Applied Thermal Engineering 109 (2016) 542559

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Applied Thermal Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apthermeng

Research Paper

Material and energy flows in rotary kiln-electric furnace smelting

of ferronickel alloy with energy saving
Peng Liu a, Baokuan Li a,, Sherman C.P. Cheung b, Wenyuan Wu a
a
b

School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China

School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University, Victoria 3083, Australia

h i g h l i g h t s

Establish the synergy relationship of material and energy in key RKEF processes.

Develop an analysis model to study energy saving with internal cycling of energy.

Analyze material and energy flow parameters and assess its associated synergy effect.

A methodology to evaluate the synergy and design indices of RKEF processes.

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 11 April 2016
Revised 27 July 2016
Accepted 18 August 2016
Available online 20 August 2016
Keywords:
Rotary kiln-electric furnace
Ferronickel smelting
Material and energy flows
Energy efficiency analysis
Synergetic theory

a b s t r a c t
An energy saving strategy with two energy saving measures has been proposed for reducing energy loss
in the rotary kiln-electric furnace (RKEF) for the smelting of ferronickel alloy. One of the measures is to
recover the waste heat of exhaust gas from the rotary kiln for preheating and dehydrating the wet laterite
ores in the rotary dryer. Another measure is to recycle the furnace gas from the electric furnace into the
rotary kiln as fuel. Based on the mass conservation and energy conservation laws, an analysis model of
material and energy flows has been developed to understand the potential energy saving with the internal cycling of material and energy in the RKEF process. The analysis model not only considers the energy
efficiency but also assess the synergy degree of system. Furthermore, the model also predicts the ratio of
raw materials and the energy flow distribution to investigate residual heat and energy and analyze the
effects of nickel content on energy flow. Finally, the evaluation methodology of synergy and the technic
indices are also presented. Through the investigation of the synergy effect, the performance of the RKEF
process can be evaluated and quantified for performance optimization in future.
2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
With the increasing demand for the ferronickel alloy, the technology of ferronickel smelting with high Ni grade has attracted reasonable attention in the past decades. Currently, the current
methodology to alter the original mineralogy of laterite ores is to
apply some chemical processes (e.g. pyrometallurgical or
hydrometallurgical) that include pressure acid leaching [13],
Caron process [4,5], atmospheric leaching [6,7], and rotary kilnelectric furnace (RKEF) process [8,9]. Among these methods, the
rotary kiln-electric furnace (RKEF) process has the advantages of
yielding high nickel/iron grade from crude ferronickel products,
less harmful elements, raw materials with strong adaptability, high
production efficiency and mature process. Nonetheless, the RKEF
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: libk@smm.neu.edu.cn (B. Li).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2016.08.095
1359-4311/ 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

process also suffers from the high energy consumption and a large
amount of by-product (e.g. slag and off-gas). Reducing the energy
consumption while achieving the same product quality has
become a pressing need for the current ferronickel smelting industry. In theory, considering the overall energy consumption, the
supply energy can be categorized into three main components.
The main portion of the supply energy is utilized to drive the ferronickel smelting process which is normally referred as available
energy. The other portion is the unavoidable and irreversible
energy loss due to the limitations of existing smelting technology.
For example, the electricity loss and heat dissipation loss to the
cooling water and walls are unavoidable in the RKEF process. The
rest of supply energy is the avoidable energy loss which is discharged with the waste gas or heat throughout the whole process.
In order to improve the energy efficiency, minimizing the avoidable energy loss or recover such waste energy could be a promising
approach.

P. Liu et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 109 (2016) 542559

543

Nomenclature
a
C0
cp
DR
E
e
EC
G
g
d
g
k
K
k
L
l
L0
Ln
M
N
OD
q
R
Sen
SA
SD
T
t
w
V

air factor
continuation degree of process
specific heat (kJ/(kg C))
mismatching degree
energy (GJ/h)
order parameter
efficacy coefficient
the group
dissipation quantity of energy flow (GJ/h)
output flow of energy (GJ/h)
number of output flow of energy
variable
number of the order parameter index
variable
theoretical air requirement (kg)
actual amount of air supply (kg)
mass flows (t/h)
number of the order parameter
order degree
energy consumption per unit (kJ/kg)
recovery ratio
entropy (kJ/K)
coordination ability
synergy degree
temperature (K)
time (s)
weighting
volume (m3)

Greek letters
q
density (kg/m3)
ge
energy efficiency (%)
gep
discharge rate of energy flow (%)
gsy
recycling rate of residual heat and energy
gbp
recycling rate of by-product energy
gws
recycling rate of waste solid
gw
recirculation rate of waste
c
fill rate
w
void fraction
h
normalized data
Subscripts
A
available
a
anthracite
Avo
avoidable
bc
bituminous coal (bitumite)
bcc
bituminous coal combustion
ca
combustion air
D
rotary dryer
d
dust
dl
dust heat loss

Several promising energy saving strategies have been proposed

for other smelting fields, including ironmaking, steel making and
limekilns industries. Lee and Sohn [10] adopted the strategy of
recycling the exhaust gas and the slag for preheating the scrap
and granulation. Besides, using the wasted heat of the exhaust
gas, the CO2 gas is also recycled to produce CO gases as fuel or
reducing agent. Belt [11] used the furnace benchmark tests to measure and analyze the melt loss and melt rate, and the energy distribution or heat losses of the system. Nevertheless, a comprehensive
energy saving strategy for the RKEF systems remains outstanding
in the literature. In order to improve the energy efficiency of the

dr
E
e
el
F
Fa
Fg
fg
Fgc
Fgl
fge
fgl
fm
fml
hl
ht
in
J
L
lhm
m
mt
n
oc
ocl
out
ppt
R
rr
S
sl
so
sol
sr
Un
Unavo
w
wc
whl
wo
ws
wt

dissociation reaction
electric furnace
evaporation
electric loss
fuel
ferronickel alloy
furnace gas
flue gas
furnace gas combustion
furnace gas heat loss
flue gas entered into electric furnace
flue gas heat loss
free moisture
free moisture heat loss
heat loss
haulage time
input flow (s)/inlet
Joule heat
limestone
latent heat of melting
number of groups
maintenance time
number of order parameter components
laterite ores calcined
laterite ores calcined heat loss
output flow (s)/outlet
processing-time
rotary kiln
reduction reaction
sensible heat
slag
semi-dry laterite ores
laterite ores heat loss
slagging reaction
unavailable
unavoidable
waste
water-cooling
waste heat loss
wet laterite ores
waste solid
waiting time

Superscripts
ca
combustion air
Fg
furnace gas
fg
flue gas
ll
lower limit
ul
upper limit

RKEF, a complete mathematical model to describe the underlying

material and energy flows within the system is very crucial. Previously, mathematical models for other applications have been proposed. Sohn and Oliver-Martinez [12] presented a mathematical
model based on the material and energy flows of ironmaking process to analyze the chemical reaction heat and energy requirement
of the system. Sagastume [13] adopted the energy and exergy analysis methods to determine the mass, energy and exergy balance
and identify the dominant factors affecting the thermal efficiency
of lime kiln. Several researchers adopted the synergetic theory to
analyze the cooperativity between material and energy flows,

