PROCESS DESCRIPTION

The cupola furnace has a special significance for the production of cast iron. Over the decades a great deal of development work has been carried out to optimise melting performance and costs. Scrap pig iron, recycled material and aggregates are loaded into the oven from the top and pre-heated on their way to the melting zone. Melt and slag is separated from each other and continuously or discontinuously tapped off.  

 

Energy for the melting process in the cupola furnace, with the exception of the cokeless cupola furnace, is created through the combustion of coke. The oxygen-enriched air necessary for the process is fed into the combustion zone via wind nozzles.  

The combustion zone is covered by the melting zone, further creating a reduction zone. The use of oxygen is particularly effective when the feed system used allows it to penetrate deeply into the coke bed. This can be attained through addition of oxygen at supersonic speeds. The aim is to achieve a uniform temperature increase and an even melting of the feed over the entire furnace cross-section without additional wear to the refractory material.  

Advantages:

Reduction in coke rate
Increase in performance
Higher tapping temperature
Faster reaction speeds
Greater flexibility
Increased temperature in the melt zone
Even temperature distribution over the shaft cross-section
Lower production costs
Lower emissions