Diffusion and reaction mechanism of limestone and quartz in fluxed iron ore pellet roasting process

The increase to the proportion of fluxed pellets in the blast furnace burden is a useful way to reduce the carbon emissions in the ironmaking process.In this study,the interaction between calcium carbonate and iron ore powder and the mineralization mechanism of fluxed iron ore pellet in the roasting process were investigated through diffusion couple experiments.Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy was used to study the elements’diffusion and phase transformation during the roasting process.The results indicated that limestone decomposed into calcium oxide,and magnetite was oxidized to hematite at the early stage of preheating.With the increase in roasting temperature,the diffusion rate of Fe and Ca was obviously accelerated,while the diffusion rate of Si was relatively slow.The order of magnitude of interdiffusion coefficient of Fe_(2)O_(3)-CaO diffusion couple was 10^(−10) m^(2)·s^(−1) at a roasting temperature of 1200℃for 9 h.Ca_(2)Fe_(2)O_(5) was the initial product in the Fe_(2)O_(3)-CaO-SiO_(2) diffusion interface,and then Ca_(2)Fe_(2)O_(5) continued to react with Fe_(2)O_(3) to form CaFe_(2)O_(4).With the expansion of the diffusion region,the sillico-ferrite of calcium liquid phase was produced due to the melting of SiO_(2) into CaFe_(2)O_(4),which can strengthen the consolidation of fluxed pellets.Furthermore,andradite would be formed around a small part of quartz particles,which is also conducive to the consolidation of fluxed pellets.In addition,the principle diagram of limestone and quartz diffusion reaction in the process of fluxed pellet roasting was discussed.

Effect of CaO and CaCO3 on Reduction Rate of Iron Ore Pellets Containing Carbon

The effect of metallurgical fluxes CaO and CaCO3 on the reduction rate of iron ore pellets containing carbon in nitrogen atmosphere has been studied by a weight-loss thermal balance. The experimental results showed that adding CaO or CaCO3 can promote reduction reaction as the added CaO or CaCO3 probably decrease the apparent activation energy of iron ore concentrate-carbon-CaO or CaCO3 reaction, and the reduction rate constant changes with mass percent of CaO and CaCO3. The kinetic analysis also showed that the rate-controlling step of the reaction is inner gas diffusion.

REDUCTION BEHAVIOR OF IRON ORE PELLETS CONTAININGCARBON UNDER NON-ISOTHERMAL CONDITION

The reduction behavior of iron ore pellets containing carbon under non-isothermal condition in the temperature range from 573 to 1373 K was investigated in a laboratory scale setup. The test results show that carbon content has no obvious effect on reduction degree of composite pellets (C/O mole ratio=1.0) by CO in the temperature range from 573 to 1373 K under linear temperature-rising program; reduction degree of iron ore pellets containing carbon is large in 90%CO-10%CO2 mixture than that of in 100%CO atmosphere or in 80%CO-20%CO2 mixture; the s type temperature-rising program has a better effect than that of linear one in increasing the reduction degree; and reduction degree of slower linear temperature-rising program is greater than that of faster one, but the final reduction degrees, i.e., those at the highest temperature are about the same for various CO partial pressures or temperature-rising programs. The kinetic analysis also shows that the reduction of iron ore-carbon composite pellets by CO or CO-CO2 mixture under non-isothermal condition should be controlled by surface reaction, and the apparent reduction activation energy changes with the reduction progress under various test conditions.

Optimization of Cooling Process of Iron Ore Pellets Based on Mathematical Model and Data Mining

Cooling process of iron ore pellets in a circular cooler has great impacts on the pellet quality and systematic energy exploitation. However, multi-variables and non-visualization of this gray system is unfavorable to efficient production. Thus, the cooling process of iron ore pellets was optimized using mathematical model and data mining techniques. A mathematical model was established and validated by steady-state production data, and the results show that the calculated values coincide very well with the measured values. Based on the proposed model, effects of important process parameters on gas-pellet temperature profiles within the circular cooler were analyzed to better understand the entire cooling process. Two data mining techniques—Association Rules Induction and Clustering were also applied on the steady-state production data to obtain expertise operating rules and optimized targets. Finally, an optimized control strategy for the circular cooler was proposed and an operation guidance system was developed. The system could realize the visualization of thermal process at steady state and provide operation guidance to optimize the circular cooler.