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P. Liu et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 109 (2016) 542559

and evaluate the order degree among subsystems. Zhang and Zhu
[14] proposed a network selection algorithm based on Analytic
Hierarchy Process (AHP) and synergetic theory, and evaluate synergy degree of network by calculating order degree and entropy
of system. In addition, previous studies have also investigated
the essential mechanisms of the ferronickel smelting process. Pickles [15] described, from the fundamentals of drying, the results of a
thermogravimetric study of the drying of a nickeliferous limonitic
laterite ore are analyzed. Kotz [16] proposed the process of producing ferronickel from nickel oxide ores and dust particles by
DC arc furnace technology. Guo [17] carried out ferronickel smelting experiment to investigate the selective reduction and meltingseparation processes, and to analyze the influence parameters of
metallization rate.
Although considerable efforts have been devoted to investigate
the energy efficiency in other systems, to the best of our knowledge, a thorough energy analysis and its possible energy saving
measures for the rotary kilnelectric furnace is yet to be fully
explored. It is therefore essential to study the distribution of available energy and energy loss throughout the RKEF; to identify the
energy saving potential and analyze the energy efficiency of the
process. The objective of this paper is therefore to present a complete and comprehensive material and energy flows analysis
methodology; leading to a thorough characterization of system
performance and identification of potential energy savings. Particular attention has been directed towards discussing the effect of
the operation parameters on the distribution of material and
energy flows as well as the associated impact on the product quality. Synergy and technic index analyses are also presented to further assess the performance of the system under various scenarios.
2. The essential mechanisms of the technological process of
RKEF
The rotary kiln-electric furnace process is the one of the most
widely adopted technological process for ferronickel smelting production. A schematic of the RKEF process with rotary dryer, rotary

kiln and electric furnace is shown in Fig. 1. As depicted, the RKFF

process involves three main processes: the dehydration process
in rotary dryer; the roasting and pre-reduction process in rotary
kiln and the reduction smelting process in electric furnace. The
whole process involves many complex physical and chemical phenomena: including dehydrating (removing free moisture, crystal
water and chemically bonded water), oxydoreduction reaction, dissociation reaction, replacement reaction, slagging reaction and
separation of slag/alloy. The details of the technological process
of each subsystem are shown in Fig. 2 and discussed below.

2.1. Technological process of the rotary dryer

In the rotary dryer process, the wet laterite ores (typically with
23% free moisture and 12% chemically bonded water) are firstly
broken into small particles by screening and crushing process
[18,19] and then fed into the rotary dryer. To remove the free moisture from the wet ores, the flue gas waste heat of rotary kiln and
bituminous coal combustion are used for heating the ores up to
its dehydration temperature (i.e. 220 C). After the rotary dryer
process, the semi-dry laterite ores (with 7% residual moisture
and 12% chemically bonded water) are mixed with the limestone
and the anthracite in raw proportioning station. Furthermore,
using agglomeration technique, the nickeliferous laterite ores particles contained in dust are recovered.

2.2. Technological process of rotary kiln

In the process of rotary kiln, using the furnace-gas of electric
furnace and bituminous coal as a fuel, the residual free moisture
is completely evaporated. Afterwards, in the pre-reduction and
roasting processes, the crystal water and chemically bonded water
of laterite ores are removed at high temperature (i.e. 290820 C)
and the dissociation of limestone is occurred within the temperature range of 8201000 C [1820]. The laterite ores calcined are
then transported into electric furnace for reduction smelting.

Fig. 1. Schematic of the RKEF process with rotary dryer, rotary kiln and electric furnace.

P. Liu et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 109 (2016) 542559

545

Fig. 2. Schematic of the ferronickel smelting technological process.

Meanwhile, the flue gas of rotary kiln is transported into rotary

dryer for drying the wet ores.
Moreover, carbon dioxide will be reduced by anthracite into
carbon monoxide which further reduces the metallic oxide at
about 220 C [21]. Therefore, the majority of the metallic oxide is
reduced by the carbon monoxide in the rotary kiln. Only a small
portion of the metallic oxide is reduced by the anthracite. The
chemical reactions occurred in the rotary kiln are shown in Table 1.

Table 2
The chemical reactions occurred in the electric furnace.
Reaction

Equation

Reduction reaction

NiO C Ni CO
3Fe2 O3 C 2Fe3 O4 CO
Fe3 O4 C 3FeO CO
FeO C Fe CO

(r10)
(r11)
(r12)
(r13)

Slagging reaction

2CaO MgO 2SiO2 CaSi2 O7

2CaO 2C Fe2 SiO4 2Fe Ca2 SiO4 2CO

(r14)
(r15)

2.3. Technological process of electric furnace

In the electric furnace process, due to the effect of anthracite
and quicklime, metallic oxide will undergo the reduction reaction
and slagging reaction (Table 2). The ferronickel and slag are then
generated and separated. Meanwhile, the furnace gas (containing
carbon monoxide) is also produced. After undergoing the purification treatment, these furnace gases are recycled into rotary kiln as
fuel. Besides, in order to produce a high nickel grade in ferronickel
alloy, the reduction of nickel oxide is completely with limited
reduction of iron oxide [19,22]. Meanwhile, quicklime can permute
the nickel/iron oxide from mineral which enhances the activity of
metallic oxide [18,19], improve the recovery ratio of nickel/iron
[23,24], and contribute to the separation of slag/alloy through
reducing the melting point of slag [2426].
3. Theory of material and energy flows in RKEF process
3.1. Mathematical model of material and energy flow in rotary dryer
The material flow conservation of the rotary dryer can be
expressed as follow (see also in Fig. 3):

M D;in MD;bc MD;ca M R;fg M D;wo

M D;out M Dso MD;fg MD;d

where MD,in and MD,out denote the total mass of input flows and output flows in rotary dryer, respectively; MD,bc, MD,ca, MD,wo, MD,so and

Fig. 3. Schematic of material and energy flows in the rotary dryer.

MD,d are the mass of bituminous coal, combustion air, wet laterite
ores, semi-dry laterite ores (with 7% free moisture) and dust (containing Ni) in rotary dryer, respectively; MR,fg is the exhaust gas
mass of rotary kiln; MD,fg is the flue gas mass of rotary dryer.
In terms of energy balance, there are six energy inputs and nine
energy outputs are given as:

ED;in ED;bcc ED;bc ED;wo ED;fm ED;ca ER;fg

Table 1
The chemical reactions occurred in the rotary kiln.

ED;out ED;fg ED;so ED;fm ED;e ED;hl ED;d ED;fml ED;sol

Reaction

Equation

Reduction reaction

C CO2 2CO
NiO CO Ni CO2
3Fe2 O3 CO 2Fe3 O4 CO2
Fe3 O4 CO 3FeO CO2
FeO CO Fe CO2
NiO  SiO2 C Ni CO SiO2

(r1)
(r2)
(r3)
(r4)
(r5)
(r6)

Decomposition reaction

CaCO3 CaO CO2

(r7)

Combustion reaction

C O2 CO2
2CO O2 2CO2

(r8)
(r9)

ED;dl

where ED,in and ED,out denote the total energy of input flows and
output flows in rotary dryer, respectively; ED,bbc is the heat from
bituminous coal combustion where its energy equation is given
by [27]; ED,bc, ED,wo, ED,fm and ED,ca are the sensible heat of bituminous coal, wet laterite ores (without free moisture), free moisture
in input materials and combustion air, respectively; ER,fg is the
waste heat of flue-gas recovery from rotary kiln; ED,e is the heat

