Iron Ores

Run of mine ore

Crusher
_ 305 mm

Autogenous mill

Oversize
Primary screen

Pump

Oversize
Secondary screen
_ 833 mm(20 mesh)

Pump

Distributor

Middling Tails
Rougher spiral

Concentrate
Pump Cyclone

Tails Cleaner Thickener

spiral

Pump
Pump

Tails Recleaner
spiral

Filter

Dryer

Fig. 8.27 Flowsheet for spiral concentration at Quebec Cartier Mining Company.

8.5 Agglomeration Processes

The blast furnace is a countercurrent gas-solid reactor in which the solid charge materials move
downward while the hot reducing gases flow upward. The best possible contact between the solids
and the reducing gas is obtained with a permeable burden, which permits not only a high rate of
gas flow but also a uniform gas flow, with a minimum of channeling of the gas. The primary pur-
pose of agglomeration is to improve burden permeability and gas-solid contact, and thereby reduce
blast furnace coke rates and increase the rate of reduction. A secondary consideration is the less-
ening of the amount of fine material blown out of the blast furnace into the gas recovery system.
Furthermore, in ironmaking furnaces, agglomerated materials, when they have the proper chemi-
cal composition, can substitute for lump ores used as charge ores.
The leading direct reduction processes such as Midrex and HYL are also shaft furnaces which rely
on countercurrent gas-solid contact so the principles of burden sizing are similar to that of the blast

Copyright © 1999, The AISE Steel Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA. All rights reserved. 603
Ironmaking Volume

Cone crusher Pebble Starch flocculant

Reuse water from pond collecting Cyclone
Cone feed bin
crusher Over- hopper
Caustic soda product bin Cone flow Pulp Lime
crusher Pebble distributor flocculant
Silicate dispersant storage Conditioner
bin

Reuse water Deslime

from pond thickener
Screens
Covered crude Primary
ore storage autogenius Reuse water Overflow
mill from pond (slime
_ 2 mm(_ 5/64") Pebble tailings)
_ _ mill
Feeder _ 75 mm + 32 mm(_ 3"+11/4")
32 mm + 16 mm( 11/4"+5/8")
_ 16 mm + 2 mm(_ 5/8"+5/64")
Flotation Rougher flotation
feed
distributor Amine collector Polymer
Starch flocculant
depressant Polymer
Concentrate thickener Overflow flocculant
1st scavenger
flotation
Reuse water pond
Conditioner
2nd scavenger Reuse water pumped
flotation back to plant
Starch
depressant Polymer
flocculant
3rd scavenger Filter
flotation Middlings Steam
Distributor
Slurry tank

4th scavenger Filter cake

flotation Lime
flocculant

Pelletizing
Tailings pond

Fig. 8.28 Concentrator flowsheet of the Tilden Mine.

furnace but are even more important as the ferrous materials are the only solid materials in these
shaft furnaces.
A good agglomerate for blast furnace use should contain 60% or more of iron, a minimum of unde-
sirable constituents, a minimum of material less than 6 mm (1/4 in.) in size, and a minimum of
material larger than 25 mm (1 in.). The agglomerate should be strong enough to withstand degra-
dation during stockpiling, handling, and transportation to the furnace so as to arrive at the furnace
skip containing a minimum of 85–95% of +6 mm (+1/4 in.) material. In addition, the agglomerate
must be able to withstand the high temperature and the degradation forces within the furnace with-
out slumping or decripitation. The agglomerate should also be reasonably reducible so that it can
reduce at a satisfactorily high rate in the blast furnace. In the last several decades somewhat dif-
ferent standards have developed for the two leading agglomerate forms, sinter and pellets. A good
summary of desirable sinter and pellet properties is presented in Table 8.7; a more comprehensive
discussion is available in the reference for these tables.
Four types of agglomerating processes have been developed: sintering, pelletizing, briquetting,
and nodulizing. Their individual products are known as sinter, pellets, briquettes, and nodules, Fig.
8.29. Only the sintering and pelletizing processes are of major importance as neither briquetting
nor nodulizing has gained any substantial degree of commercial acceptance. Careful evaluation
should be made of the processes, material to be agglomerated, and the product desired before arriv-
ing at a final decision on a commercial installation. Quite often the origin of the material to be
agglomerated together with material handling and transportation considerations will dictate which
process is chosen. Fine concentrates such as those made from magnetite taconite are not readily