Temperature Distribution of Iron Ore Pellet Bed in Grate

The temperature distribution of iron ore pellet bed in grate has a significant effect on pellet production and quality control, but the related work is scarce. A well-designed test was successfully carried out by means of tracking measurement and the temperature distribution and variation in pellet layers were obtained. The effects of blast tem- perature, blast velocity and oxidation reaction on the pellet layer temperature were studied. According to the analy- sis, the inlet air temperature in the up-draught drying zone （UDD） and blast temperature in the Preheating I （PH I） zone should be raised, and the length of the down-draught drying zone （DDD） should be properly increased.

Utilization of High Sulfur Raw Materials in Iron Ore Pellets

Pyrite cinder and high sulfur magnetite were used as raw materials to produce iron ore pellets. Good quali ties of green balls and fired pellets were obtained from the feed comprising 50G pyrite cinder and 50% high sulfur magnetite concentrate at a small scale. Small scale tests were proven by pilot-scale tests. The high grade fired pel lets, assaying 63. 22% Fe, were analyzed, and the compressive strength of fired pellets was over 2 500 N/pellet. The fired pellets possessed excellent metallurgical performances, such as reducibility index higher than 67%, reduction swelling index lower than 15% and low temperature reduction degradation index （＋ 3.15 mm） higher than 1%, which can be used as the hurden for blast furnace.

Intelligent Control of Grate-kiln-cooler Process of Iron Ore Pellets Using a Combination of Expert System Approach and Takagi-Sugeno Fuzzy Model

Grate-kiln-cooler has become a major process of producing iron ore pellets in China. Due to the diversity of the raw materials used and the multi-device multi-variable characteristics,this process still encounters with control problem. An attempt was proposed to deal with this issue. The three-device-integrated feature of the process was firstly analyzed to obtain control strategy,and then an intelligent control system using a combination of expert system approach and Takagi-Sugeno（ T-S） fuzzy model was developed. Expert system approach was used to diagnose and remedy the abnormal conditions,while T-S fuzzy model was used to stabilize the thermal state. In the construction of T-S fuzzy rules,antecedents were identified by fuzzy c-mean clustering algorithm incorporated with subtractive clustering algorithm,and consequent parameters were identified by recursive least square algorithm. The control system was applied in a Chinese pelletizing plant and the application results demonstrated its effectiveness of stabilizing the thermal states within three devices.

Utilization of waste polyethylene terephthalate as a reducing agent in the reduction of iron ore composite pellets

The increasing consumption of plastics inevitably results in increasing amounts of waste plastics. Because of their long degradation periods, these wastes negatively affect the natural environment. Numerous studies have been conducted to recycle and eliminate waste plastics. The potential for recycling waste plastics in the iron and steel industry has been underestimated; the high C and H contents of plastics may make them suitable as alternative reductants in the reduction process of iron ore. This study aims to substitute plastic wastes for coal in reduction melting process and to investigate their performance during reduction at high temperature. We used a common type of waste plastic, polyethylene terephthalate （PET）, because of its high carbon and hydrogen contents. Composite pellets containing PET wastes, coke, and magnetite iron ore were reduced at selected temperatures of 1400 and 1450℃ for reduction time from 2 to 10 min to investigate the reduction melting behavior of these pellets. The results showed that an increased temperature and reduction time increased the reduction ratio of the pellets. The optimum experimental conditions for obtaining metallic iron （iron nuggets） were reduction at 1450℃ for 10 min using composite pellets containing 60% PET and 40% coke.

