This work is aimed at understanding the thermodynamic principles influencing the phosphorus partition between slag and steel during steelmaking, particularly during refining of high-phosphorus hot metal using the basic oxygen steelmaking (BOS) process. Mapping of the slag path has been carried out using a mass balance model based on input conditions and off-gas analysis, which has been validated by intermediate measurements of slag and metal composition in an industrial basic oxygen furnace (BOF). The slag composition is found to vary over a wide range of basicity (%CaO/%SiO2) and iron oxide content. The partition of phosphorus increases with progress of refining but reduces during the intermediate period, corresponding to a decrease in iron oxide concentration and formation of “dry slag”. The phosphorus partition ratio increases again towards the end of the process. The equilibrium partition ratios for such conditions have been theoretically estimated using slag “model(s)”, based on the estimated slag compositions. It is seen that the partition ratio of phosphorus remains within 45% – 60% of the equilibrium value, showing a gradual decrease with progress of the refining process. Equilibrium phosphorus partition ratios for slags containing low concentrations of MnO and Al2O3 have been experimentally determined, over the ranges of basicity and iron oxide concentration approximately corresponding to that observed in the typical BOS process. It is seen that the equilibrium phosphorus partition ratio is practically independent of basicity greater than 2.5 – 2.6, over the entire range of temperature and FeOx concentration studied. Variation of the activity of P2O5 with basicity and FeOx concentration has been investigated to explain the trends observed in the variation of phosphorus partition ratio. It is seen that the activity coefficient of P2O5 is lowest, and hence most conducive for removal of phosphorus from steel, over certain finite ranges of basicity and iron oxide concentration. It follows that the efficiency of dephosphorisation is likely to be maximum if the basic oxygen steelmaking process is operated within these ranges. Simultaneous with this work, mathematical correlations have been developed for estimation of P2O5 activity coefficient and phosphorus partition ratio as functions of slag composition. The correlations are compared with those proposed by earlier workers and are found to result in better predictions over certain composition ranges. / QC 20100623

In the present work, viscosities and sulphide capacities of high alumina blast furnace slags were investigated. The systems investigated were four component CaO-SiO2-MgO-Al2O3 quaternary system, CaO-SiO2-MgO-Al2O3-TiO2 and CaO-SiO2-MgO-Al2O3-CaF2 quinary systems. Viscosities of high alumina blast furnace slags were experimentally determined by the rotating cylinder method using Brookfield digital viscometer model LVDV-II+ pro. Experiments were conducted in the temperature range of 1573- 1873 K. The effects of temperature, basicity, TiO2, CaF2 and silica activity of slags on viscosity were studied. Viscosity decreases with basicity for high alumina blast furnace slags with increase in basicity and CaF2. At higher basicity (~0.8), slag viscosity decreases even with small amount of TiO2 (~2%) addition in the slag. With increase in silica activity in the range of 0.1 to 0.4,viscosity of slag increases and the increase is steeper below liquidus temperature. Sulphide capacity of the slag was measured using gas-slag equlibria. The liquid slag was equilibrated with Ar-CO-CO2-SO2 gas mixture. The slag systems studied were the same as in the case of viscosity measurements. Experiments were conducted in the temperature range of 1773 to 1873 K. Effect of temperature, basicity, MgO,TiO2 and CaF2 contents of slags on sulphide capacity were studied. As expected, sulphide capacity was found to increase with increase in temperature and basicity. At higher experimental temperature (~ 1873 K) TiO2 was found to decrease the sulphide capacity of slags. But, at lower temperature, there was no significant effect of TiO2 on the sulphide capacity. Sulphide capacity increases with increase in MgO content of slag if MgO content is more than 5%. Based on above experimental data, models were developed for estimation of viscosity and sulphide capacity of blast furnace slags. These models were later on applied for designing the slags for achieving the optimum slag characteristics so that slag volume can be reduced. With the help of these models slag volume was reduced to the extent of 5-10 kg per ton hot metal and also silicon content of the hot metal was reduced by around 10% with some improvement in slag viscosity and sulphide capacity of the slag. / QC 20100818

