ISSN 09670912, Steel in Translation, 2010, Vol. 40, No. 9, pp. 830832. Allerton Press, Inc., 2010.

Original Russian Text I.S. Vokhmyakova, S.I. Pokolenko, R.A. Poluyakhtov, G.G. Bardavelidze, S.N. Gushchin, 2010, published in Stal, 2010, No. 9, pp. 3031.

Pelletization of Hematite Concentrates

I. S. Vokhmyakovaa, S. I. Pokolenkoa, R. A. Poluyakhtova,
G. G. Bardavelidzea, and S. N. Gushchinb
a

OOO NPVP TOREKS, Yekaterinburg, Russia

Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg, Russia

AbstractThe pelletization of hematite concentrates from the Belgorod deposit is considered. To obtain
information on such pelletization, experiments are conducted with batch of different composition. The solid
fuel content is specified in accordance with the requirements of subsequent processing: for blastfurnace
smelting; or for direct iron production using the ITmk3 system. The binders and slagforming additives are
concentrated sulfidealcoholic mash and milk of lime. By selecting the specific surface of the concentrate
and the solid fuel, as well as the type and quantity of strengthening additive, optimal conditions may be
selected for batch pelletization with a large quantity of solid fuel.
DOI: 10.3103/S0967091210090135

The basic raw material for ferrous metallurgy in

Russia is magnetite ore. With the exhaustion of mag
netite sources and increasing processing costs, oxi
dized (hematite) ore must also be put into produc
tion. Global experience with such oreprimarily in
Brazil and Indiacannot always be applied to Rus
sian deposits. In the present work, we study the pel
letization of such ore for the example of Belgorod
ore. The content of solid fuel in the pellet batch is
specified in accordance with the subsequent require
ments: 12% for blastfurnace smelting and 20
30% for direct iron production using the ITmk3
system.
We consider hematite ore of the following compo
sition: 68.1% Fe, 4.5% FeO, 1.28% SiO2, 0.58% CaO,
0.5% MgO, 0.17% C, 0.052% P. Samples with the fol
lowing specific surface are investigated: 640 (baseline),
1870, and 2050 cm2/g. The solid fuel employed is coke
fines (specific surface 2580 cm2/g), containing 83%
carbon, 16% ash, and 1% volatiles.
As binder and slagforming additive, we use con
centrated sulfidealcoholic mash and milk of lime, in
quantities of 1, 3, and 5%. Additives of this type are
chosen on account of their low cost.
To study pelletization, we prepare batch of different
composition. Their preparation for the experiments
involves dosing of the materials, mixing, and wetting,
with subsequent pelletization in a traytype granulator.
After 3min pelletization at constant rate, the material
is screened into size classes: >5 mm, 53.5 mm, 3.5
2 mm, 21.2 mm, and <1.2 mm (State Standard
GOST 2756287).

The ease of pelletization of the batch is character

ized by the weighted mean diameter
k

d me.we =

mei w j ,

i=j

where dmei is the mean diameter of the granules in class i,

mm; wj is the relative content of the class.
The baseline adopted is concentrate with the initial
specific surface (640 cm2/g), without the addition of
binding solid fuel; it is pelletized and screened by size.
On the basis of the results, the weighted mean diame
ter (d0) of the baseline granule is calculated, and
dme.we/d0 is plotted as a function of various factors.
In Fig. 1, we plot dme.we/d0 as a function of the spe
cific surface of the concentrate. Analysis shows that
increasing the specific surface to 1870 cm2/g increases
the proportion of large particles, regardless of the
quantity of solid fuel and the additives. However, fur
ther increase to 2050 cm2/g reduces dme.we/d0 from
1.18 to 0.83; in other words, the ease of pelletization of
the batch is reduced. Analogous behavior is observed
for all the batch considered, regardless of the additives
and the content of solid fuel.
The influence of the additives on pelletization is
shown in Fig. 2, where dme.we/d0 is plotted as a function
of the quantity of the additive (concentrated sulfide
alcoholic mash or milk of lime). Analysis shows that
binders and slagforming additives in the batch favor
ably affect its pelletization as a whole, even with 30%
solid fuel.
It is evident from Fig. 2 that, with increase in addi
tive to 3%, the curves rise; dme.we/d0 is within the same
range for batch intended for different processes. Fur
ther increase to 5% has different influence on the pel

