DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to instant slag and metal processing in steel industry and more particularly to a setup and a process for operation in metal manufacturing industry for processing slag and metal within a very short span of time while minimizing the metallic loss (burning loss, handling loss etc). This technique will eliminate the formation of large heaps of slag and will also recover the metallic content of slag while reducing the burning loss of metal to less than half of that of the current practise favouring reduction in cost of production.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In a steel making process there are various by-products which are formed during various reactions that are carried out in the steel making operation. In this process, slag is one of the major by-product which is formed due to the impurities present in the hot metal that is obtained from the iron making. It is well known that the hot metal is charged with few percent of scrap as a coolant. The process starts by blowing /arcing and the slag formation takes place, after many chemical reactions, steel is made either with the help of L D convertor or Arc furnace by complete removal of impurities. After the steel is produced with slag floating over the steel due to the density difference the tapping of steel is done from the furnace through a hole called tap hole. After the completion of tapping (collecting liquid metal in a ladle), the leftover product in the furnace is called slag. Then the leftover slag is completely dumped in the slag thimble provided. There will be metallic remains/particles that also flow with slag into the slag thimble due to the slag metal mixture. This slag is dumped into a pit. After the pit is filled with slag, it is cooled using water. Once it is cooled, it is excavated using heavy earthmovers and sent to an open yard for processing.

In conventional slag processing, there are many deficiencies which not only make the processing difficult but also increase the cost of slag processing and make the process very much unsafe and uneconomical. These problems are as listed below:

1. Large heaps of slag are formed which makes dumping process very difficult and unsafe.
2. Heavy earth movers are employed which increase the processing cost as well as generate large amounts of pollution (due to excessive diesel consumption).
3. Due to Lancing, there is too much burning loss of metal. Lancing also creates harmful fumes. Besides this, too much oxygen as well as lancing pipes are used for lancing.
4. Repeated loading and unloading of slag from/to dumper, with the use of poclains/payloaders. This unnecessary usage of heavy earthmovers creates dust and smoke, thus polluting the environment unnecessarily.
5. During rains, water falling on the heaps of slag leeches away lime along with it and spreads it to the surrounding areas thus causing land pollution.

There has been therefore a need in the slag handling process in steel industry to develop an efficient system and method of slag processing and metal recovery from slag requiring less land area and avoiding repeated use of costly equipments like dumper and heavy earthmovers and would be fast, safe, environment friendly and cost effective.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The basic object of the present invention is directed to provide for advancements in slag and metal processing in steel industry involving a system and method for processing slag requiring less space and time for processing slag and recovery of metal therefrom in fast, safe and reliable manner reducing metallic loss(burning loss, handling loss etc), eliminating environmental pollution, avoiding repeated use of heavy dumper and earth movers, thus favouring reduced cost of production.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

Thus according to the basic aspect of the present invention is directed to provide a system setup for slag and metal processing in steel industry within a very short span of time while minimizing the metallic loss, comprising

a concrete platform for storing slags of different characteristics separately in small piles thereon,
balling and lancing means used in optimum combination for breaking slags in small pieces minimizing burning loss and feeding water cooled slags to crusher hopper directly from said platform after separating metal thereform by magnetic separator for further processing.

A further aspect of the present invention is directed to said system setup for slag and metal processing comprising
a concrete platform of suitable height and large area for storing substantial stock of slag from Steel Melting Shop(SMS) in small piles,
a plurality of water monitors to cool the piles of slags;
magnetic separator to remove/recover metal pieces from from the cooled piles of slag;
EOT cranes carrying large and heavy metal balls to break large slag-metal skulls to smaller pieces by repeated balling; and lance cutting means optionally used to reduce thickness of skull that cannot be broken by balling only so as to reduce metal burning loss;
separator/crusher placed adjacent to platform with height of hopper at lower height for direct feeding of cooled piles of slag from platform for further processing.

A still further aspect of the present invention is directed to said system setup for slag and metal processing comprising

a large concrete platform at a specific height from the ground level of in relation to adjacent separator/crusher where the incoming slag is dumped in small piles;
separator and crusher used to recover the metal contents from the slag and to crush the remaining metal free slag for dumping;

De-dusting systems placed at required points for absorbing all the dust and fumes from the surrounding areas;

separate areas allocated for dumping HMDS slag as well as Secondary Steel Making Slag so that this slag(containing high sulphur content) does not mix with the rest of the slag/metal while processing;

EOT cranes placed in the setup layout to perform the Balling job in order to break large metal pieces(skull, tundish, jams etc.) and also to load them to dumpers to send it to scrap yard of the plant;

Oxygen storage point for placement of oxygen bullet in the layout to be used for Lancing and/or operating Pug Machine for cutting large slag piece/skull;

a water pump house for pumping water for cooling and other purposes;

a plurality of Water Monitors selectively placed in the layout which are used for controlled manual cooling of slag as well as for dust control.

