Development of a method for evaluating raw materials for use in iron ore sinter in terms of lime assimilation
W Ferreira, R Cromarty, J de Villiers
Steel is produced in a basic oxygen furnace from hot metal obtained
from a blast furnace. A sintered iron ore with good hightemperature
properties (strength and permeability) should be used
as feed to the blast furnace. The quality of this sintered ore depends
on the reactivity of the iron ore used as feed to the sinter plant
during the lime assimilation step in the sintering process. The
penetration test is the standard method for evaluating the reactivity
of iron ore with lime. It is, however, difficult to determine the exact
depth of penetration from the standard test. A new test method is
proposed that allows automatic evaluation of iron ores in terms of
lime assimilation with increasing temperature. A comparison of the
coefficients of variation for the new and standard methods for each
ore type demonstrates that the results of the new test are more
reproducible and more precise than those of the standard method.
The test is also less time-consuming and easier to implement.
Keywords
iron ore, sintering, properties, lime assimilation