Effect of basicity on sintering behavior of low-titanium vanadium-titanium magnetite

Basicity has an important effect on the sinter quality, especially for low-titanium vanadium-titanium sinter. The effect of basieity on sintering behavior of low-titanium vanadium-titanium mixture, and the transference and distribution of element in sintering process were researched by sinter pot test, mineralogical analysis, scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and energy dispersive spectroscopy （EDS） analysis. The results show that CaO preferentially reacts with TiO2, generating pervoskite, so that the total liquid phase content of the sinter is low. There is an increase in the perovskite concentration of the sinter with the basicity ranging from 1.9：1 to 2.7：1. With increasing the basicity, the calcium ferrite content increases slightly and then rises rapidly, while the silicate content decreases and the metallurgical property of the sinter is improved. As for the distribution of these elements in the sinter, Ti occurs mainly in perovskite, V occurs mainly in silicate, and Fe occurs mainly in magnetite and hematite. The most abundant occurrence of Ca and Si occurs in silicate and perovskite. With increasing the basicity, the contents of A1 and Mg increase in calcium ferrite, while they decrease in other minerals.

Ore-blending optimization model for sintering process based on characteristics of iron ores

An ore-blending optimization model for the sintering process is an intelligent system that includes iron ore characteristics, expert knowledge and material balance. In the present work, 14 indices are proposed to represent chemical composition, granulating properties and high temperature properties of iron ores. After the relationships between iron ore characteristics and sintering performance are established, the ＂two-step＂ method and the simplex method are introduced to build the model by distinguishing the calculation of optimized blending proportion of iron ores from that of other sintering materials in order to improve calculation efficiency. The ore-blending optimization model, programmed by Access and Visual Basic, is applied to practical production in steel mills and the results prove that the present model can take advantage of the available iron ore resource with stable sinter yield and quality performance but at a lower cost.

Basic characteristics of Australian iron ore concentrate and its effects on sinter properties during the high-limonite sintering process

The basic characteristics of Australian iron ore concentrate (Ore-A) and its effects on sinter properties during a high-limonite sintering process were studied using micro-sinter and sinter pot methods. The results show that the Ore-A exhibits good granulation properties, strong liquid flow capability, high bonding phase strength and crystal strength, but poor assimilability. With increasing Ore-A ratio, the tumbler index and the reduction index (RI) of the sinter first increase and then decrease, whereas the softening interval (Delta T) and the softening start temperature (T (10%)) of the sinter exhibit the opposite behavior; the reduction degradation index (RDI+3.15) of the sinter increases linearly, but the sinter yield exhibits no obvious effects. With increasing Ore-A ratio, the distribution and crystallization of the minerals are improved, the main bonding phase first changes from silico-ferrite of calcium and aluminum (SFCA) to kirschsteinite, silicate, and SFCA and then transforms to 2CaO center dot SiO2 and SFCA. Given the utilization of Ore-A and the improvement of the sinter properties, the Ore-A ratio in the high-limonite sintering process is suggested to be controlled at approximately 6wt%.

High-temperature performance prediction of iron ore fines and the ore-blending programming problem in sintering

The high-temperature performance of iron ore fmes is an important factor in optimizing ore blending in sintering. However, the application of linear regression analysis and the linear combination method in most other studies always leads to a large deviation from the desired results. In this study, the fuzzy membership functions of the assimilation ability temperature and the liquid fluidity were proposed based on the fuzzy mathematics theory to construct a model for predicting the high-temperature performance of mixed iron ore. Comparisons of the prediction model and experimental results were presented. The results illustrate that the prediction model is more accurate and effective than previously developed models. In addition, fuzzy constraints for the high-temperature performance of iron ore in this research make the results of ore blending more comparable. A solution for the quantitative calculation as well as the programming of fuzzy constraints is also introduced.

