Influence of limestone particle size on iron ore sinter properties and productivity

Abstract

AbstractIron ore fluxed sinter is the main ferrous burden of Jindal south west steel limited (JSWSL) blast furnaces. In sinter plant fluxes including limestone and dolomite are added to improve the sinter properties of iron ore and to provide an appropriate slag composition of the blast furnace. The raw material grain size affects the sinter process considerably because the sinter productivity and quality are strongly dependent on the green permeability of the bed, which is determined by the particle size distribution of the raw materials, the granulation effectiveness and by the sintering process itself. It is well‐known that in fluxed sinter, the size of limestone affects productivity and physical and metallurgical properties of the sinter. It is therefore necessary to understand the role of limestone particle size on sinter properties and productivity. In the present work laboratory sintering experiments have been carried out with different levels of limestone mean particle size (from 0.14 to 1.83mm) to understand the influence of limestone particle size on mineralogy, productivity, physical and metallurgical properties of the sinter. Sinter productivity increased with increasing limestone mean particle size due to improved sinter bed permeability. Sinter with limestone mean particle size of 1.25 to 1.52 mm yielded better sinter strength and lower RDI compared to sinter with smaller or larger limestone mean particle size. Higher sinter strength is due to better and uniform distribution of limestone particles, and better bed permeability enabled easy assimilation and effective distribution of calcium ferrite phases. The improvement in sinter RDI is due to change in mineralogy of the sinter compared to coarser and finer limestone mean particle size.