Abstract

Hot metal desulphurisation serves as the main unit process for removing sulphur in blast‐furnace based steelmaking. This study reviews the available body of literature on modelling hot metal desulphurisation to provide an in‐depth analysis of the approaches employed and results obtained. The mathematical models for reaction kinetics have evolved from simplistic rate equations to more complex phenomenon‐based models, which provide useful information on the effect of physico‐chemical properties and operating parameters on desulphurisation efficiency. Data‐driven approaches with varying levels of phenomenological basis have also been proposed with the aim of achieving better predictive performance in industrial scale applications. Bath mixing was studied using physical and numerical modelling to optimise mixing conditions in ladles and torpedo cars. The coupling of gas‐particle jets and their penetration into the liquid have been a focal point of physical and numerical modelling. In recent years, the fluid flow phenomena in mechanically stirred ladles has been studied extensively using physical and numerical modelling. These studies have focused on the fluid flow field, reagent dispersion and bubble dispersion.