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%.

Central composite design for optimization and formulation of desulphurization of iron ore concentrate using atmospheric leaching process

Owing to the negative effects of sulphur in iron ore on steelmaking process and environment, a tank leaching process was performed in atmospheric conditions to remove the sulphur from the iron ore concentrate and simultaneously to transform sulphide minerals into useful by-products. To achieve desirable sulphur removal rate and efficiency, central composite design was adopted as a response surface methodology for the optimization and evaluation of the process. A full-quadratic polynomial equation between the sulphur removal and the studied parameters was established to assess the behaviour of sulphur removal as a function of the factors and to predict the results in various conditions. The optimum conditions were obtained based on the variance tests and response surface plots, from which the optimized ranges for each factor resulting in the best response （corresponding to the highest percentage of desulphurization） could be then achieved. The results show that most desirable conditions are atmospheric leaching in 1.39 mol/dm3 nitric acid and 0.88 mol/dm3 sulphuric acid for 47 h. The designed process under the optimized desulphurization conditions was applied to a real iron ore concentrate. More than 75% of the total sulphur was removed via the leaching process. In addition to the desulphurization, the conversion of sulphide-bearing minerals into useful by-products, extraction of valuable metals, and executing the process under atmospheric conditions are the other advantages of the proposed method.

Influence of Mechanical Activation on Acid Leaching Dephosphorization of High-phosphorus Iron Ore Concentrates

High pressure roll grinding（HPRG）and ball milling were compared to investigate the influence of mechanical activation on the acid leaching dephosphorization of a high-phosphorus iron ore concentrate,which was manufactured through magnetizing roasting-magnetic separation of high-phosphorus oolitic iron ores.The results indicated that when high-phosphorus iron ore concentrates containing 54.92 mass% iron and 0.76 mass% phosphorus were directly processed through acid leaching,iron ore concentrates containing 55.74mass%iron and 0.33mass%phosphorus with an iron recovery of 84.64%and dephosphorization of 63.79% were obtained.When high-phosphorus iron ore concentrates activated by ball milling were processed by acid leaching,iron ore concentrates containing56.03mass%iron and 0.21mass% phosphorus with an iron recovery of 85.65% and dephosphorization of 77.49%were obtained.Meanwhile,when high-phosphorus iron ore concentrates activated by HPRG were processed by acid leaching,iron ore concentrates containing 58.02mass%iron and 0.10mass% phosphorus were obtained,with the iron recovery reaching 88.42% and the dephosphorization rate reaching 88.99%.Mechanistic studies demonstrated that ball milling can reduce the particle size,demonstrating aprominent reunion phenomenon.In contrast,HPRG pretreatment contributes to the formation of more cracks within the particles and selective dissociation of iron and P bearing minerals,which can provide the favorable kinetic conditions to accelerate the solid-liquid reaction rate.As such,the crystal structure is destroyed and the surface energy of mineral particles is strengthened by mechanical activation,further strengthening the dephosphorization.

Development of carbon composite iron ore micropellets by using the microfines of iron ore and carbon-bearing materials in iron making

Iron ore microfines and concentrate have very limited uses in sintering processes. They are used in pelletization; however, this process is cost intensive. Furthermore, the microfines of non-coking coal and other carbon-bearing materials, e.g., blast-furnace flue dust （BFD） and coke frees, are not used extensively in the metallurgical industry because of operational difficu]ties and handling problems. In the present work, to utilize these microfines, coal composite iron oxide micropellets （2-6 mm in size） were produced through an innovative technique in which lime and molasses were used as binding materials in the micropellets. The micropellets were subsequently treated with CO2 or the industrial waste gas to induce the chemical bond formation. The results show that, at a very high carbon level of 22wt% （38wt% coal）, the cold crushing strength and abrasion index of the micropellets are 2.5-3 kg/cm2 and 5wt%-9wt%, respectively; these values indicate that the pellets are suitable for cold handling. The developed micropellets have strong potential as a heat source in smelting reduction in iron making and sintering to reduce coke breeze. The micropellets produced with BFD and coke fines （8wt%-12wt%） were used in iron ore sin- tering and were observed to reduce the coke breeze consumption by 3%-4%. The quality of the produced sinter was at par with that of the conventional blast-furnace sinter.

Development and Testing of a Method to Estimate the Mineral Composition of Ore from Chemical Assays with a View toward Geometallurgy: Application to an Iron Ore Concentrator

For complex orebodies in which the valuable metal is carried by several minerals that respond differently to the concentration process, an ore block model should not be characterized solely with elemental assays, as this information is not sufficient to anticipate the mill performances. Data from an iron ore concentrator is used to demonstrate the idea. A method is then proposed to estimate the mineral contents of ore samples from elemental assays. The method can readily be extended to combine the estimation of the mineral contents in the feed of the mill with an estimation of the recovery of these minerals into the products of the concentrator. These mineral recoveries can subsequently be incorporated into a block model to predict the concentrator response to the processing of an ore block.

Research on Microwave Heating-Direct Steelmaking in Electric Furnace

Self-fluxing iron ore concentrates containing coal have good microwave Absorbability. With the voluminal heating property of microwave, the concentrates can be reduced uniformly and swiftly. The metallized semi-product can be directly charged into electric furnace for making clean steel. The total consumed energy of overall route is about 20 98 GJ.

Niobium and phosphorus behavior during melting-separation process of pre-reduced niobium ore concentrate

The pre-reduced Bayan Obo ferroniobium（FeNb）ore concentrate block was taken as raw materials for studying the physical properties of niobium-enriched slag and changes in niobium recovery rate.In addition,the dephosphorization rate of the slag under different melting-separation conditions was investigated using the melting-separation test.The research results demonstrate that（i）the niobium recovery rate and dephosphorization rate of the slag decrease with the increase in melting-separation temperature;（ii）the niobium recovery rate of the slag initially increases and then decreases with increase in basicity and time;and（iii）the dephosphorization rate of the slag increases with the increase in basicity and time.When the test was performed under the conditions of basicity of 0.6-0.7,time of 7-10min,and temperature of 1400-1450°C,the niobium recovery rate and dephosphorization rate are over 96%and 95%,respectively.By scanning electron microscopy,it is observed that niobium mainly exists in the form of calcium and titanium silicate within the slag phase,with uneven distribution.