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P. Liu et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 109 (2016) 542559

consumption of free moisture evaporation; ED,hl is the heat loss of

rotary dryer and its calculation equation is given by [27]; ED, fm,
ED,d and ED,so are the waste heat of residual 7% free moisture, dust
and semi-dry laterite ores entered in rotary kiln, respectively; ED,
fml, ED,dl, ED,sol and ED,fg are the waste heat of residual 7% free moisture, dust, semi-dry laterite ores and flue gas loss to the surroundings, respectively. For simplicity, the free moisture is calculated
separately from the raw materials.
3.2. Mathematical model of material and energy flow in rotary kiln
Similarly, the material conservation of the rotary kiln is
expressed as (see also in Fig. 4):

M R;in M R;bc ME;Fg M R;ca M R;L M R;a M D;so M D;d

M R;out M R;oc M R;fg MR;fge

where MR,in and MR,out denote the total mass of input flows and output flows in rotary kiln, respectively; MR,bc, ME,Fg, MR,ca, MR,L, MR,a,
MR,oc and MR,fge are the mass of bituminous coal, furnace gas, combustion air, limestone, anthracite, laterite ores calcined and flue gas
entered into electric furnace, respectively.
For the energy balance, there are ten energy inputs and nine
energy outputs. The corresponding energy conservation equations
are given by:

ER;in ER;bcc ER;bc ER;Fgc EE;Fg ER;ca ED;so ER;fm ER;L

ER;a ED;d

ER;out ER;fg ER;oc ER;rr ER;e ER;dr ER;hl ER;fgl ER;ocl

ER;fge

where ER,in and ER,out denote the total energy of input flows and output flows in rotary kiln, respectively; ER,bcc and ER,Fgc are the heat
from bituminous coal and furnace gas combustion, respectively;
ER,bc, ER,ca, ER,fm and ER,L are the sensible heat of bituminous coal,
combustion air, free moisture in input materials and limestone,
respectively; EE,Fg is the waste heat of furnace gas entered into
rotary kiln; ER,a is the heat of anthracite reaction; ER,oc and ER,fge
are the waste heat of laterite ores calcined and flue gas entered into
electric furnace; ER,rr, ER,e and ER,dr are the heat consumption
of reduction reaction, moisture evaporation and dissociation

Fig. 4. Schematic of material and energy flows in the rotary kiln.

reaction of limestone, respectively; ER,hl is the heat loss of rotary

kiln and its calculation equation is given by [27]; ER,fgl and ER,ocl
are the waste heat of flue gas and laterite ores calcined loss to the
surroundings, respectively.
3.3. Mathematical model of material and energy flow in electric
furnace
As depicted in Fig. 5, the material conservation of the electric
furnace can be expressed as:

ME;in M R;oc M R;fge

ME;out M E;Fa M E;sl ME;Fg

9
10

where ME,in and ME,out denote the total mass of input flows and output flows in electric furnace, respectively; ME,Fa and ME,sl are the
mass of ferronickel alloy and slag, respectively.
Meanwhile, the corresponding energy balance can be calculated
from the following equations:

EE;in EE;J ER;oc EE;CO EE;sr ER;fge

11

EE;out EE;Fa EE;sl EE;rr EE;Fg EE;hl EE;lhm EE;el EE;wc

EE;Fgl

12

where EE,in and EE,out denote the total energy of input flows and output flows in electric furnace, respectively; EE,J is the Joule heat; EE,CO
and EE,sr are the heat of exothermic reaction of producing CO and
slagging reaction, respectively; EE,Fa, EE,sl and EE,Fgl are the waste
heat of ferronickel alloy, slag and furnace gas loss to the environment, respectively; EE,rr is the heat consumption of endothermic
reduction reaction; EE,hl is the heat loss of furnace; EE,lhm is the
latent heat of melting; EE,el is the heat loss due to electric loss;
EE,wc is the heat loss due to water-cooling. Detail calculation procedures of the EE,hl, EE,lhm, EE,el and EE,wc can be found in the [27,28]
and the reference therein.
3.4. Recycling flue gas waste heat of rotary kiln
To reduce the energy consumption of smelting process, the flue
gas waste heat of rotary kiln is recycled into rotary dryer for preheating and dehydrating. To simplify calculation, it is assumed that

Fig. 5. Schematic of material and energy flows in the electric furnace.

P. Liu et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 109 (2016) 542559

the mass loss of rotary kiln flue gas is negligible in the transportation process which consists of the mass of carbon dioxide, sulfur
dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen and steam.
For the flue gas in rotary kiln, the carbon dioxide gas is mainly
generated from reduction reaction, limestone dissociation and
combustion of bituminous coal and furnace gas. The rest of carbon
dioxide gas is released from furnace gas. Similarly, the sulfur dioxide gas is released by the coal combustion product and furnace gas.
The oxygen gas is released by the residual combustion air and furnace gas which is given by:
ca
Fg
M fg
R;O2 O2  Ln  L0 bc Ln  L0 Fg M E;Fg  O2

13

where Ln is the actual amount of air supply; L0 is theoretical air

requirement; Oca
2 is the mass percentage of oxygen in combustion
air; OFg
2 is the mass percentage of oxygen in furnace gas.
In the rotary kiln, the excess air mass of bituminous coal
combustion is as follows:

Ln  L0 bc a  L0  L0 bc

547

where Vfge is the volume of flue gas enters into electric furnace; VR is
the volume of rotary kiln; c is the fill rate of material in rotary kiln;
w is the void fraction.
3.6. The waste heat of rotary dryer flue gas
In rotary dryer, the flue gas of rotary dryer is composed of bituminous coal combustion product, flue gas of rotary kiln and water
vapour gas of 16% free moisture. Besides, the mass of combustion
production in rotary dryer depends on the mass of bituminous coal
and combustion air:

MD;fg M R;fg 16%  M D;wo  H2 Owo M D;bc M D;ca

20

where H2 Owo is the mass percentage of free moisture in laterite ores

of rotary dryer.
3.7. Efficiency analysis of RKEF process

where COFg and OFg

2 are the mass percentages of carbon monoxide
and oxygen in furnace gas, respectively.
The nitrogen gas is released by combustion air and furnace gas:

An effective way to evaluate the energy efficiency in rotary

kiln-electric furnace process is by means of energy flow analysis.
The energy flow analysis could identify most of the energy lost
to the surroundings as well as the energy degradation because of
the entropy generation within the system. In addition, it could also
be adopted in distinguishing and quantifying both the available
energy used to drive the system as well as the unavailable energy
(i.e. avoidable and unavoidable energy loss) loss to the
surroundings.
The energy flow balance of a process takes into consideration
that the energy supply is partly obtained by materials for driving
a system (available energy), partly loss by energy transport to
the surroundings (unavailable energy) [13,26]:

Fg
ca
M fg
R;N2 M R;ca  N2 M E;Fg  N2

EF;E ES EA EUn

0:2  0:0889  C 0:2667  H 0:0333  S  O

14

where a is air factor, for the bituminous coal combustion, a = 1.2, for
furnace gas combustion, a = 1.1 [27,29]; H, S and O are the mass
percentages of H, S and O in as-received bituminous coal.
The excess air mass of furnace gas combustion:

Ln  L0 Fg a  L0  L0 Fg 0:1 

0:5  COFg  OFg

2
21

15

16

Fg
where Nca
2 and N2 are the mass percentages of nitrogen in combustion air and furnace gas, respectively.
The vapour is released by dehydrating and furnace gas:

M fg
R;H2 O M D;so  H2 Oso M R;bc  H2 Obc M R;L  H2 OL M R;ca
 H2 Oa M E;Fg  H2 OFg