During the production of steel the oxide inclusion content partly depends on the reaction of the melt with the furnace lining, the ladle lining and the pouring system. The refractory material may be eroded by the molten steel and slag as well as corroded through chemical reactions with the slag and molten steel and the deoxidation products. In this report the effects of revolution speed, temperature and steel composition on the rate of dissolution of commercial MgO-C refractory samples into Al-deoxidised molten steel and CaOAl2O3- SiO2-MgO slag were examined by the rotating cylinder method. The study also includes tests with slag were doloma refractory samples are examined by the same method. Cylinders of MgO-C refractory material were immersed in to steel that was deoxidised by adding metallic aluminium. This was carried out in the temperature range of 1873 to 1973C° and at rotational speeds of 100 to 800 rpm for different holding times. The experimental results show that the rate of dissolution of MgO-C refractory materials increased with the temperature, rotational speed and immersion time. This supports the assumption that the diffusion of magnesium through the slag boundary layer formed around the refractory samples would be the rate-determining step. Mass transfer coefficients calculated on the basis of experimental results are in good agreement with earlier published results for pure ceramics. A formation of a thin oxide layer at the interface was found. It is due the reaction between magnesium vapour and the CO generated by the reaction MgO and C in the refractory walls. The oxide inclusions formed in the steel have been shown to mainly consist of MgO, Al2O3 and a mixture of them. The rate of dissolution of solid MgO-C into liquid CaO-Al2O3-SiO2-MgO slag at different temperatures was studied under conditions of forced convection by rotating cylindrical refractory specimens in a stationary crucible containing the molten slag similar to the MgO-C refractory/steel experiments. The corrosion rate was calculated from the change in diameter of the cylindrical specimens. The specimens were rotated for 15 to 120 minutes at speeds of 100 to 400 rpm in the molten slag. The rate of corrosion increased with temperature and with rotating speed of the rod and decreased when the slag was nearly saturated with MgO. The experimental results confirm the assumption that the diffusion of magnesium oxide through the slag phase boundary layer controls the corrosion process. The corrosion mechanism seems to be the dissolution of elements in the refractory materials into the slag, followed by penetration into the pores and grain boundaries. Finally, grains are loosened from the refractory into the slag. The investigation of doloma and doloma-carbon showed that the dissolution of magnesia into the slag was determining the corrosion rate. As for the other experiments, steel/MgO-C refractory and slag/MgO-C refractory, the corrosion rate was calculated from the change in diameter of the cylindrical specimens. The specimens were rotated for 15 to 120 minutes at speeds of 100 to 400 rpm in the molten slag. The results from the study showed that refractory materials that were impregnated with carbon had a much better slag resistance than the refractory that contained no carbon. This is due to the higher wetting angle between carbon and slag. Corrosion of MgO-C refractories in different gas atmospheres consisting of air, Ar, CO or Ar/CO was also studied. Experiments were carried out in the temperature range 1173 K to 1773 K and for holding times between 2 to 120 min. The reaction rate of the MgO-C material was determined from measurements of the weight loss of the samples. The results showed that the refractory weight loss increased with an increased temperature or an increased holding time. The thermodynamic conditions and the experimental results show that magnesium gas and carbon monoxide gas should form during ladle refining of steel when the refractory material consists of MgO-C. / QC 20100813

Today’s problems with emissions of green house gases, land filling of waste and depletion of the oil reserves calls for new energy systems based on alternative fuels like biomass and waste. Gasification is an attractive technology for the use of such solid fuels. Conventional gasification, in the vast majority of cases, uses in-reactor heat release from combustion of part of the feedstock, possibly coupled with a limited preheating of the agent, to obtain the necessary temperatures in the gasifier bed. During recent years, a new gasification technology, using highly preheated gasification agents (> 1273 K), has been developed. The extra heat brought into the process by the high temperature agent reduces the amount of feedstock that has to be oxidized to supply the necessary heat and the use of highly preheated agents has previously proven to have several positive effects on the fuel gas quality.In difference to the previous work on gasification with highly preheated agents, this thesis primarily focuses on the fundamental aspects namely, mass conversion, heating and ignition. It starts by considering single fuel particles or thin beds of fuel particles inserted into highly preheated agents. Mass conversion, heating and ignition are reported in function of the temperature and oxygen concentration of the agent and formulas for the prediction of ignition time and ignition mechanism are developed. The perspective is then widened to include the whole gasifier bed. Simulations of fixed bed batch gasification using highly preheated agents are performed with a mathematical model and used to study how the high agent temperature influences the mass conversion, devolatilisation front rate and the temperature distribution in the fixed fuel bed. Further, the gas quality and gasification efficiency are studied by means of large scale experiment. Ultimately, a thermodynamic analysis of the whole autothermal gasification system, including both a regenerative preheating system and the gasifier, is made.The particle study reports results from experiments with wood and coal and agents consisting of mixtures of nitrogen and oxygen in various proportions. It is shown that an increase in agent temperature from 873 K to 1273 K make the