Ore-proportioning optimization technique with high proportion of Yandi ore in sintering

The basic sintering characteristics of Yandi ore from Australia, including assimilation ability, liquid phase fluidity, self-strength of bonding phase, forming ability of silico ferrite of calcium and aluminum （SFCA）, and so on, were investigated in detail. Besides, the high temperature behavior and function of sintering were obtained. As a result, the techniques for ore-proportioning in sintering were obtained. The results show that Yandi ore possessing higher assimilation ability, better liquid phase fluidity, lower self-strength of bonding phase, and better forming ability of SFCA, should be mixed with iron ores whose properties are opposite to those of Yandi ore. In the optimization of sintering ore-proportioning, Yandi ore, whose price is relatively low, can be mixed as high as 40wt%.

Influence of gangue existing states in iron ores on the formation and flow of liquid phase during sintering

Gangue existing states largely affect the high-temperature characteristics of iron ores. Using a micro-sintering method and scan- ning electron microscopy, the effects of gangue content, gangue type, and gangue size on the assimilation characteristics and fluidity of liquid phase of five different iron ores were analyzed in this study. Next, the mechanism based on the reaction between gangues and sintering mate- dais was unraveled. The results show that, as the SiO2 levels increase in the iron ores, the lowest assimilation temperature （LAT） decreases, whereas the index of fluidity of liquid phase （IFL） increases. Below 1.5wt%, Al2O3 benefits the assimilation reaction, but higher concentra- tions proved detrimental. Larger quartz particles increase the SiO2 levels at the local reaction interface between the iron ore and CaO, thereby reducing the LAT. Quartz-gibbsite is more conductive to assimilation than kaolin. Quartz-gibbsite and kaolin gangues encourage the forma- tion of liquid-phase low-Al2O3-SFCA with high IFL and high-Al2O3-SFCA with low IFL, respectively.

NO_x reduction by coupling combustion with recycling flue gas in iron ore sintering process

A new process called＇NOx reduction by coupling combustion with recycling flue gas（RCCRF）＇was proposed to decrease NOx emission during the iron ore sintering process.The simulation test of NOx reduction was performed over sintered ore and in the process of coke combustion.Experimentally,NOx reduction was also carried out by sintering pot test.For sintered ore,the amount of NOx emission is reduced by 15wt%-25wt% at 400-550oC using 2.0vol% H2 or 2.0vol% CO,or reduced by 10wt%-30wt% at 560-720oC using 0.15vol% NH3.NOx reduction is around 10wt% by coupling combustion of pyrolysis gas and coke,or around 16wt% by recycling flue gas into coke combustion.By RCCRF,the maximum NOx reduction ratio is about 23wt% in coke combustion experiment and over 40wt% in sintering pot test.

Effects of particle characteristics on the granulation ability of iron ores during the sintering process

The granulation behavior of iron ores is essential for subsequent parameter optimization and efficient granulation, especially under changing material conditions. In this study, the effects of surface properties and particle size were analyzed using a laboratory granulation method; an estimation of the granulation of sintering blends was subsequently conducted for the base ores. Circularity and porosity were observed to negatively affect the granulation of iron ores, whereas wettability positively affected the granulation and was the most influential factor, indicating that wetting of iron ores is desirable during granulation. When iron ores with complex size distributions were granulated, the equivalent surface area was the main influencing factor for coarse particles larger than 1 mm and the ratio of adhering fines to intermediates was the main factor for fine particles smaller than 1 mm. By combining the granulation of coarse and fine particles with their proportioning, we proposed a calculation method for estimating the granulation ability of sintering blends. Good verification was demonstrated with the designed schemes. The results suggest that the developed method is effective for predicting the granulation of iron ore mixtures.

