Cold bonded ore-coal composite pellets for sponge ironmaking Part 1 Laboratory scale development

There is a need for the development of efficient industrial processes to use iron ore fines of high grade. Attention is particularly drawn to rotary kiln sponge ironmaking technology using lump iron ore, where productivity is low and energy consumption high compared with gas based processes. Fundamental studies carried out elsewhere indicate that the reduction of lump iron is accelerated if a limited amount of carbonaceous material is incorporated in the agglomerate of iron ore fines. Based on these considerations, cold bonded ore-coal composite pellets have been developed for sponge ironmaking in a rotary kiln. These composite pellets were tested in the laboratory and found to reduce very quickly, compared with lump iron ore. Composite pellets were also tested in an 8 t/day rotary kiln sponge iron plant giving enhanced productivity and lower coal consumption, and these results will be presented in Part 2 of this paper (next issue).