Agglomeration and Prereduction of Ores

Abstract

The success of metallurgical processes greatly depends on the particle size of raw materials used. The size requi-rements differ from process to process and the desired sizes may range from tenths of millimeters to tens of centimeters. The desired size can be obtained by crush- ing or grinding if the input material is too coarse, or agglomeration if the input material is much finer. Agglo-meration is a process of size ,enlargement; btiquetteing, sintering and pelletising being the three common processes used in the metallurgical industries. The requirement of particle size for sintering is much coarser (generally upto 10 mm) against that of pelletising which is generally below 0.1 mm. The briquetting process can accommodate the size range of both sintering and pelletising.