en.Wedoany.com Reported - China's Henan Yuguang Group Co., Ltd. has completed the upgrade of its molten slag direct processing system at Smelting Plant No. 1, enabling high-temperature liquid slag to be sent directly into the fuming furnace without cooling, significantly reducing coal consumption and improving the recovery rates of valuable metals such as zinc and lead.
In July this year, a new energy slag pot truck began transporting liquid slag between the smelting section of the double-side blowing system and the fuming furnace section of the double-bottom blowing system within the plant. The traditional process required the liquid slag to be first quenched and cooled, then reheated in the fuming furnace, resulting in high energy consumption and a lengthy process, which frontline workers described as "reheating a cooked meal that has gone cold." Zhao Xi, head of the Equipment and Energy Department at the plant, explained that each ton of slag requires an additional 100 kilograms of coal for cooling and reheating. With an annual output of approximately 100,000 tons of slag, the pressure on energy consumption and carbon emissions is significant.
Wang Yongjun, deputy general manager of the joint-stock company, organized on-site meetings with personnel from the Metallurgical Design and Research Institute and Smelting Plant No. 1, proposing that hot slag should not be cooled before being reheated, and that both the space occupied by cold slag and the direct processing of hot slag needed to be addressed simultaneously. Technical staff from the design institute developed the "molten slag direct processing system": liquid slag is not discharged onto the ground or cooled, but directly enters the fuming furnace. Calculations show that the new process reduces coal consumption, improves the recovery rates of valuable metals such as zinc and lead, lowers carbon emissions, and creates greater resource value.
The project faced the challenge of scheduling conflicts between production and upgrades. The renovation area of the fuming furnace section was adjacent to the core production zone, and according to safety regulations, construction could not proceed during production. Chen Yaping, a construction supervisor from the design institute (who has years of experience working on the Jiangxi Yuanfeng project site), coordinated with Chen Lujun, head of the fuming furnace section, and Yan Yage, head of the smelting section, to utilize the intervals between two slag discharges from the fuming furnace, squeezing out about an hour and a half for construction. After each slag discharge, the construction team immediately entered the site for hoisting, welding, positioning, and other tasks, restoring the site and removing warning lines half an hour before the next slag discharge. On the smelting section side, section head Miao Xiangyang proactively coordinated to schedule crane usage during production gaps.
During construction, a 25-ton overhead crane was blocked by the factory building gate and could not enter. After measuring the distance from the guide rail to the roof, Chen Yaping decided to deploy a large boom lift truck to carefully place the crane onto the track from above. Miao Xiaocheng, the mechanical maintenance squad leader of the fuming furnace section, led his team in repeated tests on the third-floor platform, independently designing a positioning device diagram and installing a slag pot positioning device on the trolley, enabling precise entry of the slag pot into the tilting device. The originally scheduled trial production date was mid-April, but due to the manufacturer's holiday during the Qingming Festival, Miao Xiaocheng proposed that the team make changes independently to avoid delays. The project also adopted over ten rationalization suggestions from frontline workers.
The project entered trial production on May 6. Liquid slag is directly discharged from the slag pot into the fuming furnace, eliminating the intermediate steps of cooling, crushing, and reheating, resulting in a significant reduction in coal consumption and a notable increase in zinc and lead recovery rates. Li Hengjiang, director of Smelting Plant No. 1, stated that after the project's commissioning, it can process approximately 100,000 tons of molten hot slag annually, recover over 15,000 tons of valuable metals such as lead and zinc each year, and save energy sources including coal, water, and oxygen. Through collaborative processing, resources are fully utilized, reducing the environmental pollution risk of smelting hazardous waste.
Against the backdrop of the country's vigorous promotion of carbon peak in the industrial sector and acceleration of green manufacturing system construction, Henan Yuguang Smelting Plant No. 1 and the Metallurgical Design and Research Institute have forged an efficient and low-carbon green production path through coordinated efforts in simultaneous production and upgrades.