conversion process faster, mostly due to an early onset of the devolatilisation (fast drying) but also due to an increased devolatilisation rate (at least in the case of wood). The time to ignition also decreases significantly, particularly so between 873 and 1073 K. Further, it is shown that the higher the agent temperature, the more pronounced was also the tendency of the coal particles to heat significantly faster in oxygen diluted conditions (5,10 and 21% oxygen) than in inert (0% oxygen) or oxygen rich conditions (30, 50, 80 and 100% oxygen). An increase in agent temperature is also shown to reduce the dependency of the process on the oxygen concentration, at least in diluted conditions (5-21% oxygen). The results also indicate that for coal an increase in the oxygen concentration, specifically in the region above the atmospheric concentration, leads to a decreased dependency on the agent temperature. It is finally shown in the experiments with agent temperatures of 1073 and 1273 K that a flame is promptly formed even in very low concentrations of oxygen.The gasifier study reports results from simulation of batch air gasification and experiments in both batch and continuous up-draft fixed bed gasifier with wood and waste derived fuel and air and mixtures of air and steam. It is shown that the conversion process is faster the higher the air temperature. In particular somewhere between air temperatures of 623 K and 803 K the process behaviour changes. In fact, the devolatilisation rate is significantly increased in this region while it increases less sharply with air temperature below and above this temperature window. The temperature distribution in the bed shows less sharp gradients at high temperature (> 803 K) than at low temperatures (< 623 K). It is also showed experimentally and in fairly large scale that the use of highly preheated air for the gasification of biomass and waste derived fuels can produce - in continuous mode – relatively high yields of product syngas with relatively high fractions of combustible gases and probably also low content of tar. The efficiency of the gasification under these conditions, even when the extra heat input in the preheated agent is considered in the computation of the gasification efficiency, is shown to be comparable to that of conventional gasification techniques. The results also shows that with the use of steam in the agent, the content of hydrogen can be further increased with respect to gasification with only preheated air.In base of the results of the particle study and the gasifier study it is shown that a there exists two regimes of operation in function of the agent temperature, separated by the minimum agent temperature to guarantee spontaneous ignition regardless of the particle temperature. The value of this temperature depend on material properties and the kinetics of the reaction, thus also on the oxygen concentration. When agent temperatures below the minimum agent temperature to guarantee spontaneous ignition regardless of the particle temperature are used, the drying and devolatilisation are mainly controlled by the heat released by reactions. The heating of the fuel particles and their devolatilisation are relatively slow and the devolatilisation rate is highly oxygen dependent. In a fixed bed, the devolatilisation front rate is low and the bed is characterised by significant temperature gradients.When the agent temperature is higher than the minimum agent temperature to guarantee spontaneous ignition regardless of the particle temperature, the drying and devolatilisation are mainly controlled by the convective heat transfer from the preheated agent and the released volatiles ignite very fast even in diluted conditions. This results in very efficient heat transfer to the fuel particles. In the fixed fuel bed the process is characterized by a high devolatilisation front rate. Thus, the temperature gradients in the bed are significantly reduced and the gasification can be said to be thermally homogeneous. Thanks to high rates of heat transfer and mass conversion, the heating value of the dry produced syngas is high with high concentrations of combustible species. The ignition of the volatiles and the high temperatures all along the bed presumably contributes to the reduction of the tar content even in up-draft configurations. The high temperatures also allows for operation with reduced air – to – fuel ratios which further increased the value of the produced gas (thanks to less dilution by nitrogen).The system study presents a concept for an autothermal system including both preheating and gasification. Results from a thermodynamic analysis of such a system are reported. Autothermal operation of a thermally homogeneous gasifier is possible only in a twin component system in which the gasifier is coupled to a preheating system able to reach preheating temperatures well above the minimum agent temperature to guarantee spontaneous ignition regardless of the particle temperature. It is shown that to reach certain temperature levels of the gasification air, heat exchange between product gas and air is not enough and the preheating system has to improve the temperatures involved, for example by burning part of the produced gas in a regenerative preheater. Further, it is shown that in comparison to gasifier without such a system for additional preheating, the autothermal Thermally Homogeneous Gasification system has the ability to significantly improve the gas quality (in terms of heating value of the dry gas) without losing energy- or exergy efficiency to an appreciable extent. / QC 20100903

