Effect of coke reactivity on softening-melting and dripping behaviors of sinter

The use of high reactivity coke in blast furnaces is an important direction for low-carbon development. In this study, we investigated the effect of coke reactivity on the softening-melting behaviors of the sinter. The results show that the gasification temperature of coke decreased with increasing coke reactivity. With increasing coke reactivity from 24.75% to 45.11%, the initial melting temperature rose from 1294°C to 1312°C, the dripping temperature dropped from 1522°C to 1507°C and the melting region decreased from 228°C to 195°C, respectively. The cohesive zone shifted downward and the thickness narrowed. The permeability index and highest differential pressure dropped from 1219.67 KPa·°C to 607.61 KPa·°C and from 7.0962 KPa to 4.8523 KPa, respectively. Coke with high reactivity can improve the gas permeability of burden. The gas utilization ratio in the softening-melting and dripping processes of the sinter raised by about 2% with increasing coke reactivity.