Iron Ore Reactions and Phenomena in a Blast Furnace

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 June 2022) | Viewed by 6478

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Process Metallurgy Research Unit, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4300, FI-90014 Oulu, Finland
Interests: blast furnace ironmaking; direct reduction; iron ore pellet; sinter; lump ore; iron ore reduction; iron ore softening; pellet swelling; metallurgical testing

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Guest Editor
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishiku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan
Interests: blast furnace; iron ore sintering; iron ore granulation; iron ore reduction reaction; self-reducing pellet; carbothermic reduction; cohesive zone; iron carburization behavior; iron ore softening and melting behavior
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Blast furnaces (BF) are still the dominant process for making iron in the world. Blast furnaces are charged with iron ores in the form of pellets, sinter and/or lump ore and metallurgical coke in separate layers from the top of the furnace. While descending, the ferrous burden materials encounter different kinds of reactions and phenomena inside the blast furnace, including reduction reactions, softening and melting, disintegration as well as pellet swelling and cracking. Regular articles based on laboratory and pilot scale experimens as well as review articles of this topic are invited to this Special Issue. Topics that will be included in this Special Issue include—but are not limited to—as follows:

  • The reduction of BF ferrous burden materials by CO and H2;
  • Softening and melting of BF ferrous burden materials;
  • Swelling and cracking of pellets;
  • Disintegration of BF ferrous burden materials;
  • Especially, phase transformations during the above-mentioned reactions/phenomena.

Dr. Mikko Iljana
Prof. Dr. Ko-Ichiro Ohno
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • blast furnace ironmaking
  • ferrous burden materials such as iron ore pellets, sinter and lump ore
  • reactions and phenomena such as reduction, softening, melting, disintegration, swelling and cracking
  • experimental work
  • carbon monoxide and hydrogen as reducing gas component

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 5232 KiB  
Article
Suitability of Auger Pressing Briquettes for Blast Furnace Use Based on Laboratory Tests
by Olli Vitikka, Mikko Iljana, Anne Heikkilä, Illia Tkalenko, Nikita Koriuchev, Daniel Shehovsov, Andrey Malkki and Timo Fabritius
Minerals 2022, 12(7), 868; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12070868 - 8 Jul 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2725
Abstract
Briquetting is a process in which fine materials unsuitable for use as such are agglomerated to achieve a larger particle size. Auger pressing is a novel briquetting method to efficiently improve the recycling of by-products from iron and steelmaking. The high-temperature properties of [...] Read more.
Briquetting is a process in which fine materials unsuitable for use as such are agglomerated to achieve a larger particle size. Auger pressing is a novel briquetting method to efficiently improve the recycling of by-products from iron and steelmaking. The high-temperature properties of auger pressing briquettes mainly consisting of blast furnace sludge and mill scale were evaluated. The aim was to determine the suitability of the briquettes for blast furnace (BF) ironmaking by studying the reduction, swelling, and cracking behavior using a laboratory-scale furnace. The blast furnace simulator (BFS) capable of performing non-isothermal reduction experiments with changing gas compositions was used to simulate the different stages of reduction up to 1100 °C in an atmosphere with N2, CO, and CO2 gases. A commercial olivine pellet and a conventional industrial BF briquette were used as reference samples. The sample weight losses were monitored by thermogravimetry, swelling as a change in the volume, and cracking by visual inspection. The samples were analyzed using microscopes and an elemental analyzer. Based on the BFS experiments, the briquettes proved to be a promising raw material for BF use. They were of a self-reducing quality due to their carbon content and showed reduction to metallic iron faster compared to the reference samples. The swelling was slight, and despite the minor cracking the structure of the briquettes did not degrade. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Iron Ore Reactions and Phenomena in a Blast Furnace)
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21 pages, 54615 KiB  
Article
Reduction of Acid Iron Ore Pellets under Simulated Wall and Center Conditions in a Blast Furnace Shaft
by Mikko Iljana, Ahmed Abdelrahim, Hauke Bartusch and Timo Fabritius
Minerals 2022, 12(6), 741; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12060741 - 10 Jun 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2327
Abstract
The operational conditions, including temperature and gas composition, vary along the radial position in a blast furnace. Nevertheless, very few studies can be found in the literature that discuss how the reduction behavior of the ferrous burden varies along the radial position. In [...] Read more.
The operational conditions, including temperature and gas composition, vary along the radial position in a blast furnace. Nevertheless, very few studies can be found in the literature that discuss how the reduction behavior of the ferrous burden varies along the radial position. In this study, the effect of the radial charging position on the reducibility of acid iron ore pellets was investigated using a laboratory-scale, high-temperature furnace in CO-CO2-N2 and CO-CO2-H2-H2O-N2 atmospheres up to 1100 °C. The experimental conditions were accumulated based on earlier measurements from a multi-point vertical probing campaign that was performed for a center-working European blast furnace. The main finding of this study is that the pellet reduction proceeded faster under simulated blast furnace conditions resembling those in the center area, compared to the wall area, because of a higher share of CO and H2 in the gas. Therefore, the pellet charging position affects its reduction path in a blast furnace. Additionally, it was shown that the presence of H2 and H2O in the reducing gas enhanced the progress of reduction reactions significantly and enhanced the formation of cracks slightly, both of which are desirable in blast furnace operation. The reducibility data attained in this study are important in understanding how temperature and gas composition is connected to the reduction degree under realistic process conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Iron Ore Reactions and Phenomena in a Blast Furnace)
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