830

PELLETIZATION OF HEMATITE CONCENTRATES

dme.we/d0
1.3

(a)

1.1

831

dme.we/d0
1.3

(a)

1.1

0.9
0.9

0.7
0.5
0.3
500

0.7
700

900 1100 1300 1500 1700 1900 2100

1%, 1%

1%, 3%

1%, 5%

2%, 1%

2%, 3%

2%, 5%

1.5

0.5
0.3
0.5

(b)

1.5

2.5

3.5
S2%, 1%

S3%, 1%

S1, 2%

S2%, 2%

S3%, 2%
(b)

1.5
1.3
1.1

0.6
0.3
500

5.5

S1, 1%

1.2
0.9

4.5

0.9
700

900 1100 1300 1500 1700 1900 2100

Specific surface, cm2/g

0.7

20%, 1%

20%, 3%

20%, 5%

0.5

30%, 1%

30%, 3%

30%, 5%

0.3
0.5

Fig. 1. Influence of the specific surface of the concentrate

on batch pelletization: (a) for a blast furnace (with addi
tions of concentrated sulfidealcoholic mash); (b) for the
ITmk3 process (with added milk of lime); the first figure
is the content of solid fuel, %; the second is the content of
the additive, %.

letization: the ease of pelletization rises sharply in

some cases and slightly in others. For blastfurnace
batch, 35% is optimal.
The maximum dme.we/d0 is observed for batch con
taining milk of lime. In that case, it is logical to assume
that a large quantity of moisture accounts for the
higher dme.we/d0 than for concentrated sulfidealco
holic mash. (The residual moisture content after filtra
tion is 10%, and extra water is supplied with the milk
of lime.) This tends to increase the adhesive strength
between the particles, which will ultimately affect the
ease of pelletization [1].
It is found that the quantity of solid fuel has little
influence on the ease of pelletization. With 35%
binder (concentrated sulfidealcoholic mash and
milk of lime), increasing the content of solid fuel (to
2%) has little influence on the ease of pelletization,
except in cases where the specific surface of the con
STEEL IN TRANSLATION

Vol. 40

No. 9

2010

1.5

2.5

3.5
5.5
4.5
Quantity of binder, %

S1, 20%

S2, 20%

S3, 20%

S1, 30%

S2, 30%

S3, 30%

Fig. 2. Influence of the quantity of additives on batch pel

letization: (a) for a blast furnace (with additions of concen
trated sulfidealcoholic mash); (b) for the ITmk3 process
(with added milk of lime); S1, S2, S3 are values of the spe
cific surface for the concentrate640 (baseline), 1870,
and 2050 cm2/g, respectively; the second figure is the con
tent of solid fuel, %.

centrate is 2050 cm2/g. We may assume that, since this

is close to the specific surface of coke fines, conditions
for better adhesion of particles of different batch com
ponents and hence for pelletization are created [3].
In the pelletization of batch with 20 and 30% solid
fuel, we find that increase in the content of coke fines
reduces the ease of pelletization in the presence of 1
and 5% concentrated sulfidealcoholic mash. With
3% binder (for all values of the concentrates specific
surface and all types of additives), boosting the solid
fuel content increases the ease of pelletization. This is
evidently associated with the phase interactions in the
system and requires additional study.

832

VOKHMYAKOVA et al.

Thus, by selecting the specific surface of the con

centrate and the solid fuel and also the type and quan
tity of strengthening additive, we may select the opti
mal pelletization conditions for batch with a large
content of solid fuel.
On the basis of the experimental data we conclude
that optimal pelletization of Belgorod hematite con
centrate requires the following conditions.
(1) The specific surface of the hematite concen
trate must not exceed ~1900 cm2/g.
(2) The batch for pellets used in a blast furnace
must contain 35% of any specific additive; the

choice of binder depends on the requirements on the

performance and cost of the product.
(3) The content of solid fuel in the pellets for the
ITmk3 process must be 30% (this is consistent with
the requirements of the process) with the addition of
3% strengthening additives.
REFERENCES
1. Korotich, V.I., Osnovy teorii i tekhnologii podgotovki
syrya k domennoi plavke (Theoretical and Technologi
cal Principles in Preparing Raw Materials for Blast
Furnace Smelting), Moscow: Metallurgiya, 1978.

STEEL IN TRANSLATION

Vol. 40

No. 9

2010