604 Copyright © 1999, The AISE Steel Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA. All rights reserved.
 Iron Ores

Table 8.7 Desirable Sinter and Pellet Properties (Adapted from Ref. 3)

Sinter
Chemistry Physical Properties
FeO 5.0–6.0% ISO Strength (ISO 3271)
Mn ≈ 0.2% (as low as possible) > 6.3 mm 70–80%
P ≈ 0.04% (as low as possible)
SiO2 5.0–5.5% Grain Structure
Al2O3 1.0–1.3% < 5 mm or < 6 mm max. 5%
TiO2 – (as low as possible) < 10 mm max. 30%
Na2O+K2O < 0.08% (as low as possible) > 50 mm max. 10%
CaO 8–10%
MgO 1.4–2.0%
CaO/SiO2 >1.8 Metallurgical Properties
Disintegration in the Static Test
RDI
< 2.8 mm max. 20–30%
< 3.15 mm max. 35%
ISO 4696
< 3.15 mm max. 30–33%
Reducibility (ISO 1.4–1.6% min.
4695)
Conditions of the RDI and ISO 4696 method
RDI ISO 4696
Sample 500 g: 16–20 mm 500g: 10–12.5 mm
Temperature 500°C 500°C
Reduction Gas 30% CO; 70% N2 20% CO; 20% CO2; 2% H2; 58% N2
Reduction Time 30 min 60 min
Apparatus Vertical retort; Ø 75 mm Vertical retort; Ø 75 mm
Evaluation of Tumbling 900 revolutions Tumbling 300 revolutions
Results drum: l = 200 mm, Ø = 130 mm drum: l = 200 mm, Ø = 130 mm
two lifters two lifters
Expression of % by wt > 6.3mm
Results % by wt < 3.15 mm
% by wt < 0.5 mm % by wt > 6.3mm
% by wt < 3.15 mm % by wt < 0.5 mm
Blast Furnace Pellets
Metallurgical Properties Physical Properties
Low Temperature Disintegration, dynamic test Grain Structure
(SEP 1771/82)
> 6.3 mm min. 80% > 16 mm max. 5%
< 0.5 mm max. 15% 8–16 mm min. 85%
< 6.3 mm max. 5%
Reduction Properties under Load (ISO 7992)
80% degree of max. 15 mm WG Cold Compression Strength,
reductions Pellets 10(12.5 mm (ISO 4700)
Average min. 2500 N
Reducibility R40- min. 0.8 %/min < 2000 N max. 10%
value (ISO 4695)
< 1500 N max. 5%
Swelling max. 20%
(ISO DP 4698)
Tumbler Strength (ISO 3271)
> 6.3 mm min. 95%
< 0.5 mm max. 5%

Copyright © 1999, The AISE Steel Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA. All rights reserved. 605
Ironmaking Volume

Fig. 8.29 Four types of iron ore agglomerates. The briquettes at the lower right were produced by hot ore briquetting.

shipped because of dusting and freezing problems but are readily made into pellets that are easy to
handle and transport with minimal degradation. Consequently, if there is a considerable distance
between the mine and the blast furnace it is preferable to locate pellet plants near the mine site.
Materials that do not have the particle size distribution and characteristics required for pelletizing
may be agglomerated by sintering. Typical sinter feed materials include fines generated during ore
transport, steelmaking slag fines, flue dust, mill scale, and fine concentrates that are too coarse for
pelletizing. Sinter plants tend to be located near the blast furnaces because sinter degrades badly
during shipment and because the steelmaking facilities are the point of origin of many of the mate-
rials that must be agglomerated.
In North America and also in the Scandinavian countries, the availability of pellets from relatively
modern pellet plants, the absence of coarse sintering ores and the environmental spending require-
ments for typically older sinter plants have made pellets the dominant burden material. Many sin-
ter plants have been shut down and the remaining sinter plants mainly process steel waste oxides
and a limited amount of concentrates and fine ores. However, in the rest of world sinter is still the
dominant burden material as the abundance of coarse sintering ores, the flexibility of the sintering
process and the desirable properties of sinter have generally overcome the environmental chal-
lenges to the sintering process.
Energy cost and the uncertain availability of fuels are important factors in all processes and have
provided the incentive for development work to reduce fuel consumption and to utilize substitute
fuels. Better utilization of hot gases and heat recuperation have recently resulted in lower fuel costs
and conversion of oil and gas fired pelletizing operations to coal firing has resulted in a more reli-
able fuel source.

