Preparation of blast furnace burdens with middle-low basicity from high-SiO2-content iron concentrates by composite agglomeration process (CAP)

Abstract

ABSTRACTWith the depletion of high-grade iron ores, iron and steel companies all over the world are expected to use refractory iron ore resources in the sintering process. Composite agglomeration process (CAP) was utilised to improve the sintering performances of high-SiO2-content iron concentrates in this study. Theoretical calculation indicates that CAP is more effective for the agglomeration of high-SiO2-content iron concentrates compared with traditional sintering process (TSP). The sintering pot tests results showed that the sintering yield of 74.15 wt-%, tumbler index of 72.75 wt-% and productivity of 1.54 t·(m2·h)−1 were achieved, which is 9.12 wt-%, 10.70 wt-% and 0.45 t·(m2·h)−1 higher than that by TSP, respectively. Moreover, CAP decreased the solid fuel consumption by 11.77 kgfuel/tproduct. Researches of metallurgical performances showed the CAP product can be used as high-quality blast furnace burdens. This investigation provides an effective route to utilise the inferior high-SiO2-content iron concentrates.