17

where H2 OL , H2 OR;bc , H2 Oso and H2 Oa are the mass percentages of

the moisture in limestone, bituminous coal and semi-dry ores and
anthracite respectively; H2 OFg is the mass percentage of vapour in
furnace gas.
3.5. Recycling the furnace gas of electric furnace
In electric furnace, due to the vast amount of carbon monoxide
in the furnace gas, the furnace gas is recycled into rotary kiln as
fuel for additional heat source. The heat of furnace gas combustion
is given by [27]:

ER;Fgc M E;Fg  126:2CO 107:8H2 359:1CH4   

231:2H2 S

18

where CO, H2, CH4 and H2S are the mass percentages of carbon
monoxide, hydrogen, methane and hydrogen sulfide in furnace
gas. Moreover, the furnace gas is composed of flue gas entered into
electric furnace and carbon monoxide, in which the carbon monoxide is generated by reduction reaction. Therefore, the mass of furnace gas consists of the carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, oxygen,
nitrogen and steam in flue gas and carbon monoxide in electric furnace. The mass of flue gas enters into electric furnace is given as:

M R;fge V fge  qfge V R  c  w  qfge

19

21

where EF,E is the supply energy by fuel combustion and electric

energy; ES is the sensible heat of input materials; EA is the available
energy; EUn is the unavailable energy.
The available energy contains the energy consumption of chemical reaction, of dehydrating and of melting (alloy and slag) as
shown in Table 3. The unavailable energy takes into consideration
that avoidable and unavoidable energy loss as shown in Table 3.
The avoidable energy loss contains the waste heat of output flows
loss to the environment, which can be reutilized for improving
energy efficiency. The unavoidable energy loss contains heat losses
of furnace, cooling-water and electric loss.
The energy efficiency (ge) is defined as the ratio between available energy and energy supply (EF,E + ES):

ge EA =EF;E ES

22

If the avoidable energy loss can be reused as heat source for preheating and driving the process, the energy efficiency will be
improved significantly. Therefore, discharge rate of energy flow
(gep) is defined as the ratio between avoidable energy loss and
energy supply (EF,E + ES):

gep EAvo =EF;E ES

23

3.8. The technic index of RKEF process

The technic index is help to evaluate the technological level of
production process. For example, in material flow network, the
nickel and iron contents are very important character parameters,
which can directly affect the metallicity of alloy. The recovery ratio
of nickel/iron (Rfe/Rni) is defined as the ratio between the metal
mass (i.e. nickel and iron) in alloy and total mass of metal in

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P. Liu et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 109 (2016) 542559

Table 3
The equations of available energy, avoidable and unavoidable energy loss.

EA
EAvo
EUnavo

Rotary dryer

Rotary kiln

Electric furnace

EA;D ED;e
EAvo;D ED;fg ED;fml ED;sol ED;dl
EUnavo;D ED;hl

EA;R ER;rr ER;e ER;dr

EAvo;R ER;fgl ER;ocl
EUnavo;R ER;hl

EA;E EE;rr EE;lhm

EAvo;E EE;fa EE;sl EE;Fgl
EUnavo;E EE;hl EE;el EE;wc

laterite ores [24]. The basicity of metal can directly impact on the
viscosity of slag and slag composition. Furthermore, the basicity
depends on the contents of CaO, MgO and SiO2 [24].
For improving the resource utilization, the slag is reutilized as
construction material and the nickel is recycled from dust into
rotary kiln. Moreover, the flue gas and furnace gas are recycled
as energy supply to increase efficiency. The recycling rate of waste
solid is defined as the ratio between the mass of recycled waste
solid (dust and slag) and total mass of waste solid of process:

gws Md Msl =MD;d ME;sl

24

where Md and Msl are mass of recycled dust and slag respectively.
The recirculation rate of waste is given by:

gw

Md MFg M fg
MD;d M D;fg M R;fg M E;sl ME;Fg

25

where MFg and Mfg are mass of recycled furnace gas and flue gas,
respectively. The continuation degree of process is defined as the
ratio between pure process time of material flow in the process
and total consumption time of ferronickel produced [30,31]:

C0 P

t ppt

tppt
P
P
t wt t ht t mt

26

P
P
where
tppt is sum-of-processing-time of material flow;
twt is
P
sum of waiting time of material flow; tht is sum of haulage time
P
of material flow; tmt is sum of maintenance time.
In energy flow network, some indices are used to assess the
energy utilization efficiency. For instant, the recycling rate of residual heat and energy can reveal the energy saving ability of system.
The recycling energy contains chemical energy and waste heat of
output flow. The recycling rate of residual heat and energy is
defined as the ratio between the recycling energy and the total
residual heat and energy:

gsy

ER;Fgc EE;Fg ER;oc ER;fg

ER;Fgc EE;Fg ER;oc ER;fg EAvo;D EAvo;R EAvo;E

27

where the chemical energy and waste heat recovery are referenced
in first and second parts of the numerator in Eq. (27), respectively.
The recycling rate of by-product energy can express the reutilization degree of by-product. The by-product of RKEF process contains flue gas, furnace gas and slag. The recycling rate of by-product
energy is defined as the ratio between the energy of the recycled
by-product and the total energy of the by-product:

gbp

ER;Fgc ER;fg EE;Fg

ER;Fgc EE;Fg ER;fg ED;fg ER;fgl EE;Fgl EE;sl

28

The specific energy consumption can reveal the comprehensive

energy consumption per ton product:

qFa EF;E =M E;Fa

29

where qFa is specific energy consumption.

3.9. Synergy degree of RKEF process

every network is considered as a compound system composed of

three subsystems (rotary dryer, rotary kiln and electric furnace),
which works in coordination with each other to present the overall
performance of the network. The larger the synergy degree is, the
higher matching degree between M-E-N is; implying a better performance of the compound system. In other words, the energy efficiency of system is higher and the corresponding energy loss is
lower. Therefore, the synergy method can reflect the cooperation
of subsystems. The recent research of synergetics [3234] pointed
out that the order parameter can dominate the evolution of the
process, and assist the disorder system transform into a new
ordered structure by self-organizing. In other words, the order
parameter can govern the final structure of the system and synergy
degree. Meanwhile, according to Sun [35], the order parameter
could incur positive and negative effect on the subsystem order
degree. The efficacy coefficient is introduced to indicate the contribution degree of order parameter to the order of system. To analyze the synergy degree between M-E-N in RKEF process, define
the system in two dimensions (Gm, where m = 1, 2). The first
dimension is the material flow network (G1) and the second
dimension is the energy flow network (G2). Each network contains
5 indices of the order parameters, for n = 1, 2 . . . N as shown in
Table 4. The efficacy coefficient of the order parameter is defined
as follows:

EC m em;n

m;n

m;n

ll e
>
m;n
: em;n
; em;n 2 fThe order parameter with negative effectg
eul ell
m;n

m;n

30
ll
where em;n is the order parameter component; eul
m;n and em;n are the
ll
upper limit and lower limit of em;n , viz eul
m;n 6 em;n 6 em;n .
The efficacy coefficient and the weights of order parameters are
calculated to obtain the order degree. Based on the linear weighted
summation method, the order degree can be written as:

ODm Gm

N
X
wm;n  EC m em;n 

31

n1

where ODm(Gm) is the order degree of Gm, for 0 6 ODm(Gm) 6 1; wm,n

is the weighting of the efficacy coefficient of the order parameter
PN
em,n, for wm;n P 0 and
n1 wm;n 1. In the case ODm(Gm)
approaches to 0, it indicates that the subsystem order degree is at
the lowest value; while ODm(Gm) approaches to 1, it means that

Table 4
The indices of order parameter (em,n).
The indices of Material Flow (G1)