606 Copyright © 1999, The AISE Steel Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA. All rights reserved.
 Iron Ores

8.5.1 Sintering
Sintering has been referred to as the art of burning a fuel mixed with ore under controlled condi-
tions. The flexibility of the process permits conversion of a variety of materials, including natural
fine ores and ore fines from screening operations, flue dust, ore concentrates, and other iron bear-
ing materials of small particle size into a clinker-like aggregate that is well suited for use in the
blast furnace.
The continuous sintering process shown schematically in Fig. 8.30 is carried out on a traveling
grate that conveys a bed of ore fines or other finely divided iron bearing material, intimately mixed
with approximately 5% of a finely divided fuel such as coke breeze or anthracite. Near the head or
feed end of the grate, the bed is ignited on the surface by gas burners, Fig. 8.31, and, as the mix-
ture moves along on the traveling grate, air is pulled down through the mixture to burn the fuel by
downdraft combustion. As the grates (or pallets) move continuously over the windboxes toward the
discharge end of the strand, the combustion front in the bed moves progressively downward. This
creates sufficient heat and temperature, about 1300–1480°C (2370–2700°F), to sinter the fine ore
particles together into porous clinkers. That location along the traveling grate where the combus-
tion front touches the bottom of the bed is called the burnthrough point.
Although simple in principle, sintering plants require that a number of important factors in their
design and operation be observed to attain optimum performance. Intimate mixing of the feed mate-
rials is one of the most important. In most modern sinter plants, a bedding and blending operation, as
shown in Fig. 8.18, is used to pre-mix the sintering ores, steel plant waste oxides, fluxes, and some
solid fuels. This blended feed is then supplemented by small trim amounts of flux and solid fuel. This
total feed mixture is the subject to a water addition within a mixing device such as a balling drum or
disc, Fig. 8.32 and Fig. 8.33, or pug mill. These mixers are operated to produce small rice size nod-
ules that significantly improve the permeability of the sinter bed. Improved permeability, in turn,

Coke to blast furnace

Ore to blast furnace

Coke supply

Limestone supply Ore crushing

and screening
Ore supply and storage

Crusher R-Return fines

OO
C-Coke fines
Limestone L-Limestone fines
OO
fines Ore fines O-Ore
A-Additives
RM
Coke fines

Storage bins
R C C L L A O O O O
Mixing drum Feeder scales
RM-Rod mill
BH-Burner hood
HL-Hearth layer
SC-Sinter cooler Raw
Preheated air sinter mix
SSH-Sinter screening hot HL
SSC- Sinter screening cold R SC Sintering
EP-Electrostatic precipitator R machine
HL
Sinter to BH Rerolling
blast furnace drum Stack

EP
SSC
Sinter SSH
Dust
Fan

Fig. 8.30 Schematic flow diagram of continuous iron ore sintering process.

Copyright © 1999, The AISE Steel Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA. All rights reserved. 607
Ironmaking Volume

Fig. 8.31 Sintering machine in operation. The ignition furnace in the center background ignites the fuel in the surface layer
of the sinter mix. As the bed of sinter progresses into the foreground, air is pulled down through the bed to cause the burn-
ing zone to move downward through the bed by igniting fuel in deeper and deeper zones of the mix. By the time the dis-
charge end of the machine is reached, sintering will have taken place throughout the depth of the bed.

results in more rapid and uniform sintering. Desirable mixer retention times vary from about one
minute for sticky hematite ores to four minutes for more difficult to ball ores.
In transferring the prepared mix from the mixer to the grate of the sintering machine it is essential
to feed the material carefully to provide a uniform, homogeneous bed and to prevent compacting
of the bed. To avoid a direct drop of feed onto the grate, a hearth layer of about 25–50 mm (1–2
in.)of already sintered material is fed first onto the traveling grate. Feeding devices typically
include a roll feeder in conjunction with chutes which act to avoid compacting the feed material.
Design of surge bins and feeders for distributing the prepared mix into these bins is equally impor-
tant because, if the prepared mix is compacted or segregated during handling and loading onto the
grate, all of the advantages gained through good feed preparation may be lost. Once the feed is
charged onto the grate, metal bars or rods already inserted longitudinally along the grate for a dis-
tance of about 2–4 m (6–13 ft) help to loosen up the mixture to enhance permeability.
Proper ignition of the sinter bed is also important. Poor ignition results in spotty burning and may
leave unsintered material over the surface of the bed. Conversely, too intense an ignition flame can
result in slagging over the bed and reduced sintering rates. The radiant hood ignition furnace pro-
vides good ignition. Replacing part of the solid fuel with gaseous fuel results in sinter having a
slightly improved strength and reducibility without affecting sinter production rate. This practice
is termed mixed firing. Where a shortage of solid fuel exists, and gas is available, use of increased
amounts of gaseous fuel should be desirable. Plants using increased ignition (extended firing) have
approximately 25% of the length of the sinter bed covered by a gas fired ignition type hood. The