Effects of basicity and temperature on mineralogy and reduction behaviors of high-chromium vanadium-titanium magnetite sinters

The effects of basicity and temperature on the reduction process of Hongge high-chromium vanadium-titanium magnetite(HCVTM)sinter were investigated in this work.The main characterization methods of X-ray fluorescence(XRF),X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscope(SEM),and metallographic microscope were employed in this study.In this work,the reduction of HCVTM sinter with different temperature and basicity were experimented.The Fe,FeO,and TiO in reductive samples increase with increasing basicity and temperatures.The increase of basicity and temperature is favorable to the reduction of HCVTM sinter.The Fe phase has out-migration tendency to the surface of sinter while the perovskite and silicate phases have in-migration tendency to the inside of sinter.The reduction degradation index(RDI)decreases while the reduction index(RI)increases with increasing basicity.The RI increases from 67.14%to 82.09%with increasing temperature from 1073 K to 1373 K.

Influencing factors and mechanism of water absorption process of iron ores during sintering

The appropriate content and distribution of sinter moisture play an important role in the granulation of iron ores. In this study, the effects of porosity, size distribution, and particle shape on the water absorption rate （WAR） of four types of iron ores were analyzed by using the immersion method and capillary water absorption method. In addition, the mechanism underlying the water absorption process in iron ores was unraveled. It is found that the WARs of iron ores decrease quickly with the increase in water absorption time at the initial stages of water absorption. With further increase in absorption time, the WARs decrease gradually, until near 0. Iron ores with higher porosity, smaller particle size, and plate-like structure have the higher WARs. Compared with pores in the single-particle iron ore, voids among particles in the multi-particle iron oxide play an important role at the initial stages of water absorption. The water absorption mechanism of all single-particle and multi-particle iron ores analyzed in this study includes four steps, wherein the first three steps play a significant role in the sintering pro-cess.

Acting mechanism of F,K,and Na in the solid phase sintering reaction of the Baiyunebo iron ore

The effect of F,K,and Na on the solid phase reaction of the Baiyunebo iron ore was investigated by differential thermal analysis （DTA） and X-ray diffraction（XRD）.It has been identified that alkaline elements K and Na in the Baiyunebo ore instigate the formation of low melting point compounds Na2SiO3 and Na2O·Fe2O3 and the generation of molten state in the solid phase sintering.Element F in the Baiyunebo ore facilitates the formation of cuspidine compound 3CaO·2SiO2·CaF2 in the solid phase reaction.The cuspidine compound is kept in solid as one of the final products through the entire sintering process due to its high melting point.In the sintering process,CaF2and SiO2 react with CaO first and form 3CaO·2SiO2·CaF2 and 3CaO·2SiO2,so the formation of ferrites,Na2O·Fe2O3,and 2CaO·Fe2O3 is inhibited.

Influence of Coke Content on Sintering Process of Chromium-containing Vanadium-titanium Magnetite

The sintering of chromium-containing vanadium-titanium magnetite using different coke contents was studied through the sintering pot tests, X-ray diffraction analysis and mineralogical phase analysis. Results showed that, as the coke content increased from 3.2% to 4.4%, the liquid phase and combustion zone thickness increased while the vertical sintering rate and ratio of sintered product decreased. In addition, the combustion ratio of exhaust gas also increased with increasing the coke content, indicating that combustion zone temperature also increased, and the excessive the coke content in the sintering process of vanadiumtitanium magnetite is harmful. As the coke content increased, the magnetite, silicates, and perovskite contents of the sintered ore increased while the contents of hematite and calcium ferrite of sintered ore decreased; drum strength decreased, and reduction degradation properties increased while reduction ability decreased. We found that the appropriate coke content for the sintering process is 3.6 wt%.

Mechanism research on arsenic removal from arsenopyrite ore during a sintering process

The mechanism of arsenic removal during a sintering process was investigated through experiments with a sintering pot and arsenic-bearing iron ore containing arsenopyrite; the corresponding chemical properties of the sinter were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The experimental results revealed that the reaction of arsenic removal is mainly related to the oxygen atmosphere and temperature. During the sintering process, arsenic could be removed in the ignition layer, the sinter layer, and the combustion zone. A portion of FeAsS reacted with excess oxygen to generate FeAsO4, and the rest of the FeAsS reacted with oxygen to generate As2O3(g) and SO2(g). A portion of As2O3(g) mixed with Al2O3or CaO, which resulted in the formation of arsenates such as AlAsO4and Ca3(AsO4)2, leading to arsenic residues in sintering products. The FeAsS component in the blending ore was difficult to decompose in the preliminary heating zone, the dry zone, or the bottom layer because of the relatively low temperatures; however, As2O3(g) that originated from the high-temperature zone could react with metal oxides, resulting in the formation of arsenate residues. © 2017, University of Science and Technology Beijing and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Application of Intra-Particle Combustion Model for Iron Ore Sintering Bed

