process. A pre-charged cold iron source is charged into the converter-type vessel at an amount not larger than 0.15 times. A furnace-top-added cold iron source that's part or all of the cold iron source and added from a furnace top is fed during the refining process. A burner at a leading end of the top-blowing lance that spray holes through which a fuel and a combustion-supporting gas are ejected. During the refining process, a powdery auxiliary material processed into powder that's part of the auxiliary material is blown in, to pass through a flame formed by the burner.

Converting process with slag separation and recycle to the converter. The process includes introducing converter feed into the pot holding a molten alloy pool, oxygen injection into the pool, tapping the slag, and tapping the PGM-enriched alloy. The collector alloy contains no less than 0.5 wt % PGM, 40 wt % iron, and 0.5 wt % nickel, and no more than 3 wt % sulfur and 3 wt % copper, and the recovered slag is separated into recycle and non-recycle portions. The recycle slag portion preferably contains more PGM than the non-recycle portion. The process can also include low- or no-flux converting; using a refractory protectant in the converter; magnetic separation of slag; partial pre-oxidation of the converter feed; smelting catalyst material in a primary furnace to produce the collector alloy; and/or smelting the converter slag in a secondary furnace with slag from the primary furnace.

Converting process with partial pre-oxidation of PGM collector alloy. The process includes partially pre-oxidizing a raw alloy, introducing an initial charge of the partially pre-oxidized alloy into a converter pot, melting the initial charge, introducing converter feed to the pool, oxygen injection into the pool, tapping the slag, and tapping the PGM-enriched alloy. The collector alloy contains no less than 0.5 wt % PGM, 40 wt % iron, and 0.5 wt % nickel, and no more than 3 wt % sulfur and 3 wt % copper. The process can also include low- or no-flux converting; using a refractory protectant in the converter; magnetic separation of slag; recycling part of the slag to the converter; smelting catalyst material in a primary furnace to produce the collector alloy; and/or smelting the converter slag in a secondary furnace with slag from the primary furnace.

Jacketed rotary converter. The converter includes an inclined pot mounted for rotation about a longitudinal axis, a refractory lining for holding a molten alloy pool, an opening in a top of the pot for introducing feed, a lance for injecting oxygen-containing gas, a heat transfer jacket for the pot adjacent the refractory lining, and a coolant system to circulate a heat transfer medium through the jacket to remove heat from the alloy pool in thermal communication with the refractory lining. Also disclosed is a PGM converting process using the jacketed rotary converter. The process can also include low- or no-flux converting; refractory protectant addition; slag separation; partial feed pre-oxidation; staged slagging; and/or smelting the slag in a secondary furnace with primary furnace slag.