Control of nitrogen oxides emission by selective non-catalytic reduction in preheating section during iron ore pellets production

Reducing the NO_(x) emission from pelletizing process is of great importance to the green development of iron and steel industry.The flue gas temperature of preheating(PH)section during grate-kiln iron ore pelletizing process typically ranges within 850–1050℃,which meets the temperature requirements of selective non-catalytic reduction(SNCR)for NO_(x).The in-bed SNCR behavior of NO_(x) in the PH section was investigated,and the influence of relevant parameters was revealed.Results show that with the flue gas temperature rising,the denitration rate reached a peak value and then declined,where the appropriate temperature range was 950–1000℃.Increasing the NH_(3)/NO ratio(NSR)contributed to improving the denitration rate,and the appropriate NSR was 1.0.Oxygen content in the flue gas also showed an important influence on denitration rate,which reached a peak value and then dropped with the oxygen content rising.Under the condition of 18 vol.%oxygen content,the denitration reaction mainly occurred in the form of 4NO+4NH_(3)+O_(2)=4N_(2)+6H_(2)O.For restricting the competitive reaction of NH_(3) oxidation,the oxygen content in flue gas of PH section should be kept at an appropriate range.In general,the denitration rate reached about 25%in the PH section through spraying ammonia.

Study on Direct Reduction Characteristics of Iron Ore Coal Mixed Pellets

In order to get DRI iron ore coal mixed pellets are reduced isothermally. The mechanisms of reduction desulphurization, iron oxide reduction and the structure regenesis of the coal mixed pellets during reduction have been studied. The effect of various processing factors on the quality of DRI and economy technological indices including compression strength, desulphurization rate, recovery rate, reaction fraction, carbon content and metallization are also researched.

Effect of carbon species on the reduction and melting behavior of boron-bearing iron concentrate/carbon composite pellets

Iron nugget and boron-rich slag can be obtained in a short time through high-temperature reduction of boron- bearing iron concentrate by carbonaceous material, both of which are agglomerated together as a carbon composite pellet. This is a novel flow sheet for the comprehensive utilization of boron-bearing iron concentrate to produce a new kind of man-made boron ore. The effect of reducing agent species （i.e., carbon species） on the reduction and melting process of the composite pellet was investigated at a laboratory scale in the present work. The results show that, the reduction rate of the composite pellet increases from bituminite, anthracite, to coke at temperatures ranging from 950 to 1300~C. Reduction temperature has an important effect on the microstructure of reduced pellets. Carbon species also affects the behavior of reduced metallic iron particles. The anthracite-bearing composite pellet melts faster than the bituminite- bearing composite pellet, and the coke-bearing composite pellet cannot melt due to the high fusion point of coke ash. With anthracite as the reducing agent, the recovery rates of iron and boron are 96.5% and 95.7%, respectively. This work can help us get a further understanding of the new process mechanism.

Effect of magnesia on the compressive strength of pellets

The compressive strength of MgO-fluxed pellets was investigated before and after they were reduced. The porosity and pore size of green pellets, product pellets, and reduced pellets were analyzed to clarify how MgO affects the strength of the pellets. Experimental resuits show that when the MgO-bearing flux content in the pellets increases from 0.0wt% to 2.0wt%, the compressive strength of the pellets at ambient temperature decreases, but the compressive strength of the pellets after reduction increases. Therefore, the compressive strength of the pellets after reduction exhibits no certain positive correlation with that before reduction. The porosity and pore size of all the pellets （with different MgO contents） increase when the pellets are reduced. However, the increase in porosity of the MgO-fluxed pellets is relatively smaller than that of the traditional non-MgO-fluxed pellets, and the pore size range of the MgO-fluxed pellets is relatively narrower. The reduction swelling index （RSI） is a key factor for governing the compressive strength of the reduced pellets. An approximately reversed linear relation can be concluded that the lower the RSI, the greater the compressive strength of the reduced pellets is.

Diffusion behavior and distribution regulation of MgO in MgO-bearing pellets

In this paper, the diffusion behavior between MgO and Fe2O3（the main iron oxide in pellets） is investigated using a diffusion couple method. In addition, the distribution regulation of MgO in MgO-bearing pellets is analyzed via pelletizing experiments. The results illustrate that MgO is prone to diffuse into Fe2O3 in the form of solid solution; the diffusion rate considered here is 13.64 μm·min^（-1）. Most MgO content distributes in the iron phase instead of the slag phase. The MF phase {（Mg（1-x）Fex）O·Fe2O3, x ≤ 1} is generated in the MgO-bearing pellets. However, the distribution of MgO in the radial direction of the pellets is inconsistent. The solid solution portion of MgO in the MF phase is larger in the outer layer of the pellets than in the inner layer. In this work, the approximate chemical composition of the MF phase in the outer layer of the pellets is {（Mg（0.35-0.77）·Fe（0.65-0.23）） O·Fe2O3} and in the inner layer is {（Mg（0.13-0.45）·Fe（0.87-0.55））O·Fe2O3}.

