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).

Provided is a surface profile detection apparatus of a burden in a blast furnace having a simple apparatus configuration and capable of detecting a deposited state of the burden while a shooter is turning and enabling an operation close to a theoretical deposition profile. The surface profile detection apparatus of a burden in a blast furnace includes a rotating plate mounted immediately above an opening part of the blast furnace and configured to rotate about an opening center of the opening part as a central axis, a rotating means for rotating the rotating plate, and a transmission and reception means for transmitting a detection wave such as a microwave or a millimeter wave in a linear shape along a diametrical direction of the rotating plate and receiving the detection wave. The surface profile detection apparatus performs transmission and reception in a direction orthogonal to a rotating direction of the rotating plate while rotating the rotating plate in synchronization with turning of the shooter so that transmission of the detection wave is not interrupted.

Provided is a blast furnace operation method that enables lowering of the reducing agent ratio of a blast furnace. The blast furnace operation method includes injecting pulverized coal through tuyeres of a blast furnace. The method includes adjusting coal containing moisture and volatile matter to form adjusted pulverized coal having a specific surface area within a range of 2 m.sup.2/g or more and 1000 m.sup.2/g or less, a lower heating value of 27170 kJ/kg or more, and a volatile matter content within a range of 3 mass % or more and 25 mass % or less. The method further includes injecting, through the tuyeres of the blast furnace, pulverized coal in which the adjusted pulverized coal, in a mixing ratio of 10 mass % or more, is mixed.

A surface detection apparatus for a blast furnace is provided. An antenna is fixed to a side of a container attached to an opening portion of the blast furnace and having a bottom surface opened in correspondence to the opening portion. A reflection plate is disposed in the container immediately above the opening portion so as to face the opening portion and the antenna. A tilt angle varying mechanism and a rotation mechanism for the reflection plate are configured as a double pipe structure and are provided at an anti-antenna side of the reflection plate.

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.

The present invention relates to an ironmaking feedstock comprising a solid CaFe.sub.3O.sub.5 phase. The ironmaking feedstock may be produced by a process comprising reacting a combination of a calcium source and magnetite at elevated temperature under reducing conditions sufficient to produce the solid CaFe.sub.3O.sub.5 phase. The product may be in the form of agglomerates such as pellets, with a compressive strength such that the product is suitable for transportation.

A method for charging raw materials into a blast furnace is provided. 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 15 mass % of the ore is completed based on a total amount of the ore to be charged per batch; then discharging of small-size coke charged in the auxiliary hopper is started; and then, the small-size coke is charged together with the ore from the rotating chute.

The present invention discloses a device and method for measuring the softening and melting performances of iron ore in blast furnace under a reducing condition. The device includes a high temperature furnace, a gas supply system, a loading system and a weighing system, where the high temperature furnace is provided with a hearth, which is provided therein with a graphite crucible and a temperature acquisition device; the gas supply system is used to inject a reducing gas including N.sub.2, H.sub.2, CO.sub.2 and CO into the hearth; the gas supply system includes a gas storage device and a gas mixing device; the loading system includes a loading rod; an upper end of the loading rod is connected with a loading device and a displacement sensor, and a lower end of the loading rod is provided with a loading head; the weighing system is used to weigh a droplet and iron ore specimen.

A device for determining the topography of the burden surface in a shaft furnace (10), the device comprising a radar device (20) that scans the burden surface (18) and has an antenna device (22) arranged in the area of a furnace cover (13), the antenna device being arranged on an axis of rotation (24) that is inclined in relation to a vertical axis (15) of the shaft furnace at an angle of inclination and being rotatable about the axis of rotation by means of a drive device in such a manner that a radar fan beam (28) formed by the emitted radar radiation of the antenna device is incident upon the burden surface along a profile line p and sweeps across the burden surface as the antenna device rotates.

The invention relates to the use of pellets comprising one or more thermoplastic material(s) of more than 40%, based on the total dry weight of the pellets and one or more cellulosic material(s) of more than 20%, based on the total dry weight of the pellets, as a reducing agent in a process for making pig iron in a blast furnace. Said pellets can be provided in unground form, as a partial replacement of coke through the top of the blast furnace, or can be provided as reducing agent in the raceway in an amount of higher than 10 kg/ton iron.