<p>The topic of this thesis is estimation of the dynamic changes of the surface temperatureand heat flux during heating processes by using an inverse method. The local transient surface temperature and heat flux of a steel slab are calculated based on measurements in the interior of the slab.</p><p>The motivations for using an inverse method may be manifold. Sometimes, especially in the field of thermal engineering, one wants to calculate the transient temperature or heat flux on the surface of a body. This body may be a slab, or billet in metallurgical applications. However, it may be the case that the surface for some reason is inaccessible to exterior measurements with the aid of some measurement device. Such a device could be a thermocouple if contact with the surface in question is possible or a pyrometer if an invasive method is preferred. Sometimes though, these kinds of devices may be an inappropriate choice. It could be the case that the installation of any such device may disturb the experiment in some way or that the environment is chemically destructive or just that the instruments might give incorrect results. In these situations one is directed to using an inverse method based on interior measurements in the body, and in which the desired temperature is calculated by a numerical procedure.</p><p>The mathematical model used was applied to experimental data from a small scale laboratory furnace as well as from a full scale industrial reheating furnace and the results verified that the method can be successfully applied to high temperature thermal applications.</p>

The liquid steel sampling method is one of the commonly used procedures in monitoring the steelmaking process. Besides it can be used for analyzing the dissolved alloys, hydrogen content and oxygen content, it can be also employed to monitor the inclusion characteristics at the steelmakings. Here, a crucial point is that the steel sampler should be filled and the metal solidifies without changing the inclusion characteristics. Therefore, the objective of this work is to fundamentally understand the liquid steel sampling process by means of analyzing and modeling the two-phase flow during the sampler filling process, and verifying the mathematical model by using the experimental data. The present dissertation presents an experimental and theoretical study of the filling process of both the lollipop-shaped sampler and the rectangular-shaped sampler. Firstly, a physical modeling by using a water model has been carried out to fundamentally investigate the flow pattern inside the sampler vessels during its filling. The flow patterns were obtained by a PIV system. Then, a mathematical model has been built to theoretically understand the phenomena. The commercial CFD code was used. Here, different turbulence model have been compared between the realizable k-ε turbulence model and Wilcox k-ω turbulence model. It concludes that the Wilcox k-ω turbulence model agrees well with the PIV measurements.HH Thus, the preferred it was further employed to predict the turbulent flow inside the production lollipop-shaped sampler fillings. It is important to find that the average collision volume in the production steel sampler without solidification at filling is about 30 times higher than that in a ladle furnace. In the end, the whole sampling system was modeled. The initial solidification during the filling was taken into account. Focus was on the influence of the initial solidification on the inclusion concentrations. A discrete phase model was used to simulate the movement of inclusions in the liquid steel. Some selected different sized primary inclusions that exist in the ladles at a steelmaking process were simulated. The same method of studying the filling procedure of the lollipop-shaped sampler was further applied to comprehensively investigate the rectangular-shaped sampler. / QC 20100908

The aim of this thesis work is to increase the knowledge of phenomena taking place during the initial stage in a top blown converter. The work has been done in a few steps resulting in four different supplements. Water model experiments have been carried out using particle image velocimetry (PIV) technology. The system investigated was a fundamental top blown converter where an air jet was set to impinge on a water surface. The flow field of the combined blown case, where an air jet was introduced through a bottom nozzle, was also captured by the PIV. The work clearly showed that the flow field caused by an impinging top blown jet alone could not match that of the bottom blown case. The main re-circulation loop (or vortex) was investigated with respect to position and it was found that an increased flow rate pushes the center of the re-circulation loop downwards into the bath. However, for the top-blown case there is a point when the flow rate is too large to cause a distinguishable re-circulation loop since the jet becomes more plunging (i.e. penetrates deep into the bath) than impinging, with large surface agitation and splashing as a result.A numerical model with the same dimensions as the experimental system was then created. Three different turbulence models from the same family were tested: standard-, realizable- and a modified-(slight modification of one of the coefficients in order to produce less spreading of the air jet) k-ε turbulence model. It could be shown that for the family of k-ε