In order to quantitatively predict the behavior of the material in the packed bed, a single particle model is developed to describe the combustion and sintering process inside an individual particle composed of multiple solid material fines, including iron ore, coke and limestone, and is applied to the combustion modeling of an iron ore sintering. Byanalyzing three typical fuel distribution cases using the developed single particle combustion model, the effects of temperature and oxygen concentration gradient inside the particle on heat and mass transfer and the combustion behavior of the iron ore sintering process areinvestigated. Considering the various combustion rates which are highly dependent on the fuel distribution methods, correction factor for single particle model is also introduced and systematically analyzed. The aim of this research is to supplement particle technology to conventional approach and it is found that the oxygen concentration gradient inside the particle is significantly affected from the mixing method thereby changing the completion times of sintering process.

Calcium ferrite formation characteristic during iron ore sintering with different oxygen atmospheres

It is generally known that the large formation amount of calcium ferrite is favorable for the iron ore sintering. The effects of sintering temperature and O2 content of inlet gas on the calcium ferrite formation characteristic of typical iron ores, including hematite, limonite, specularite and magnetite, were investigated. And the effect of O2 content on the microstructure of the roasted briquettes was also studied in detail. The results show the amount of calcium ferrite initially increases then decreases with the increase of the sintering temperature. The temperature of maximum calcium ferrite generation amount is determined as follows： for hematite and limonite it is 1275 ~C, whereas for specularite and magnetite, 1250℃. The maximum contents of calcium ferrite for hematite, limonite, specularite and magnetite under the optimal sintering temperature are 73%, 82%, 67% and 63%, respectively. Increasing O2 content of the airflow is advantageous to the formation of calcium ferrite. Relatively, the effect of O2 content on the calcium ferrite formation of magnetite is the most pronounced, while O2 content of inlet gas has little effect on the calcium ferrite formation of limonite.

Infiltration behavior of sintering liquid on nuclei ores during low-titanium ore sintering process

Sinter strength is dependent not only on the self-intensity of the residual rude and bonding phase but also on the bonding degree between them. The infiltration behavior of sintering liquid on nuclei ores influences the bonding degree, which ultimately determines the sinter strength. Infiltration tests were conducted using micro-sinter equipment. The infiltration area index of original liquid（IAO）, infiltration volume index of secondary liquid（IVS）, and sinter body bonding strength（SBS） were proposed to study the melt infiltration behavior. The results show that the IVS first increases and then decreases with increasing TiO2 content in adhering fines, whereas the IAO exhibits the opposite behavior. Compared with the original liquid, the secondary liquid shows lower porosity, smaller pores, and more uniform distribution. The SBS increases first and then decreases with increasing IAO and TiO2 content, and reaches a maximum when the IAO and TiO2 contents are approximately 0.5 and 2.0wt%, respectively. The SBS first increases and then tends to be stable with increasing IVS. The TiO2 content is suggested to be controlled to approximately 2.0wt% in low-titanium ore sintering.

A pilot-scale study of selective desulfurization via urea addition in iron ore sintering

The iron ore sintering process is the main source of SO_2 emissions in the iron and steel industry. In our previous research, we proposed a novel technology for reducing SO_2 emissions in the flue gas in the iron ore sintering process by adding urea at a given distance from the sintering grate bar. In this paper, a pilot-scale experiment was carried out in a commercial sintering plant. The results showed that, compared to the SO_2 concentration in flue gas without urea addition, the SO_2 concentration decreased substantially from 694.2 to 108.0 mg/m^3 when 0.10wt% urea was added. NH_3 decomposed by urea reacted with SO_2 to produce（NH_4）_2SO_4, decreasing the SO_2 concentration in the flue gas.

