MAGMA smelting unit for coke-free production of cast iron, using iron ore & South African / Australian thermal coal
MAGMA is a multi-purpose smelting unit, which can replace the conventional blast furnace for making pig iron. MAGMA can use iron ore (both lumps and fines) and South African / Australian thermal coal for smelting.
MAGMA is an improved Romelt process for liquid-phase reduction of iron ore,which is offered by the Russian Engineering Company, Technologia Metallov LLC.
MAGMA uses the innovative liquid sodium cooling method. The heat transfer co-efficiency of liquid sodium is about 90 times higher than water. Liquid sodium maintains the temperature of the body of smelting chamber at less than 500°C. Under such conditions, a skull is formed in the molten slag zone of the working space of MAGMA smelting chamber and this skull is used in place of conventional refractories. As a result, MAGMA can operate for a long time without interruption for maintenance.
In the MAGMA process, iron ore and limestone are preliminary heated by the off-gases of the smelting chamber in a rotary kiln to temperatures of 900-1,000°C. The heated charge is subsequently fed into MAGMA for smelting and for reduction of iron oxides into iron in the liquid bath. Coal required for the reduction of iron ore is fed into the smelting chamber, and is burnt with oxygen. MAGMA reaches very high temperatures of up to 1,900°C in the working space of the smelting chamber and up to 1,650°C in the molten slag zone.
MAGMA is available in 5 sizes. Avery large-sized MAGMA unit can produce about 2,60,000 tons of cast iron and also generate 20-24MWh of electricity, by using the heat from off gases.
Following are the capacities & investments on the MAGMA project –
| Sl. No. | Size | Pig iron capacity per year | Power generation potential | Total investment, with captive power plant & out-sourced oxygen plant | Pay-back period |
| 1. | Very Small MAGMA (for R&D) | 36,000 tons | 2-3 MW | Rs. 55-60 crores | 5-6 years |
| 2. | Small MAGMA | 54,000 tons | 4-5 MW | Rs. 70-75 crores | 4-5 years |
| 3. | Medium MAGMA | 1,08,000 tons | 8-10 MW | Rs. 120-125 crores | 3-4 years |
| 4. | Large MAGMA | 1,72,000 tons | 13-16 MW | Rs. 165-175 crores | 2-3 years |
| 5. | Very large MAGMA | 2,60,000 tons | 20-24 MW | Rs. 210-225 crores | 2-3 years |
It is possible to change the slag basicity in MAGMA in a wide range from 0.6 to 1.5 and also maintain 4-5% FeO in the slag, to control the sulphur-phosphorus levels in the molten iron. This will enable the slag to be converted into rock wool fibre mats & boards, for higher value-addition.
MAGMA is a clean & efficient iron making process. The capital investments and the conversion costs are 30-40% lower in MAGMA, when compared the blast furnace. The entire investment on a large MAGMA project can be recovered in 2-3 years.
Convert your pellet plant into a pig iron plant, using MAGMA smelting unit
Click here to download the catalogue of MAGMA smelting unit for coke-free production of cast iron
Click here for all other applications of MAGMA
