Crystallization Behaviors of Blast Furnace (BF) Slag in a Phase Change Cooling Process
Blast furnace (BF) slag is the principal byproduct formed during the iron making process, which generates a considerable amount of thermal energy. However, to simultaneously recover the maximum amount of residual heat and obtain vitreous slag using a low conduction coefficient of air is a primary challenge of the dry granulation technique, which has not been solved by either fundamental research or engineering applications. In the current study, the evolution of temperature inside molten BF slag was experimentally investigated using the directional solidification technique to calculate the local heat transfer coefficient and the average cooling rates. Furthermore, the effects of the average cooling rate on the vitreous phase content of the BF slag during solidification were investigated based on X ray diffraction (XRD) technology. The results indicate that the average cooling rate from the cooling side to the adiabatic side gradually decreased due to the increase in heat resistance and latent heat release.