A meter for controlling the flow of feedstock from an in-feed hopper to a distillation unit, including a cylindrical roller having a first end, a second end, and an outer diameter, the roller defining a recess that extends helically substantially from the first end to the second end, a sleeve circumscribing a portion of the outer diameter of the cylindrical roller, the sleeve having an open first side that allows the passage of feedstock into the recess of the roller, and an open second side that allows the passage of feedstock out of the recess of the roller as the roller rotates relative to the sleeve, and a housing fixedly attached to the sleeve and capable of attachment to the in-feed hopper and the distillation unit such that feedstock must pass through the housing to get from the in-feed hopper to the distillation unit.

A vessel for containing direct reduced iron (DRI), such as a reactor for the production of DRI, a bin or a hopper or other container for storing or feeding DRI to melting furnaces or briquetting machines, includes at least an upper zone, defined by a first lateral wall having a substantially cylindrical tubular shape, and a discharge zone, positioned below the upper zone and defined by a second lateral wall having a substantially truncated cone shape converging toward a lower discharge aperture. The second lateral wall has an internal surface at least partly lined by an internal lining.

A vessel for containing direct reduced iron (DRI), such as a reactor for the production of DRI, a bin or a hopper or other container for storing or feeding DRI to melting furnaces or briquetting machines, includes at least an upper zone, defined by a first lateral wall having a substantially cylindrical tubular shape, and a discharge zone, positioned below the upper zone and defined by a second lateral wall having a substantially truncated cone shape converging toward a lower discharge aperture. The second lateral wall has an internal surface at least partly lined by an internal lining.

A continuous concentrate feeding equipment of the present invention includes a plurality of concentrate supply mechanisms (50) each including a pressure-adjusting tank that temporarily accumulates granular concentrate; a lift tank that receives the concentrate from the pressure-adjusting tank (50) and discharges the concentrate to a smelting furnace; and a pressure control system that controls pressures of the pressure-adjusting tank (50) and the lift tank (51) such that the concentrate is continuously supplied from the lift tank to the smelting furnace throughout a time when the concentrate is received in the pressure-adjusting tank (50) and a time when the concentrate is discharged into the lift tank (51). The plurality of concentrate supply mechanisms (100) to (103) are connected in parallel to a conveyor for carrying in concentrate from an upstream side of the conveyor to a downstream side thereof. Supply control means is provided to control supply of the concentrate such that the concentrate reception of the concentrate supply mechanism is performed in order from the upstream side to the downstream side and the concentrate reception of the concentrate supply mechanism at an upstream end is started before the end of the concentrate reception of the concentrate supply mechanism at an downstream end.

A stockhouse arrangement for a metallurgical furnace includes a set of storage bins granular material; a material feeding device associated with the set of storage bins, the material feeding device being arranged above the set of storage bins and allowing to selectively fill each of the storage bins with granular material; and a raw material feed system to convey raw granular material to the material feeding device, wherein a respective weighing hopper is arranged downstream of each storage bin and including an outlet associated with a feeding gate, and a charge conveying system is provided for collecting and conveying material selectively discharged from the weighing hoppers through their respective feeding gate, the material feeding device being configured to screen raw granular material arriving from the raw material feed system such that only material with desired granulometry is forwarded to the respective bin(s).

A stockhouse arrangement for a metallurgical furnace includes a set of storage bins granular material; a material feeding device associated with the set of storage bins, the material feeding device being arranged above the set of storage bins and allowing to selectively fill each of the storage bins with granular material; and a raw material feed system to convey raw granular material to the material feeding device, wherein a respective weighing hopper is arranged downstream of each storage bin and including an outlet associated with a feeding gate, and a charge conveying system is provided for collecting and conveying material selectively discharged from the weighing hoppers through their respective feeding gate, the material feeding device being configured to screen raw granular material arriving from the raw material feed system such that only material with desired granulometry is forwarded to the respective bin(s).

Disclosed is a blast furnace apparatus includes: a rotating chute; a plurality of tuyeres; a profile measurement device configured to measure surface profiles of a burden charged into the blast furnace through the rotating chute; and a blowing amount controller configured to control a blowing amount of at least one of hot blast or pulverized coal in each of the plurality of tuyeres, in which the profile measurement device includes: a radio wave distance meter installed on the blast furnace top and configured to measure the distance to the surface of the burden charged; and an arithmetic unit configured to derive the surface profiles of the burden on a basis of distance data for the entire blast furnace related to distances to the surface of the burden obtained by scanning a detection wave of the radio wave distance meter in the blast furnace in a circumferential direction.

Disclosed is a blast furnace apparatus includes: a rotating chute; a plurality of tuyeres; a profile measurement device configured to measure surface profiles of a burden charged into the blast furnace through the rotating chute; and a blowing amount controller configured to control a blowing amount of at least one of hot blast or pulverized coal in each of the plurality of tuyeres, in which the profile measurement device includes: a radio wave distance meter installed on the blast furnace top and configured to measure the distance to the surface of the burden charged; and an arithmetic unit configured to derive the surface profiles of the burden on a basis of distance data for the entire blast furnace related to distances to the surface of the burden obtained by scanning a detection wave of the radio wave distance meter in the blast furnace in a circumferential direction.

A method for charging raw materials into a blast furnace is as follows. The blast furnace includes a bell-less charging device that includes a plurality of main hoppers and an auxiliary hopper. The auxiliary hopper has a smaller capacity than the main hoppers. The method includes discharging ore charged in at least one of the plurality of main hoppers, and then sequentially charging the ore from a furnace center side toward a furnace wall side by using a rotating chute. After charging of the ore is started, only the ore is charged from the rotating chute at least until charging of 45 mass % of the ore is completed based on a total amount of the ore to be charged per batch; then, discharging of low-reactivity ore charged in the auxiliary hopper is started; and then, the low-reactivity ore is charged together with the ore from the rotating chute.

A method for charging raw materials into a blast furnace is as follows. The blast furnace includes a bell-less charging device that includes a plurality of main hoppers and an auxiliary hopper. The auxiliary hopper has a smaller capacity than the main hoppers. The method includes discharging ore charged in at least one of the plurality of main hoppers, and then sequentially charging the ore from a furnace center side toward a furnace wall side by using a rotating chute. After charging of the ore is started, only the ore is charged from the rotating chute at least until charging of 45 mass % of the ore is completed based on a total amount of the ore to be charged per batch; then, discharging of low-reactivity ore charged in the auxiliary hopper is started; and then, the low-reactivity ore is charged together with the ore from the rotating chute.