Sintering machine ignition technology is a critical step in the steelmaking process, directly influencing sinter quality, energy consumption, and environmental emissions. This paper systematically examines innovations and practical applications of sintering machine ignition technologies, including intelligent control, furnace‑structure optimization, low‑negative‑pressure operation, oxygen‑enriched combustion, and staged fuel injection. The study demonstrates that an intelligent ignition system, by enabling precise control, can reduce energy consumption in the sintering process. 15% , increased production efficiency 20% ; Low‑negative‑pressure ignition technology reduces the specific gas consumption for ignition. 7.38 m ³ /t , the material layer thickness increases 50 mm ; Oxygen-enriched ignition technology promotes complete fuel combustion, thereby raising the ignition temperature of low-calorific-value coal gas. 30 °C, CO Emission reduction 10% ; The fuel‑splitting mode combined with low‑temperature ignition reduces gas consumption from 3.52 m ³ /t Drop to 2.01 m ³ /t These advanced technologies have significantly enhanced sintering ignition efficiency and quality while reducing energy consumption and pollutant emissions.

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The sintering process is the first high-temperature stage in the steelmaking workflow, playing a critical role in supplying high-quality burden to the blast furnace. Within this process, ignition technology—serving as the initial step that initiates sintering—directly impacts the yield and quality of sintered ore, as well as energy consumption. According to statistics, the total carbon emissions of China’s steel industry account for a significant share of the national total. 4.73% , reach 18 hundred million tons, of which the sintering process accounts for annually CO ₂ emissions exceed 2 In the hundred‑million‑ton range, it has become a key focus area for energy conservation and emissions reduction in the steel industry. Traditional sintering ignition technology relies heavily on manual operation and experience‑based control, leading to serious energy waste, uneven ignition, poor temperature‑control accuracy, significant safety risks, and subpar environmental performance. As… " Dual Carbon " With the in-depth implementation of national strategies and the comprehensive advancement of ultra‑low‑emission upgrades in the steel industry, conventional ignition technologies can no longer meet the demands of green, low‑carbon development, making technological upgrading and innovative retrofitting urgently necessary. In recent years, steel enterprises and research institutions both at home and abroad have undertaken extensive innovation efforts in sintering‑machine ignition technology, achieving significant progress in areas such as intelligent control system development, optimization of ignition furnace design, low‑negative‑pressure operation, oxygen‑enriched combustion, and staged fuel injection. These technological advances have not only enhanced ignition efficiency and quality but have also substantially reduced energy consumption and pollutant emissions, providing robust support for the steel industry’s green transformation. This paper aims to systematically review the improvements made to sintering‑machine ignition technologies, evaluate their practical performance through comparative data analysis, and offer the industry replicable technical pathways and practical insights, thereby driving sintering operations toward greater efficiency, environmental sustainability, and cost‑effectiveness.

2. Problems with Traditional Ignition Technology

2.1 Energy Waste and Inefficiency

Traditional sintering ignition methods rely primarily on manual operation and empirical control, resulting in significant energy waste and low efficiency. During manual ignition, operators often lack precise control, leading to excessive fuel consumption or incomplete ignition. Studies have shown that conventional ignition techniques typically incur high gas consumption, and due to imprecise control, substantial amounts of energy are wasted during the ignition process.

(1) Inaccurate temperature control is one of the major challenges of conventional ignition technology. Lacking real-time monitoring and feedback mechanisms, the ignition temperature often deviates from the optimal range—either rising too high, leading to energy waste and excessive melting of the sinter surface, or falling too low, resulting in insufficient ignition and compromising sinter quality. Such temperature fluctuations not only increase fuel consumption but also cause unstable sinter quality and a higher return‑to‑furnace rate.

(2) Poor ignition uniformity is also a significant drawback of conventional ignition technologies. In traditional ignition furnaces, the flow and temperature fields are unevenly distributed, leading to substantial variations in ignition performance across different regions of the sinter bed. This non-uniformity causes asynchronous combustion across the horizontal plane of the material layer, thereby compromising the stability of the entire sintering process and the uniformity of the sinter quality.

(3) Slow response speed is another major drawback of conventional manual ignition. When production conditions change, adjustments based on human experience often lag behind, failing to adapt promptly and resulting in degraded ignition performance and reduced production efficiency. Particularly when feedstock properties fluctuate or the production rhythm shifts, traditional ignition methods struggle to respond quickly and accurately.

2.2 Safety and Environmental Issues

In addition to their low energy efficiency, conventional ignition technologies pose numerous safety and environmental risks, which have become particularly acute in the context of increasingly stringent environmental regulations.

(1) Safety hazards are a critical issue that cannot be overlooked in traditional manual ignition systems. Due to the inherent unpredictability of human operation, accidents are prone to occur during the ignition process, posing significant safety risks. Particularly when gas is used as the ignition fuel, improper handling can lead to severe incidents such as explosions or poisoning, jeopardizing both personnel and equipment.

(2) High pollutant emissions represent another significant drawback of conventional ignition technologies. Traditional ignition methods tend to produce an unstable combustion process, releasing substantial amounts of harmful gases and thereby increasing the complexity and cost of environmental control measures. Among these, carbon monoxide… (CO) Emission issues are particularly severe; due to incomplete combustion, substantial amounts of… are generated during the ignition process. CO , causing pollution to the atmospheric environment.

(3) Increasing environmental pressure has become a common challenge for steel enterprises. As national environmental policies tighten and ultra‑low emission retrofitting gains momentum, conventional ignition technologies can no longer meet the ever‑stricter environmental standards. In particular, in the treatment of flue gases from sintering machine heads, controlling emissions during the ignition process has emerged as a critical step in achieving compliance.

2.3 Insufficient process adaptability

With the advancement of sintering technology and changes in raw material conditions, traditional ignition techniques have demonstrated significant limitations in process adaptability, making it difficult to meet the demands of modern sintering operations.

(1) Poor adaptability to low-calorific-value coal gas is one of the major challenges confronting conventional ignition technologies. At present, in China there are approximately… 900 Tai sintering machine, only 26% Enterprises with coking plants typically use blast furnace gas, converter gas, or a mixture of the two for sintering ignition, with a calorific value generally around… 6000KJ/m ³ below. Compared with the use of coke oven gas (calorific value 18000KJ/m ³) Compared with conventional ignition, low-calorific-value gas ignition results in poor ignition quality at the sinter surface, leading to a higher proportion of returned fines and reduced sinter strength.

(2) Insufficient adaptability to thick-layer sintering is also a major shortcoming of conventional ignition technologies. With the widespread adoption of thick-layer sintering, the material layer thickness has evolved from the traditional… 700mm Increase to the left and right 900mm As a result, this places higher demands on ignition technology. Conventional ignition methods struggle to meet the specific requirements of thick-layer sintering—namely, ignition quality and heat distribution—thereby limiting the full realization of its advantages.

The main problems and their impacts associated with conventional ignition technology are shown in the table. 1。

Table 1. Major problems and impacts of conventional ignition technology

Sintering machine ignition burner types: gas generator burner, blast furnace gas burner, coke oven gas burner, oxygen-enriched burner.

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