Improvement in Quality Parameters of Super-Fluxed Sinter from Indian Iron Ores: NML’s Experience

Abstract

The various studies at NML report that the quality parameters of sinter could be improved by modifying the physical characteristics of the sinter mix and improving the thermal efficiency. The studies have shown that increasing the solid fuel consumption was not a viable solution to improve TI and RI simultaneously. The mineralogical and morphological compositions of sinter do affect its qualities : A higher amount of calcium ferrites improved the reduction-degradation index and reducibility of sinter. The reducibility was well correlated with the ratio of micro-pores to total pores in sinter. Grain size of the mix did affect the sintering speed and quality parameters. The studies also show that significant improvement in reduction properties could be achieved by narrowing down the flux size and that of coke as well as optimizing the process variables. The RDI also improved with the addition of polymer in the mix, however, sinter productivity decreased.