Fundamental study on iron ore sintering new process of flue gas recirculation together with using biochar as fuel

It is of great significance for cleaner production to substitute bio-energy for fossil fuels in iron ore sintering. However, with the replacement ratio increasing, the consistency of heat front and flame front is broken, and the thermal utilizing efficiency of fuel is reduced, which results in the decrease of yield and tumble index of sinter. Circulating flue gas to sintering bed as biochar replacing 40% coke, CO in flue gas can be reused so as to increase the thermal utilizing efficiency of fuels, and the consistency of two fronts is recovered for the circulating flue gas containing certain CO2, H2 O and lower O2, which contributes to increasing the maximum temperature, extending the high temperature duration time of sintering bed, and results in improving the output and quality of sinter. In the condition of circulating 40% flue gas, the sintering with biomass fuels is strengthened, and the sintering indexes with biomass fuel replacing 40% coke breeze are comparative to those of using coke breeze completely.

Influencing factor of sinter body strength and its effects on iron ore sintering indexes

Sinter body strength, which reflects the strength of sinter, plays an important role in the improvement of sinter. In this study, the sinter body strengths of iron ores were measured using a microsintering method. The relationship between the chemical composition and sinter body strength was discussed. Moreover, sinter-pot tests were performed. The effects of sinter body strength on the sintering indexes were then elucidated, and the bottom limit of sinter body strength of blending ores was confirmed. In the results, the compressive strengths（CSs） of iron ores are observed to decrease with the increasing of the contents of loss on ignition（LOI）, SiO 2, and Al2O3; however, LOI of less than 3wt% does not substantially influence the CSs of fine ores. In the case of similar mineral composition, the porosity, in particular, the ratio between the number of large pores and the total number of pores, strongly influences the sinter body strength. With an increase of the blending-ore CSs used in sinter-pot tests, the yield, productivity, and tumbler strength increase, and the solid fuel consumption decreases. The CSs of the blending ores only slightly affect the sintering time. The CS bottom limit of the blending ores is 310 N. When the CSs of the blending ores increase by 10%, the yield, productivity, and tumbler index increase by 1.9%, 2.8%, and 2.0%, respectively, and the solid fuel consumption decreases by 1.9%.

Research on optimizing ore matching technology for 550 m^2 sintering machine

The sinter quality is important for its performance in a blast furnace,and optimizing ore matching is a main way to ensure the quality and yield of sinter ore and to reduce the cost of ore matching.The research on optimizing ore matching for a 550 m2sintering machine in Shougang Jingtang was carried out in this paper. Firstly,based on the condition of iron ore resourse in Shougang,sintering properties of various ores,especially the high temperature properties were researched,and basic structure of ore matching was determined according to the mutual complementary properties of assimilation and liquid phase fluidity among Australia ore,Brazilian ore and domestic concentrates,that was Australian ore(50%-60%) + Brazilian ore(40%-30%) + domestic concentrates(about 10%).Secondly,9 groups of ore matching schemes were designed and sintering pot tests were carried out,and then the starting scheme of the 550 m2sintering machine was obtained:ore from southern Brazil (20%) +ore from northern Brazil(10%) + semi-limonite(20%) + limonite ore(35%) + domestic concentrates (15%).Thirdly,experiment of optimizing parameters of optimizing basicity,lime ratio,water addition and bed depth were carried out,and 9 groups of ore matching schemes were designed.The results showed that parameters fit for Jingtang currently are as follows:binary basicity is 1.9 - 1.95,lime ratio and water addition is 5%and 7.0% respectively;sintering bed should increase to 800 mm gradually.At last,Jingtang sintering plant was put into production successfully and yields stably,with the bed depth of 800 mm and advanced sintering indexes.