Utilization of Pellet Fines in the Iron Ore Sintering Process

The sinter plant that converts the iron ore fines into a desirable blast furnace feed, offers an avenue for recycling wastes. One of the several wastes that are produced at an iron and steel plant is the undersized pellet fines, which cannot be directly used in iron making. The present study evaluated the influence of these pellet fines on the sintering process. 5 experiments were conducted, by varying the pellet fines from 0 to 50% in the iron ore blend. It was found that the productivity decreased from 1.65 to 1.17 t/hr/m(2) and sintering time increased from 27.5 to 34.5 min with increasing pellet fines. The sinter product yield (+ 5 mm) decreased from 86.70 to 79.70%. Sinter strength decreased with an increase in pellet fines. The tumbler index (TI) decreased from 66.20 to 59.87% with an increase in pellet fines upto 50%.

Automated summary

The study examined the impact of undersized pellet fines on the sintering process. 5 experiments were conducted with varying pellet fines content in the iron ore blend. The results showed that increasing pellet fines led to a decrease in productivity from 1.65 to 1.17 t/hr/m(2) and an increase in sintering time from 27.5 to 34.5 min. The sinter product yield (+ 5 mm) decreased from 86.70 to 79.70%. Sinter strength also decreased with higher pellet fines content, as indicated by a decrease in tumbler index from 66.20 to 59.87%.