Blast furnace

Abstract

A blast furnace of the shaft furnace type for continuously smelting treated iron ores into liquid pig iron includes a furnace wall of refractory materials. The furnace wall is surrounded by a metal jacket particularly in the lower portion of the blast furnace, the bosh and the hearth arranged underneath the bosh. The blast furnace further includes water-cooled cooling elements, for example, plate-type cooling elements arranged between the refractory furnace wall and the metal jacket. At least those of the water-cooled cooling elements arranged in the hearth area of the blast furnace and between the hearth furnace wall and the metal jacket surrounding the hearth furnace wall are made of a material of high thermal conductivity, such as copper, wherein the thermal conductivity is at least five times the thermal conductivity of cast iron.

We claim:  
     
         1 . A blast furnace of shaft furnace construction for the continuous smelting of treated iron ores into liquid pig iron, the blast furnace comprising a furnace wall of refractory materials, a bosh and a hearth underneath the bosh and a metal jacket surrounding at least a lower portion of the blast furnace, the bosh and the hearth, further comprising water-cooled cooling elements arranged between the refractory furnace wall and the metal jacket, wherein the water-cooled cooling elements arranged in an area of the hearth of the blast furnace are of a material having a high thermal conductivity, and wherein the thermal conductivity is at least five times that of cast iron.  
     
     
         2 . The blast furnace according to  claim 1 , wherein the cooling elements are plate-type cooling elements.  
     
     
         3 . The blast furnace according to  claim 1 , wherein the material of high thermal conductivity is copper.  
     
     
         4 . The blast furnace according to  claim 1 , further comprising additional water-cooled cooling elements of a material of high thermal conductivity arranged in a hearth bottom.  
     
     
         5 . The blast furnace according to  claim 4 , wherein the additional cooling elements are of copper.  
     
     
         6 . The blast furnace according to  claim 1 , wherein the refractory furnace wall has a uniform wall thickness in the area of the hearth, and wherein the metal jacket surrounding the furnace wall in the area of the hearth is of cylindrical construction.