The indices of Energy Flow (G2)

e1,1

Ni recovery rate (Rni)

e2,1

e1,2
e1,3

Fe recovery rate (Rfe)

Continuation degree of
process (C0 )
Recirculation rate of waste
(gw)
Re-resourcization rate of
waste solid (gws)

e2,2
e2,3

e1,4

To further assess the efficiency of the RKEF process, the synergetic theory is introduced to analyze the synergy degree between
Material flow and Energy flow Networks (M-E-N). In this paper,

8
em;n ell
>
; em;n 2 fThe order parameter with positive effectg
< eul em;n
ll

e1,5

e2,4
e2,5

Specific energy consumption

(qNiFe)
Energy efficiency of system (ge)
Recycling rate of residual heat
and energy (gsy)
Discharge rate of energy flow
(gep)
Recycling rate of by-product
energy (gbp)

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P. Liu et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 109 (2016) 542559

the subsystem order degree is the highest. The entropy value is then
converted into weighting:

wm;n

1  Sen
m;n

N
X
N
Sen
m;n

32

n1

The entropy value method is a kind of the objective weighting

methods, which is based on the information from every index to
determine the weighting. The entropy value of the order
parameter:

Sen
m;n 

L
1 X
hl  lnhlm;n
ln L l1 m;n

33

l
where Sen
m;n is the entropy value of em,n; hm;n is the normalized data of
em,n.
Based on the min-max normalization method, the normalized
data is:

hlm;n

8
elm;n minfelm;n g
>
>
l
>
; em;n 2 fThe order parameter with positive effectg
>
>
< maxfelm;n gminfelm;n g
l

maxfelm;n gelm;n
>
>
>
l
>
>
: maxfelm;n gminfelm;n g ; em;n 2 fThe order parameter with negative effectg
l

34

Since every network interacts and collaborates with each other,

the synergy degree represents the coordination ability and matching degree. Therefore, the synergy degree between material flow
and energy flow is given by:

v
u 2
uY
SD 1  DR  t ODm Gm

35

m1

where DR represents the mismatching degree between M-E-N,

on the contrary, (1-DR) represents the matching degree between
M-E-N.
Furthermore, the performance of system depends not only on
the value of order degree of every network, but also the combination form of networks. Thus, the coordination ability is got by using
geometric method:

v
u 2
uY
SA t ODm Gm

36

m1

Due to the difference between the order degrees of M-E-N, the

coordinated operation of two networks will be influenced; leading
to energy dissipation. Therefore, the energy flow dissipation rate is
used to indicate the mismatching degree between the material
flow and energy flow:

DR g d

X
K
g k

37

k1

where g 
k is the k-th the energy of output flow, for k = 1,2, . . . , K.
3.10. The coupling algorithm for solving material and energy flows
Throughout the complicated the smelting process of rotary kilnelectric furnace, the crude ferronickel is produced for further
refinement. The constraint condition was made for some of the
process parameters as shown in Table 5. Based on the process
requirements, it is necessary to take into account some considerations, which are described below:

Table 5
Constraint condition.
Parameter

Value

Production per hour, t/h

Nickel content in crude ferronickel alloy,%

12
12

Rotary dryer
The inlet temperature of rotary kiln flue gas, C
The outlet temperature of rotary dryer flue gas, C
The outlet temperature of semi-dry laterite ores, C

260
105
85

Rotary kiln
The inlet temperature of semi-dry laterite ores, C
The inlet temperature of furnace gas, C
The outlet temperature of laterite ores calcined, C
The outlet temperature of rotary kiln flue gas, C

21
230
880
375

Electric furnace
The inlet temperature of laterite ores calcined, C
The outlet temperature of furnace gas, C
The outlet temperature of alloy, C
The outlet temperature of slag, C

400
950
1556
1534

(1) In rotary dryer, through dust-collection technology, there

are no the nickel/iron components in laterite ores loss with
flue gas.
(2) In rotary kiln, the laterite ores is completely dehydrated.
(3) In rotary kiln, the waste heat loss of the flue gas entered into
electric furnace is ignored.
(4) In electric furnace, due to the enclosed electric furnace, there
is no air entering into the electric furnace during smelting
ferronickel.
Moreover, for calculation, the assumptions are as follows:
(i) The Basicity of material is 0.8.
(ii) Nickel recovery is 95%.
(iii) The dehydration rate of laterite ores in rotary dryer is 16%.
To resolve the interaction among subsystems, the mathematical
model requires coupling method to resolve the material and
energy flows of each subsystem. During solution process, the order
of calculation is adjusted according to the constraint relation as
shown in Fig. 6. The procedures of couple algorithm are briefly
described as follows:
1. Obtain the wet ores mass and chemical composition mass based
on the constraint condition. Calculate the mass of dehydration
of rotary dryer and rotary kiln.
2. Since the recycling the flue gas of rotary kiln and furnace gas of
electric furnace will impact the flue gas flow rate, the coupling
calculation of material and energy flows is firstly carried out
without recycling flue gas into rotary dryer and furnace gas into
rotary kiln. The mass flow rates of bituminous coal, flue gas and
furnace gas are calculated as well as related energy flows, which
will be used as the boundary conditions for further calculation.
3. Determine the amount of flue gas transported to rotary dryer
and the furnace gas transported to rotary kiln and update the
values of material and energy flows using iterative procedures.
4. Calculate the technic indices based on the result of material and
energy flows.
5. Obtain the efficacy coefficient, entropy value and weighting of
the order parameter.
6. Finally, evaluate the order degree, coordination ability, matching degree and synergy degree.
4. Results and discussion
Through the calculation of material and energy flows, the technic index can be obtained. The calculation results of material and

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P. Liu et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 109 (2016) 542559

Fig. 6. Procedure schematic of energy efficiency analysis and synergy degree evaluation.

energy flows balance of each subsystem are shown in Tables 6

and 7.

in electric furnace is shown in Fig. 7c. As depicted, the mass percentage of furnace gas generated accounts for 7.60% of output mass
flow.

4.1. Material flow analysis

4.2. Energy flow analysis
In this present work, assuming the production rate of 12 t/h ferronickel alloy with 12% of mass Ni, the Sankey diagram of material
flow in rotary dryer is shown in Fig. 7a. Due to the additional mass
of the combustion gases and vapour, the mass percentage of flue
gas increases by 14.87%. Moreover, the mass of dehydration
accounts for 8.70% of output flows. Fig. 7b shows the Sankey diagram of the material flow in rotary kiln. The mass percentage of
raw materials (the ores, limestone, anthracite and dust) is
decreased by 18.05% due to the dehydration and chemical reactions. Meanwhile, the mass of dehydration accounts for 9.02% of
the output mass flow. Finally, the Sankey diagram of material flow

The Sankey diagram of energy flow in the rotary dryer is shown

in Fig. 8a. As shown in the figure, the majority of the energy supply
for the rotary dryer comes from the bituminous coal combustion
(51.39% of energy supply) and the waste heat of flue gas (43.79%
of energy supply). The available energy of rotary dryer for the
16% free moisture evaporation is corresponding to the energy efficiency (ge) of 63.59%. Nevertheless, 29.92% of the energy output is
lost through the waste heat loss of the semi-dry ores (i.e. 4.07%),
free moisture (i.e. 1.99%), dust (i.e. 0.99%) and flue gas
(i.e. 22.87%). One should notice that the flue gas waste heat loss

Table 6
Material flow balance.
Rotary dryer

Rotary kiln

MD-in (t/h)

MD-out (t/h)