turbulence models the difference in penetration depth was small and that the values corresponded well to literature data. However, when it comes to the position of the re-circulation loop it was shown that the realizable k-ε model produced better results when comparing the results to the experimental data produced from the PIV measurements, mentioned earlier.It was then shown how the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model could be coupled to thermodynamics databases in order to solve for both reactions and transport in the system. Instead of an air-water system, a gas-steel-slag system was created using the knowledge obtained in the previous simulation step described above. Reactions between gas-steel, gas-slag, steel-slag and gas-steel-slag were considered. Extrapolation of data from a few seconds of simulation was used for comparison to experimental data from the literature and showed reasonable agreement. The overall conclusion was that it is possible to make a coupling of the Thermo-Calc databases and a CFD software to make dynamic simulations of metallurgical processes such as a top-blown converter.A parametric study was then undertaken where two different steel grades were tested; one with high initial carbon content (3.85 mass-%) and one with lower carbon content (0.5 mass-%). The initial silicon content was held constant at 0.84 mass-%. Different initial temperatures were tested and also some variation in initial dissolved oxygen content was tried. It was found that the rate of decarburization/desiliconization was influenced by the temperature and carbon concentration in the melt, where a high temperature as well as a high carbon concentration favors decarburization over desiliconization. It was also seen that the region affected by a lower concentration of alloys (or impurities) was quite small close to the axis where the impinging jet hits the bath. Add the oscillating nature of the cavity and it was realized that sampling from this region during an experiment might be quite difficult. / QC 20100720

<p>This study has focused on determining the heat flows in a production blast furnace hearth. This part of the blast furnace is exposed to high temperatures. In order to increase the campaign length of the lining an improved knowledge of heat flows are necessary. Thus, it has been studied both experimentally and numerically by heat transfer modeling. Measurements of outer surface temperatures in the lower part of a production blast furnace were carried out. In the experimental study, relations were established between lining temperatures and outer surface temperatures. These relations were used as boundary conditions in a mathematical model, in which the temperature profiles in the hearth lining are calculated. The predictions show that the corner between the wall and the bottom is the most sensitive part of the hearth. Furthermore, the predictions show that no studied part of the lining had an inner temperature higher than the critical temperature 1150°C, where the iron melt can be in contact with the lining.</p>

During the steelmaking process samples are taken from the liquid steel, mainly to assess the chemical composition of the steel. Recently, methods for rapid determination of inclusion characteristics (size and composition) have progressed to the level where they can be implemented in process control. Inclusions in steel can have either good or detrimental effects depending on their characteristics (size, number, composition and morphology). Thereby, by determination of the inclusion characteristics during the steelmaking process it is possible to steer the inclusion characteristics in order to increase the quality of the steel. However, in order to successfully implement these methods it is critical that the samples taken from the liquid steel represent the inclusion characteristics in the liquid steel at the sampling moment.   The purpose of this study is to investigate the changes in inclusion characteristics during the liquid steel sampling process. Experimental studies were carried out at steel plants to measure filling velocity and solidification rate in real industrial samples. The sampling conditions for three sample geometries and two slag protection types were determined. Furthermore, the dispersion of the total oxygen content in the samples was evaluated as a function of sample geometry and type of slag protection. In addition, the effects of cooling rate as well as oxygen and sulfur content on the inclusion characteristics were investigated in laboratory and industrial samples. Possibilities to separate primary (existing in the liquid steel at sampling moment) and secondary (formed during cooling and solidification) inclusions depending on size and composition were investigated. Finally, in order to evaluate the homogeneity and representative of the industrial samples the dispersion of inclusion characteristics in different zones and layers of the samples were investigated.   It was concluded that the type of slag protection has a significant effect on the filling velocity and the sampling repeatability. Furthermore, that the thickness of the samples is the main controlling factor for the solidification rate. It was shown that top slag can contaminate the samples. Therefore, the choice of slag protection type is critical to obtain representative samples. It was shown that the cooling rate has a significant effect on the number of secondary precipitated inclusions. However, the number of primary inclusions was almost constant and independent on the cooling rate. In most cases it is possible to roughly separate the secondary and primary oxide inclusions based on the particle size distributions. However, in high-sulfur steels a significant amount of sulfides precipitate heterogeneously during cooling and solidification. This makes separation of secondary and primary inclusions very difficult. Moreover, the secondary sulfides which precipitate heterogeneously significantly change the characteristics (size, composition and morphology) of primary inclusions. The study revealed that both secondary and primary inclusions are heterogeneously dispersed in the industrial samples. In general, the middle zone of the surface layer is recommended for investigation of primary inclusions. / QC 20101112