C-Type Bin placed with concrete platform where the crushed material will fall down, to facilitate extraction of the processed material as well as avoid the crater formation at that point.

Another aspect of the present invention is directed to a method for slag and metal processing in steel industry within a very short span of time while minimizing the metallic loss using the system setup as described above comprising

dumping the slag coming from Steel Melting Shop (SMS) on said concrete platform in separate piles so that no heap is formed;
cooling these piles of slag using water from a plurality of water monitors located around the platform;
removing metal pieces from the cooled piles of slag using magnetic separator/poclain;
feeding cooled piles of slag into the hopper of the Separator/Crusher for further processing;
processing of large skull by magnetic balling using EOT Crane, wherein large metal skulls are broken by repeated balling on them using a large and heavy metal ball, which is lifted and dropped on the skull using said EOT Crane;
using lancing to reduce thickness of large sized skull before balling to reduce burning loss;
feeding smaller pieces to crusher and larger pieces on dumper for further processing/dumping in stock yard.

Yet another aspect of the present invention is directed to said method wherein Slag coming from different sources are processed at different points so that any differences in the characteristics of different types of slag do not hinder the processing so that different types of slag having different chemical properties can be obtained at different points.

A still further aspect of the present invention is directed to said method wherein the large size skulls that cannot be broken by a few drops of the ball are processed differently comprising: first lancing carried out on these skulls till half the thickness of the skulls and then again balling done on them to break them so as to avoid the burning loss of the metal (skull).

The objects and advantages of the invention are described hereunder with reference to the following accompanying non limiting illustrative drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWING

Figure 1: shows the schematic layout of the set up for instant slag and metal processing according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION WITH REFERENCE TO DRAWING

In the present invention, there is provided a layout and a procedure for processing slag as well as recovery of trapped metal therefrom implemented through a system with selectively deployed combination in a schematic layout configuration as illustrated in the accompanying Figure 1.

There are the following constituents of the layout:
1. Large Concrete Platform: There is a large concrete platform arrangement where the incoming slag shall be dumped. This platform will be at a specific height from the ground level of the separator/crusher.
2. Separator/Crusher setup: The separator and crusher will be used to recover the metal contents from the slag and to crush the remaining metal free slag for dumping.
3. De-dusting System: There will be De-dusting systems placed at required points for absorbing all the dust and fumes from the surrounding areas.
4. Separate dumping areas for HMDS and Secondary Steel Making Slag: There will be separate areas allocated for dumping HMDS slag as well as Secondary Steel Making Slag so that this slag(containing high sulphur content) doesn’t mix the rest of the slag/metal while processing.
5. EOT Crane setup: There will be EOT cranes placed in the layout which will perform the Balling job in order to break large metal pieces(skull, tundish, jams etc.) and also to load them to dumpers to send it to scrap yard of the plant.
6. Oxygen storage point: There will be placement of oxygen bullet in the layout. This oxygen will be used for Lancing and Pug Machine.
7. Water storage and pump house: There will be a water pump house for pumping water for cooling and other purposes.
8. Water monitor: There will be multiple Water Monitors placed in the layout which shall be used for controlled manual cooling of slag as well as for dust control.
9. C-Type Bin: At the place where the crushed material will fall down, a C-Type Bin will be placed with concrete platform which will facilitate extraction of the processed material as well as avoid the crater formation at that point.

Working Procedure: First of all, the slag that comes from Steel Melting Shop (SMS) is dumped on the concrete platform. This slag is dumped in separate piles so that no heap is formed. Then the water monitors are used for cooling these piles of slag. Since the slag is in small separate piles, it can be cooled in very small amount of time (within a day). After it is cooled, magnetic poclain is employed to remove metal pieces from the cooled piles of slag. Then these piles are fed into the hopper of the Separator/Crusher. Slag coming from different sources are processed at different points so that any differences in the characteristics of different types of slag do not hinder the processing. This also enables us to separate the different types of slag (having different chemical properties) so that different types of slag can be obtained at different points.