Electric furnace

MR-in (t/h)

MR-out (t/h)

ME-in (t/h)

ME-out (t/h)

MD,bc
MD,ca
MR,fg
MD,wo

1.93
12.63
102.08
119.31

MD,so
MD,fg
MD,d

80.75
137.13
18.03

MR,bc
MR,ca
MR,L
ME,Fg
MD,so
MD,d
MR,a

5.22
53.69
26.13
7.34
80.75
18.03
7.48

MR,oc
MR,fg
MR,fge

96.53
102.08
0.07

MR,oc
MR,fge

96.53
0.07

ME,Fa
ME,sl
ME,Fg

12.00
77.27
7.34

Total

235.95

Total

235.91

Total

198.64

Total

198.68

Total

96.60

Total

96.61

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P. Liu et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 109 (2016) 542559

Table 7
Energy flow balance.
Rotary dryer

Rotary kiln

ED,in (GJ/h)

ED,out (GJ/h)

Electric furnace

ER,in (GJ/h)

ER,out (GJ/h)

EE,in (GJ/h)

EE,out (GJ/h)

ED,bcc
ED,bc
ED,wo
ED,fm
ED,ca
ER,fg

44.760
0.051
1.447
2.434
0.273
38.139

ED,fg
ED,so
ED,fm
ED,e
ED,hl
ED,d
ED,sol
ED,fml
ED,dl

19.918
1.163
0.735
55.391
3.469
0.284
3.545
1.734
0.865

ER,bcc
ER,bc
ER,Fgc
EE,Fg
ER,ca
ED,so
ER,fm
ER,L
ER,a
ED,d

121.210
0.137
72.658
1.765
1.141
1.163
0.699
0.458
42.441
0.284

ER,fg
ER,oc
ER,rr
ER,e
ER,dr
ER,hl
ER,fgl
ER,ocl
ER,fge

38.139
38.059
7.266
50.750
43.378
2.011
16.646
45.672
0.036

EE,J
ER,oc
EE,CO
EE,sr
ER,fge

133.833
38.059
18.369
51.138
0.036

EE,Fa
EE,sl
EE,rr
EE,Fg
EE,hl
EE,lhm
EE,el
EE,wc
EE,Fgl

11.555
106.047
53.662
1.765
4.405
31.098
3.229
23.922
5.753

Total

87.104

Total

87.104

Total

241.956

Total

241.957

Total

241.435

Total

241.436

is considerably substantial. Through the processes of dedusting

and waste gas cleaning, the flue gas is directly discharged into
the environment without recycling its waste heat. Therefore, the
waste heat of flue gas is completely lost to the surroundings (contribute to the heat loss of 19.918 GJ/h see also in Table 7). However, it is also worth noting that the temperature of the flue gas is
approximately 85 C. Such a low temperature has a relatively low
recovery value; causing it becomes economically not viable to
scavenge the waste heat from the flue gas.
In Fig. 8b, it appears that the energy supply from the bituminous coal combustion (i.e. 50.1%) is the dominant factor in compared to the anthracite reaction (i.e. 17.54%) and furnace gas
combustion (i.e. 30.03%). The available energy of rotary kiln is used
to supply heat source for reduction reaction (i.e. 3.00%), limestone
decomposition (i.e. 17.93%) and dehydrating (i.e. 20.97%) with the
energy efficiency (ge) of 41.90%. Meanwhile, the discharge rate of
energy flow (gep) is of 25.76%. As depicted, the avoidable energy
loss is essentially caused by the heat dissipation occurs during
the transport process of flue gas and the ores calcined, in which
the waste heat loss of flue gas and the ores calcined account for
6.88% and 18.88% respectively. Therefore, by recycling the waste
heat of flue gas, the coal consumption of rotary dryer could be
reduced by 0.72 t/h. In addition, by reducing heat dissipation loss
of the ores calcined, the specific energy consumption could be also
reduced in electric furnace.
Similarly, as shown in Fig. 8c, the main energy is supplied by
Joule heating (55.43% of energy supply), which is around three
time as much of the waste heat of the ores calcined (i.e. 15.76%)
and more than double of the slagging reaction (i.e. 21.18%). In
the electric furnace, the available energy is used to supply heat
source for chemical reactions and slag/alloy melting. According
to the calculation, the resultant energy efficiency (ge) is of
35.11%. However, the discharge rate of energy flow (gep) is of
51.09%. This is because of the slag is reutilized as construction
material without recycling its waste heat so that its waste heat is
lost to the environment by heat dissipation. Moreover, the heat
dissipation also occurs during the transport process of furnace
gas and ferronickel alloy. As depicted, the waste heat loss of slag,
ferronickel alloy and furnace gas account for 43.92%, 4.79% and
2.38% of energy output respectively. With the waste heat of furnace gas recovery, the coal consumption of rotary kiln could be
reduced by 0.25 t/h.
Based on the above energy flow analysis, it is important to propose some energy conservation measures for the process. In summary, the energy efficiency for the rotary dryer, rotary kiln and
electric furnace is of 63.59%, 41.90% and 35.11% respectively (see
Table 8). The rotary dryer shows a higher energy efficiency due
to its relatively lower exit temperatures for flue gas and the ores;
causing a reduction of heat dissipation loss. On the other hand,
the discharge rate of energy flow for the rotary dryer, rotary kiln

and electric furnace is of 29.92%, 25.76% and 51.09% respectively.

The electric furnace shows a higher discharge rate of energy flow.
One of the reasons is due to the high exit temperatures for the slag
and alloy; leading to a substantial of heat dissipation loss. Another
reason is the waste heat of slag and alloy loss to the environment
without recycling the waste heat. Under these conditions, to
increase the energy efficiency, it is necessary to reduce exit temperatures of output flows and reutilize waste heat in order to minimize the heat dissipation loss.
In addition to the heat dissipation loss, it is also crucial to pay
attention to the heat loss of furnace body, preheating loss and electric loss. As stated in Table 7, it appears that the heat loss of rotary
dryer, rotary kiln and electric furnace body are 3.469 GJ/h,
2.011 GJ/h and 4.405 GJ/h, respectively. In the other words, it could
be also worthwhile to minimize heat loss by improving the thermal insulation of furnace body. The air leakage of the feed inlet
and discharge outlet could also be the primary cause of heat loss
by convection and radiation. As feeding material and discharging,
the heat will lost with off-gas from the feed inlet and discharge
outlet or dissipated to the surroundings by radiation. The time of
feeding material and discharging could be adjusted to reduce the
associated heat loss. Moreover, it is necessary to minimize the busbar and transformer losses [28] which are the major causes of the
electric loss. However, measures or strategy to reduce the aforementioned energy loss is subject to further investigation.
4.3. Energy saving for RKEF process
One of the main energy saving measures in the rotary kilnelectric furnace process is to recycle the rotary kiln flue gas into
rotary dryer for preheating bituminous coal and combustion air.
As depicted in Fig. 8b, flue gas waste heat accounts for 22.66% of
energy output in rotary kiln, which contains waste heat loss (i.e.
6.88%), residual waste heat entered into rotary dryer (i.e. 15.76%)
and residual waste heat entered into electric furnace (i.e. 0.02%).
Furthermore, 30.36% of the waste heat is lost to the environment
where only 69.64% of the waste heat is scavenged as heat source.
The reutilization of the waste heat could save 1.64 t/h bituminous
coal corresponding to around 45.94% of the bituminous coal consumption. Another energy saving measure is to recycle the electric
furnace gas as fuel in rotary kiln. The furnace gas combustion
accounts for 30.03% of energy supply (Fig. 8b). Similarly, the reutilization of furnace gas could save approximately 3.21 t/h bituminous coal; reducing the coal consumption by approximately 38.00%.
Nevertheless, lots of waste heat is still not reutilized. For example, the waste heat of flue gas in the rotary dryer could be reused to
preheat mixed material in raw proportioning station. As shown in
Table 9, the waste heat of the flue gas can be recovered by the
water heat boiler with a potential saving of 2.589 GJ/h. Furthermore, the efficiency of the rotary dryer could be enhanced by

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P. Liu et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 109 (2016) 542559

Fig. 7. Sankey diagram of the material flow: (a) Rotary dryer; (b) Rotary kiln; (c) Electric furnace.