The main objective of this industrially important work was to gain an increasing understanding of the properties of some industrially important materials such as CMSX-4 nickel base super alloy, 90Ti.6Al.4V alloy, 25Cr:6Ni stainless steel, 0.7% carbon steel, AISI 304 stainless steel-alumina composites, mould powder used in continuous casting of steel as well as coke used in blast furnace with special reference to the thermal diffusivities. The measurements were carried out in a wide temperature range covering solid, liquid, glassy and crystalline states. For CMSX-4 alloy, the thermal conductivities were calculated from the experimental thermal diffusivities. Both the diffusivities and conductivities were found to increase with increasing temperature. Microscopic analysis showed the presence of intermetallic phases γ´ such as Ni3Al below 1253 K. In this region, the mean free path of the electrons and phonons is likely to be limited by scattering against lattice defects. Between 1253 K and solidus temperature, these phases dissolved in the alloy adding to the impurities in the matrix, which, in turn, caused a decrease in the thermal diffusivity. This effect was confirmed by annealing the samples at 1573 K. The thermal diffusivities of the annealed samples measured at 1277, 1403 and 1531 K were found to be lower than the thermal diffusivities of non-annealed samples and the values did not show any noticeable change with time. It could be related to the attainment of equilibrium with the completion of the dissolution of γ´ phase during the annealing process. Liquid CMSX-4 does not show any change of thermal diffusivity with temperature. It may be attributed to the decrease of the mean free path being shorter than characteristic distance between two neighbouring atoms. Same tendency could be observed in the case of 90Ti.6Al.4V alloy. Since the thermal diffusivity increases with increasing temperature below 1225 K and shows slight decrease or constancy at higher temperature. For 25Cr:6Ni stainless steel, the thermal diffusivity is nearly constant up to about 700 K. Beyond that, there is an increase with temperature both during heating as well as cooling cycle. On the other hand, the slope of the curve increases above 950 K, which can be due to the increase of bcc phase in the structure. 0.7% carbon steel shows a decrease in the thermal diffusivity at temperature below Curie point, where the structure contains bcc+ fcc phases. Above this point the thermal diffusivity increases, where the structure contains only fcc phase. The experimental thermal conductivity values of these alloys show good agreement with the calculated values using Mills model. Thermal diffusivity measurements as a function of temperature of sintered AISI 304 stainless steel-alumina composites having various composition, viz, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 10 wt% Al2O3 were carried out in the present work. The thermal diffusivity as well as the thermal conductivity were found to increase with temperature for all composite specimens. The thermal diffusivity/conductivity decreases with increasing weight fraction of alumina in the composites. The experimental results are in good agreement with simple rule of mixture, Eucken equation and developed Ohm´s law model at weight fraction of alumina below 5 wt%. Beyond this, the thermal diffusivity/ conductivity exhibits a high discrepancy probably due to the agglomeration of alumina particles during cold pressing and sintering. On the other hand, thermal diffusivities of industrial mould flux having glassy and crystalline states decrease with increasing temperature at lower temperature and are constant at higher temperature except for one glassy sample. The thermal diffusivity is increased with increasing crystallisation degree of mould flux, which is expected from theoretical considerations. Analogously, the thermal diffusivity measurements of mould flux do not show any significant change with temperature in liquid state. It is likely to be due to the silicate network being largely broken down. In the case of coke, the sample taken from deeper level of the pilot blast furnace is found to have larger thermal diffusivity. This can be correlated to the average crystallite size along the structural c-axis, Lc, which is indicative of the higher degree of graphitisation. This was also confirmed by XRD measurements of the different coke samples. The degree of graphitisation was found to increase with increasing temperature. Further, XRD and heat capacity measurements of coke samples taken from different levels in the shaft of the pilot blast furnace show that the graphitisation of coke was instantaneous between 973 and 1473 K. / QC 20100629