Another part of processing will be carried out in parallel to the Separating/Crushing process. It is the processing of large skull by magnetic balling using EOT Crane. Here, large metal skulls are broken by repeated balling on them using a large and heavy metal ball, which is lifted and dropped on the skull using an EOT Crane. The skulls that can’t be broken by a few drops of the ball are processed differently. First, lancing is done on these skulls till half the thickness of the skulls. Then, again balling is done on them to break them. If we lance only till half of the thickness of the skull and then break it further by balling, then we avoid the burning loss of the metal (skull).

It is thus possible by way of the above invention to provide for advancements in system and process for operation in metal manufacturing process for processing slag and metal much faster in very small amount of time while minimizing the metallic loss (burning loss, handling loss etc). This advancement is directed to eliminate the formation of large heaps of slag and will also process the metallic content while reducing the burning loss of metal to less than half of that of the current practise. The present invention thus provides a set up and method for instant slag and metal processing in steel industry in a fast, safe, environment friendly and cost effective manner by reducing metallic losses while recovering metal content of slag thus favouring reduced overall cost of production.
,CLAIMS:I Claim:

1. A system setup for slag and metal processing in steel industry within a very short span of time while minimizing the metallic loss, comprising

a concrete platform for storing slags of different characteristics separately in small piles thereon;
balling and lancing means used in optimum combination for breaking slags/large skulls in small pieces minimizing burning loss; and feeding water cooled slags to crusher hopper directly from said platform after separating metal therefrom by magnetic separator for further processing.

2. The system setup for slag and metal processing as claimed in claim 1 comprising
a concrete platform of suitable height and large area for storing substantial stock of slag from Steel Melting Shop(SMS) in small piles,
a plurality of water monitors to cool the piles of slags;
magnetic separator to remove/recover metal pieces from from the cooled piles of slag;
EOT cranes carrying large and heavy metal balls to break large slag-metal skulls to smaller pieces by repeated balling; and lance cutting means optionally used to reduce thickness of skull that cannot be broken by balling only so as to reduce metal burning loss;
separator/crusher placed adjacent to platform with height of hopper at lower height for direct feeding of cooled piles of slag from platform for further processing.

3. The system setup for slag and metal processing as claimed in anyone of claims 1 or 2 comprising

a large concrete platform at a specific height from the ground level, in relation to adjacent separator/crusher, where the incoming slag is dumped in small piles;

separator and crusher used to recover the metal contents from the slag and to crush the remaining metal free slag for dumping;

De-dusting systems placed at required points for absorbing all the dust and fumes from the surrounding areas;

separate areas allocated for dumping HMDS slag as well as Secondary Steel Making Slag so that this slag(containing high sulphur content) does not mix with the rest of the slag/metal while processing;

EOT cranes placed in the setup layout to perform the Balling job in order to break large metal pieces(skull, tundish, jams etc.) and also to load them to dumpers to send it to scrap yard of the plant;

Oxygen storage point for placement of oxygen bullet in the layout to be used for Lancing and/or operating Pug Machine for cutting large slag piece/skull;

a water pump house for pumping water for cooling and other purposes;

a plurality of Water Monitors selectively placed in the layout which are used for controlled manual cooling of slag as well as for dust control.

C-Type Bin placed with concrete platform where the crushed material will fall down, to facilitate extraction of the processed material as well as avoid the crater formation at that point.

4. A method for slag and metal processing in steel industry within a very short span of time while minimizing the metallic loss using the system setup as claimed in claims 1 to 3 comprising

dumping the slag coming from Steel Melting Shop (SMS) on said concrete platform in separate piles so that no heap is formed;
cooling these piles of slag using water from a plurality of water monitors located around the platform;
removing metal pieces from the cooled piles of slag using magnetic separator/poclain;
feeding cooled piles of slag into the hopper of the Separator/Crusher for further processing;
processing of large skull by magnetic balling using EOT Crane, wherein large metal skulls are broken by repeated balling on them using a large and heavy metal ball, which is lifted and dropped on the skull using said EOT Crane;
using lancing to reduce thickness of large sized skull before balling to reduce burning loss;
feeding smaller pieces to crusher and larger pieces on dumper for further processing/dumping in stock yard.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4 wherein Slag coming from different sources are processed at different points so that any differences in the characteristics of different types of slag do not hinder the processing so that different types of slag having different chemical properties can be obtained at different points.

6. A method as claimed in anyone of claims 4 or 5 wherein the large size skulls that cannot be broken by a few drops of the ball are processed differently comprising: first lancing carried out on these skulls till half the thickness of the skulls and then again balling done on them to break them so as to avoid the burning loss of the metal (skull).

Dated this the 3rd day of June, 2017
Anjan Sen
Of Anjan Sen & Associates
(Applicant’s Agent)