P. Liu et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 109 (2016) 542559

553

Fig. 7 (continued)

2.97%; reducing the associated avoidable energy loss by 9.93%.

Nonetheless, decreasing the temperature in the transportation process could increase the resultant waste heat loss and the associated
energy loss. As shown in Table 9, decreasing the temperature of
semi-dry ores by 10 C will increase the waste heat loss by
15.62%; where the corresponding discharge rate of energy flow
and the avoidable energy loss in rotary dryer are increased by
0.64% and 2.13% respectively. Similarly, decreasing temperature
of laterite ores calcined and flue gas by 10 C will increase the
resultant waste heat loss by 2.08% and 8.76% respectively. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the thermal insulation property of
flue for minimizing the heat dissipation loss of flue gas.
For the electric furnace, the analysis also shows that a total of
59.386 GJ/h of waste heat could be recovered from the slag by
power generation through waste heat recovery. As a result, the
energy efficiency of electric furnace will increase by 24.60%; reducing the avoidable energy loss by 48.14%. In contrast, caused by
reduction of furnace gas temperature (i.e. 10 C less), the resultant
waste heat loss will slightly increase by 1.42%. The discharge rate
of energy flow and the avoidable energy loss of electric furnace will
only increase by 0.03% and 0.07% respectively. Meanwhile, by
using mold flux, the temperature of ferronickel alloy could be
effectively controlled (i.e. only reducing approximately 15 C).
Although such temperature reduction will incur additional waste
heat loss by 0.116 GJ/h, the mold flux could save a total of
11.439 GJ/h waste heat; reducing the discharge rate of energy flow
the avoidable energy loss of electric furnace by 4.74% and 9.27%.

alloy increases the demand of nickel quantity. As a result, more

raw materials (i.e. laterite ores, anthracite and etc.) are required
for smelting which consumes more fuel eventually; leading to a
higher output flows (e.g. flue gas and slag). From Figs. 9b and 10b
it appears that the bituminous coal of rotary dryer slightly increases
from 1.66 t/h to 2.28 t/h and bituminous coal of rotary kiln also
slightly increases from 4.26 t/h to 7.30 t/h. Meanwhile, an increase
of raw materials will increase the thickness of the material layer,
which leads to reducing the temperature of materials at the bottom
layer. Moreover, as shown in Figs. 9b, 10b and 11b, the growth rate
of the by-product is considerably larger than the product in the
three subsystems. The increment of raw material will produce more
slag (see Fig. 11b) and more vapour and carbon oxide (CO or CO2);
resulting more flue gas output.
Similarly, by providing more fuel (i.e. bituminous coal and furnace gas) in the two subsystems, it will increase the amount of
combustion air and eventually affect the efficiency of rotary dryer
and rotary kiln. There are two main possible reasons: Firstly, the
increase of combustion air will also result in more flue gas in the
process; leading to more associated heat loss through the flue
gas. Secondly, the temperature in the kiln will increase which
sequentially enhance the heat loss to the surroundings through
conduction of furnace body or convection and radiation. Meanwhile, with the increase of the material layer thickness, heat transfer to the bottom material layer will be hindered which ultimately
reduce the conversion degree of calcination. The effect of nickel
content in ferronickel alloy on energy efficiency and discharge rate
of energy flow is shown in Fig. 15a.

4.4. Influence of Ni content in ferronickel alloy

The effect of nickel content in ferronickel alloy on material and
energy flows is shown in Figs. 911. As shown in
Figs. 9b, 10b and 11b, with the higher Ni grade in the ferronickel
alloy, the mass of related material flow increases in the three subsystems. This is owing to the fact that enhancing nickel grade in

4.5. Influence of Ni content in laterite ores

The material and energy flows with respect to the nickel content in laterite ores are shown in Figs. 1214. As depicted, it
appears that the mass of related material flows decreases in the

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P. Liu et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 109 (2016) 542559

Fig. 8. Sankey diagram of the energy flow: (a) Rotary dryer; (b) Rotary kiln; (c) Electric furnace.

three subsystems with the increasing nickel content in laterite

ores. With the nickel grade in alloy remains the same, the
increased nickel content in laterite ores will reduce the raw materials consumption. The associated fuel consumption and the
amount of output flows will be also reduced. On the other hand,
the available energy and avoidable energy loss are also decreased
as shown in Figs. 12a, 13a and 14a respectively. This is essentially
due to the reduction of energy consumption for chemical reaction
and dehydration. Meanwhile, a reduction of raw materials supply
will also enhance the continuation degree, reduce the discharge
of output flows quantities and its associated energy flow dissipation loss. The effect of nickel content in laterite ores on energy efficiency and discharge rate of energy flow is shown in Fig. 15b.

4.6. Assessment of synergy degree for RKEF process

In order to assess the performance of the RKEF process, technic
indices and synergy analysis were carried out in the present study.
Two test cases (referred as Test 1 and 2 hereafter) corresponding to
produce 12 t/h ferronickel alloy containing 12 mass% Ni and
14 mass% Ni respectively were adopted for assessment. The production parameters of the cases are then utilized to calculate the
technic indices. The values of proposed indices are tabulated in
Tables 10 and 11.
In general, one may notice from the table that Test 1 shows a
better technic index than Test 2. For example, in the material flow
network, the iron recovery rate (Rfe) and continuation degree (C00 )

P. Liu et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 109 (2016) 542559

555

Fig. 8 (continued)

Table 8
Energy flow analysis.

Rotary dryer
Rotary kiln
Electric furnace

EA (GJ/h)

EAv (GJ/h)

EUnavo (GJ/h)

ge (%)

gep (%)

55.391
101.394
84.760

26.062
62.318
123.355

3.469
2.011
31.556

63.59
41.90
35.11

29.92
25.76
51.09

Table 9
Energy saving analysis.

Flue gas (D)

Semi-dry
ores
Flue gas (R)
Ores
calcined
Slag
Furnace gas
Alloy

DEa
(GJ/h)

Ewhl
(GJ/h)

D ge
(%)

Dgep
(%)

DgAvb
(%)

Dgwhlc
(%)

2.589
0.554

19.918
3.545

2.97

0.64

9.93
2.13

13.00
15.62

1.461
0.951

16.646
45.672

0.60
0.39

2.34
1.53

8.76
2.08

59.386
0.082
11.439

106.047
5.753
11.555

24.60

0.03
4.74

48.14
0.07
9.27

56.00
1.42
98.99

E0

E0

a
E
DE M  cp  DT; bDgAv AVEAV AV EDAVE ; cDgwhl whlEwhl whl EDwhl
; where DE denotes
the energy change of material flow with different temperature; DgAv and Dgwhl
denote the change rate of avoidable energy loss and waste heat loss. The avoidable
energy loss is presented in Table 8.

of Test 1 is higher than Test 2. As discussed, this is caused by the

increased nickel content in alloy (in Test 2) leads to a higher material (i.e. wet laterite ores, limestone, and anthracite) consumption,
longer production time and lower continuation degree (C00 ). Similarly, in energy flow network, Test 1 shows a higher efficiency than
Test 2. Again, this is owing to the higher material consumption in
Test 2; causing higher energy consumption, avoidable energy loss,

Fig. 9. The influence of Ni content in the alloy on material and energy flows in the
rotary dryer. (a) Available energy and avoidable energy loss, (b) Material flow.

