Abstract
In current bath smelting and converting operations, submerged gas injection, bath temperature measurement, and bath composition sampling are three separate systems often requiring smelter operators to physically be above or behind the vessels. Low pressure tuyeres are prone to plugging, which requires mechanical punching. Bath temperature measurement is sometimes automatic yet cumbersome. Bath sampling to determine matte grade is typically manual and risky. Our vision for the industry is that all three tasks, meaning gas injection, bath temperature measurement, and matte grade determination, should be performed by “intelligent tuyeres” without any human intervention, and therefore safer for operators. This paper describes the principle and early development of this smarter and safer tuyere, which consists in implementing sonic injection for stable and punchless blowing in combination with optometric sensors to measure bath temperature and matte grade through the punchless tuyeres that continuously offer a free field of view into the bath. Sonic tuyeres and optometric sensors have been tested or implemented separately at different smelters but not yet together. At this time, the authors are actively seeking the interest and approval of a smelter currently using sonic tuyeres to test their “intelligent tuyere” concept in production.