Effect of binders on reduction degree of iron ore pellets

Abstract

Bentonite is the most preferred silicate-based binder in iron ore pelletizing. However, it is considered an impurity due to its high SiO2 and Al2O3 content. The iron-making economy is adversely affected by the addition of bentonite or other silicate-based binders. In recent years, impurity-free binders have been tested to replace bentonite or to lower the bentonite dosage. The use of polyacrylamide polymer as a binder is tested in this work for that purpose. The performances of the tested binder on pellet qualities: morphology, chemical contents, reducibility, and swelling index have been compared with the performances of reference bentonite binder. A lower reduction degree and swelling was obtained for pellets using bentonite as binder compare with the one using Polycryamide binder.