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P. Liu et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 109 (2016) 542559

Fig. 10. The influence of Ni content in the alloy on material and energy flows in the
rotary kiln. (a) Available energy and avoidable energy loss, (b) Material flow.

Fig. 12. The influence of Ni content in the ores on material and energy flows in the
rotary dryer. (a) Available energy and avoidable energy loss, (b) Material flow.

Fig. 11. The influence of Ni content in the alloy on material and energy flows in the
electric furnace. (a) Available energy and avoidable energy loss, (b) Material flow.

Fig. 13. The influence of Ni content in the ores on material and energy flows in the
rotary kiln. (a) Available energy and avoidable energy loss, (b) Material flow.

P. Liu et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 109 (2016) 542559

557

Fig. 14. The influence of Ni content in the ores on material and energy flows in the
electric furnace. (a) Available energy and avoidable energy loss, (b) Material flow.

and energy discharge rate (gep). The resultant energy efficiency is

therefore reduced in Test 2. Moreover, with a lower continuation
degree (C00 ) in Test 2, energy loss due to heat dissipation will also
increase causing a lower recovery rate of waste heat (i.e. gsy and
gsy).
As shown in Tables 10 and 11, Test 1 shows a higher order
degree (ODm) than the Test 2. This could contribute to the fact that
the order parameters (em,n) of Test 1 are larger than Test 2, and the
combination form of order parameters of Test 1 is more optimized.
In other words, the larger the order parameter (em,n) of Test 1 is,
the higher order degree (ODm) of networks for Test 1 could obtain.
As a result, the overall order degree (ODm) between M-E-N for Test
1 is higher than Test 2; indicating that the coordination ability of
Test 1 is larger than Test 2. Meanwhile, Test 2 exhibits a higher
mismatching degree (DR) in compared to the Test 1. This could
be caused by the continuation degree (C00 ) of Test 2 which is lower
than the Test 1; representing more energy dissipation loss. In other
words, the system of Test 1 is more efficient and the networks of
Test 1 coordinates better as indicated by the higher matching
degree. Under these conditions, the synergy degree (SD) of Test 1
is higher than Test 2.
Through the analysis of energy flows distribution of rotary kilnelectric furnace process, several energy conservation measures for
enhancing the energy efficiency of the process are identified as following: Firstly, recycling the waste heat of output flows for preheating and dehydrating could improve energy efficiency and
minimize the energy loss to the surroundings. Secondly, the recovery of furnace gas as fuel could contribute to reducing significant
fuel consumption. Thirdly, reducing the exit temperatures of output flows could decrease the energy loss due to heat dissipation.
Fourthly, by power generation technology for waste heat recovery,
the waste heat loss of flue gas and slag could be reduced; leading to

Fig. 15. The energy efficiency of the RKEF process. (a) the influence of Ni content
change in the alloy on energy efficiency and discharge rate of energy flow, (b) the
influence of Ni content change in the ores on energy efficiency and discharge rate of
energy flow.

improving energy efficiency. Fifthly, by using mold flux, the waste

heat loss of ferronickel alloy could also be reduced. Sixthly,
improving the time of feeding material and discharging, busbar
loss and transformer loss could minimize energy loss. Finally,
improving the thermal insulation property of flue could minimize
the heat dissipation loss of exhaust gas. These measures could be
implemented to optimize the system efficiency while ensuring
the quality of the product. In addition, synergy and energy efficiency analysis were also carried out to quantify the performance
of the RKEF process under two working conditions. From the above
analysis, improving the continuation degree and recovery rate of
waste heat contribute to reducing specific energy consumption
and raw material consumption, and enhancing the productivity
and energy efficiency. In other words, optimizing the structure of
the system can help the subsystems to be in coordinated work
and ensure RKEF process to meet the requirement of energy saving
for practical working conditions.

5. Conclusion
Based on the material and energy flows analysis methods, the
effect of operation parameters on the product quality and energy
distribution in ferronickel smelting process has been analyzed. As
discussed, the analysis shows that the energy efficiency of the process could be significantly enhanced by optimizing the raw material and energy consumption and recovery of residues and energy.

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P. Liu et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 109 (2016) 542559

Table 10
The technic index of ferronickel alloy containing 12 mass% Ni-Test 1.
Ni (12%)

e1,1

e1,2

e1,3

e1,4

e1,5

e2,1

e2,2

e2,3

e2,4

e2,5

em,n
Sen
m;n

0.95
0.6857

0.399
0.9375

0.723
0.8062

0.338
0.9307

0.95
0.8930

1.045
0.9615

0.423
0.9952

0.413
0.9419

0.371
0.9258

0.727
0.9146

wm,n
ECm(em,n)
ODm(Gm)

0.4208
0.9515
0.7147

0.0836
0.4071

0.2595
0.4100

0.0928
0.3558

0.1433
0.9596

0.1474
0.2613
0.4824

0.0184
0.3800

0.2226
0.3682

0.2844
0.3188

0.3273
0.8077

SA
DR
SD

0.5872
0.371
0.3694

Table 11
The technic index of ferronickel alloy containing 14 mass% Ni-Test 2.
Ni (14%)

e1,1

e1,2

e1,3

e1,4

e1,5

e2,1

e2,2

e2,3

e2,4

e2,5

em,n
Sen
m;n

0.949
0.6996

0.335
0.7637

0.688
0.6679

0.341
0.7769

0.936
0.9280

1.295
0.7867

0.411
0.8196

0.396
0.7701

0.39
0.8408

0.695
0.7430

wm,n
ECm(em,n)
ODm(Gm)

0.2581
0.9586
0.5278

0.2030
0.3418

0.2853
0.2933

0.1917
0.3589

0.0619
0.9455

0.2052
0.3238
0.4500

0.1735
0.3659

0.2211
0.3482

0.1531
0.3412

0.2471
0.7722

SA
DR
SD

0.4873
0.39
0.2973

1. With the waste heat recovery of flue gas in rotary dryer, the
consumption of bituminous coal will be reduced by about
45.94%. Recycling the furnace gas as fuel causes a reduction of
about 38.00% bituminous coal consumption in rotary kiln.
2. Through the comparison of the efficiency of each subsystem,
increasing the energy efficiency is necessary to decrease exit
temperatures of output flows and the sequential energy loss.
3. The reutilization of waste heat of output flows is helpful to optimize energy distribution and to eliminate energy loss due to
heat dissipation.
4. With enhancing Ni grade in ferronickel alloy, the available
energy and avoidable energy loss are increased in each subsystem. Meanwhile, using the laterite ores with higher Ni content,
the available energy and avoidable energy loss are decreased in
each subsystem.
5. Minimizing the heat dissipation loss of output flows in the
transportation process, by using mold flux and improving the
thermal insulation property of flue, contributes to improving
the energy flow discharge rate.
6. The system with a higher synergy degree can show a better performance for energy efficiency and energy saving.
Acknowledgements
The authors are especially grateful to key programme of
National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.
51210007).
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