INNOVATIVE SCIENTIFIC AND TRAINING CENTER “ROMELT”

Basic Information about the Center
The Romelt center is involved in developing the technology of iron smelting in a bubble liquid slag bath with the use of iron-bearing coals of various grades: ores with different iron content, iron-bearing waste of mining and metallurgical plants and mechanical engineering plants. The Romelt center conducts both theoretical and applied researches of processes related to the mechanism of the liquid phase recovery, hydrodynamic features of barbotage and energy pathways. The center is engaged in performing technological and feasibility studies under the Romelt technology for various organizations both in Russia and abroad, as well as marketing activities for commercializing the process. The Romelt center educates production workers on technological basics and practical uses, as well as the formation of competencies required to work with Romelt units.

Activity of the Center
The center is established for further development and improvement of the liquid-phase cast-iron production process with NUST MISiS, its upgrading, commercialization and staff training in respect of practical uses of this technology. The Romelt center possesses a unique archive for liquid-phase technologies, documents related to melting operations on an open melting unit for iron ore raw materials starting from 1985.

The Romelt center is a mobile unit that may promptly deal with commercial issues (performing technological and feasibility studies) and — either on its own or jointly with other departments of the university — conduct a complex of researches on the development and improvement of technologies and equipment. In addition, its staff may be engaged in innovative and marketing promotion of the Romelt process into new markets.

The Romelt process is protected in Russia and Kazakhstan with certificates for the ROMELT trademark. 16 foreign patents were obtained, 3 licenses to implement this technology were sold to IСF Kaiser Engineering (USA), Nippon Steel (Japan) and Romelt-Sail (India).

The key activities of the center are listed below:

• identification of theoretical common features of the liquid-phase recovery of metals with the use of thermodynamic and hydrodynamic modelling;
• development of algorithms and methods of calculating the techno-economic properties of the Romelt technology applicable to various iron-bearing materials;
• improving technological techniques, systems and programs to control and manage the Romelt process, and preparation of techno-commercial offers, statements of work and feasibility studies for the Romelt process ordered by various organizations.