| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2021 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Design and Manufacturing Approaches for the Next Generation of Sustainable Materials: The 2021 Student-led Symposium
|
| Presentation Title |
Stepwise Approach to Improving Lead Furnace Operation Through Pilot Scale Studies and Computational Modeling |
| Author(s) |
Allie E. Anderson, Joseph Grogan , John Wagner , Sandeep Alavandi, David Cygan |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Allie E. Anderson |
| Abstract Scope |
Lead batteries have a recycling rate of 99+% in North America, embodying the circular economy. In 2019, 1.2 million tons of recycled lead alloys were produced in the U.S., with domestic demand projected to increase by 4% over the next five years. The R&D group at Gopher Resource is leading initiatives aimed at optimizing furnace operation to responsibly meet the growing demand for lead. These initiatives include efforts to maximize furnace energy utilization through CFD modeling validated by pilot-scale experiments and in-plant trials. This paper details a stepwise approach, wherein burner characterization measurements were obtained in a controlled pilot-scale setting. The gathered data and pilot furnace geometry were used to construct combustion validation models that were integrated into a model of the full-scale furnace, providing insight into daily operation. Going forward, this model will be employed to inform operational changes in the production environment, thereby completing the experiment-modeling-improvement stepwise approach. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Recycling and Secondary Recovery, Modeling and Simulation, Process Technology |