Recent Trends in Blast-furnace Operation and Design

THE trying times experienced by the steel industry during the past four years have emphasized the necessity of producing pig iron at the lowest possible cost. The trend in both design and operation of blast furnaces has been toward this end rather than securing maximum production from a unit or group of units. In the following discussion the trend in design of stacks and auxiliary equipment will be taken up before operation is considered. Although few furnaces have been constructed in the past few years, the trend is definitely toward larger furnaces with a hearth diameter of 24 or 25 ft. Such a furnace is very flexible, being able to produce efficiently any desired daily tonnage between 500 and 1000 or more. The detail of the design of furnace stacks, with the exception of the top, has changed little in recent years.