Combustion efficiencies of pulverized coal in blowpipes and tuyeres under various operational conditions are numerically predicted to recognize the performance of pulverized coal injection in a blast furnace. A variety of parameters including the injection pattern of the pulverized coal, oxygen content in the hot blast, inlet temperature of the hot. blast and mass flow rate of coal carrier gas are taken into consideration. The effect of installing a ceramic sleeve around the tuyere on pulverized coal combustion is also evaluated. The predictions indicate that pulverized coal combustion is highly related to the injection pattern, hot blast temperature, mass flow rate of the carrier gas and installation of the ceramic sleeve, whereas it is insensitive to the oxygen concentration. The present study is conducted based on the practical operational conditions of the blast furnace at the China Steel Corporation. Consequently, the obtained results have provided a useful insight into the operation of pulverized coal injection, and they enable us to further improve the blast furnace performance in the future. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.