Characterisation of the Physical and Metallurgical Properties of Natural Iron Ore for Iron Production

Abstract

The blast furnace is still the dominant form of iron production, but over the years, direct reduction methods have increased due to a number of reasons. Overall, iron production methods have optimal requirements with respect to the feed materials especially iron ore. In this study, tests were carried out on Muko iron ore from Uganda to analyse its suitability to meet the feed requirements of today's dominant iron production methods. More specifically, the Tumbler, Abrasion, and Shatter Indices of the ore were determined. In addition, porosity, thermoanalysis, and reducibility tests were performed. Overall, the Muko ore was found to have good mechanical properties exemplified with tumble and shatter index data >89.0 wt% and <2.5 wt%, respectively. Furthermore, its reducibility at 0.87%/min is within the acceptable range as a natural material feed for blast furnace and direct reduction furnaces. Also, the energy requirement for heating the ore to 1100• C was found to be higher in the samples containing a wider size range of irregular grains and the largest contaminations. In summary, it is concluded that the Muko iron ore has good physical and metallurgical properties to serve as a natural material for the blast furnace and direct reduction furnaces.

Application of Different Models for the Prediction of the Kinetics of Direct Reduction of Natural Iron Ores

“…Nevertheless, the gas reduction potential decreases as the gas penetrates the iron oxide pores. The apparent porosity of the used natural iron ore was 14% on average [11]. It should be pointed out that the maximum ΔX VM−EXP values increased with an increased reduction temperature from 0.11 at 700˚C to 0.16 at 900˚C.…”

Zeta potential of inorganic fine particle—Na‐bentonite binder mixture systems

“…It contains 59.6% Fe (equivalent to 85.1 wt.% Fe 2 O 3 ), 3.9 wt.% SiO 2 , 1.1% Al 2 O 3 , calculated by using the elemental analysis results of the X-ray fluorescent spectroscopy measurement with Niton XL3t GOLDD + (Thermo Scientific) with the mode mining Cu/Zu and counted for 120 s. Two measurements were performed and their average values were reported, after the calibration using the calibration curve made with three standards composed of different concentrations of three inorganic particles used in this study (i.e., hematite, silica, alumina). Based on the analysis, the ore is recognised as low to middle grade hematite ore [3].…”

“…The coarse fraction (+6 mm) can be directly shipped overseas and processed in a blast furnace while the fine fraction (−6 mm) should be pelletized to have coarser aggregates prior to the further processing. Due to the depletion of high-grade ores, iron ore industry now needs to beneficiate also low-grade fine ores which have high amount of gangue minerals such as quartz [3]. The presence of gangue minerals should affect the pelletization of hematite fines including changes in surface properties of hematite ore and its interactions with binder.…”

Caracterização Das Propriedades Metalúrgicas De Minérios De Ferro Após Secagem Para Uso Em Altos-Fornos

“…Alguns estudos têm sido conduzidos de forma a aumentar o conhecimento da correlação entre o comportamento dos minérios de ferro durante processo de redução e suas características, contribuindo para melhorar as formas de otimizar esses processos. Muwanguzi et al [4] realizaram testes para caracterização de minérios de ferro quanto às propriedades químicas, microestruturais, físicas e metalúrgicas para seis tipos de minérios diferentes. Apesar de observar pouca variação na composição química destes minérios, foram avaliadas diferenças significativas em suas microestruturas.…”