Mass Loss and Direct Reduction Characteristics of Iron Ore-coal Composite Pellets

Mass loss and direct reduction characteristics of iron ore-coal composite pellets under different technological parameters were investigated. Meanwhile, changes of iron phase at different temperatures were analyzed by using X-ray diffraction （XRD）, and characteristics of crushed products were studied by using a scanning electron microscope （SEM）. The results showed that heating rate had little influence on the reduction, but the temperature played an important role in the reduction process. The mass loss rate increased rapidly from 800 to 1 100 ℃. The reduction process can be divided into three steps which correspond to different temperature ranges. Fe2 03 began to transform into Fe304 below 500 ℃, and FeO was reduced into Fe from 900 ℃. At 900 ℃, the reduction product showed a clear porous structure, which promoted the reduction progress. At 1000 ℃, the metallic Fe dominated the sample, and the reduction reached a very high degree.

Reduction Characteristics and Kinetics of Bayanobo Complex Iron Ore Carbon Bearing Pellets

The kinetics of isothermal reduction of the carbon bearing pellets, which were mainly composed of Bayanobo complex iron ore and pulverized coal, was investigated by thermogravimetry at the temperature of 1 273-1 673 K. The effects of xC/xO and the atmospheres on the extent of reduction also were investigated. The results indicate that the fractional reaction increased proportionally with temperature increasing and heating temperature is the significant influence factor to the reaction of carbon bearing pellets. The optimum xC/xO is 1.2 and the effect of atmosphere on the reduction of iron oxides is almost negligible. The results can be interpreted that the reaction was initially controlled by a mixed controlled mechanism of carbon gasification and interface chemical reaction, and in the later stage, interface chemical reaction became the rate-controlling step. Apparent activation energy values of reduction at different levels of fractional reaction were calculated. Before F （fraction of reaction）=0.5, the apparent activation energy ranges from 66.39 to 75.64 kJ/mol, while after F=0.5, the apparent activation energy is 80.98 to 85.37 kJ/mol.

Temperature Field Simulation Model for Rotary Kiln of Iron Ore Oxidized Pellet

Based on conduction,convection and radiation heat transfer among the flue gas,kiln wall,and the pellet bed material,and on the basis of the coal combustion and analysis of reaction heat of pellet induration in the rotary kiln,the temperature field model of rotary kiln was established.Using visual studio net,matlab and open source computer vision library as development tools,combining with the ActiveX data objects database technology,the temperature field simulation system for rotary kiln of iron ore oxidized pellet production was developed.Temperature distribution of pellet and flue gas in rotary kiln was dynamically displayed.

A quantitative investigation on consolidation of titanium-containing pellets during roasting process

The measurement method and quantitative indexes of iron ore consolidation characteristic temperature(CCT)during roasting,including consolidation starting temperature,highest consolidation rate temperature,and consolidation termination temperature,were improved based on previous research.The mineral properties of V-Ti magnetite(Panzhihua)were analyzed,and the CCT of V-Ti magnetite was calculated.To investigate the effect of mineral types on CCT,a series of trials were carried out by using various ores,including high-grade magnetite ore,high silicon iron ore,and V-Ti magnetite ore.The greatest shrinkage of V-Ti magnetite was 6.7%,the consolidation starting temperature was 991℃,and the termination temperature was 1384℃.The results of X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that the V-Ti magnetite ore was composed of titanomagnetite,peridotite,and other minerals,which is more complicated than conventional magnetite.As a result,the temperature at the maximum rate of consolidation and the temperature at the termination of consolidation are the greatest.FeTiO_(3) and MgFe_(2)O_(4) in V-Ti magnetite may inhibit the creation of sinter necks between hematite particles.Liquid phase occurs inside the pellet when the temperature surpasses 1250℃,which may accelerate particle growth and the formation of a sintering neck within the pellets.