608 Copyright © 1999, The AISE Steel Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA. All rights reserved.
 Iron Ores

Fig. 8.32 Two disc-type pelletizing machines. Ore fines are fed to the discs by the belt conveyors (behind the operator).
As the discs rotate, there is a balling action that causes the fines to agglomerate into pellet-like masses that are discharged
from the discs over their lip at the bottom onto to the belt conveyor shown at floor level that carries the pellets to the bins
of the sinter machine.

Fig. 8.33 Balling drum mixer. Fig. 8.34 Induced draft rotary or circular sinter coolers,
shown in process of construction.

Copyright © 1999, The AISE Steel Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA. All rights reserved. 609
Ironmaking Volume

temperature in this hood ranges from about 1150°C (2100°F) in the first section where ignition
begins to approximately 800°C (1500°F) at the exit end of the hood. Depending upon the charac-
teristics of the ore materials and the sintering conditions, daily average production rate of
22.4–42.9 tonnes/m2/day (2.3–4.4 net tons/ft2/day) of grate area are expected, and individual daily
rates in excess of 48.8 tonnes/m2/day (5 net tons/ft2/day) have been attained.
Cooling of the sinter below 150°C (300°F) so that it can be handled on conveyor belts is an impor-
tant part of the operation. Sinter coolers, such as the rotary type, Fig. 8.34, are usually used; it is
desirable to avoid a water quench as the quench adversely affects sinter properties. The exhaust air
from these coolers is normally at too low a temperature to permit the economical recovery of heat,
although such systems have been installed in countries with high energy costs as in Japan.
Sinter represents an improved blast furnace material as compared to lump ore or acid pellets as fol-
lows. Improvements have been obtained (1) by incorporating the blast furnace flux into the sinter
rather than charging it separately to the top of the furnace, as was formerly done, (2) by use of sized
sinter and (3) by virtue of improved high temperature properties. The available data on the use of
fluxed sinter, sometimes called self-fluxing sinter, indicate that for each 200 lbs of limestone per
net ton of hot metal removed from the blast furnace burden and charged into the sinter plant to
make a fluxed sinter, approximately 9.1 kg (20 lb) of metallurgical coke per net ton of hot metal
are saved. The coke savings results primarily from calcining of limestone on the sintering grate
rather than in the blast furnace. Limestone in the form of fluxing fines for the production of sinter
is made by crushing and screening methods that result in a product meeting size specifications.
Use of sized sinter is desirable because iron production rates in the blast furnace are further
increased. Plant tests have demonstrated significant increases in iron production rate as a result of
screening out small-sized material in sinter before it is charged to the furnace. Other tests have
shown that sized sinter, which contains 85–90% of 25 mm 3 6 mm (1 in. 3 l/4 in.) material as
compared with 60% in unsized sinter has a much higher permeability than unsized sinter and per-
forms as well as pellets of comparable size. It also appears that crushing to (25 mm (1 in.) size at
the sinter plant yields a more stable sinter because the smaller size fractions are more resistant to
degradation.
In the last several decades researchers have shown that fluxed sinter (and also fluxed pellets) have
superior high temperature properties in the blast furnace as compared to lump ore and acid pellets.
These improvements include higher softening and melting temperatures and higher levels of
reducibility.
The above description of sintering only provides an introduction to this topic. The earlier (before
1980) references are useful for North American and former Eastern bloc sinter plant operations,
most of which were built in the 1950s and 1960s. Some more recent references describe advances
in sintering relevant to large, modern sinter plant operation which are predominant in Europe and
the Asia-Pacific area.
In North America and in the Scandinavian countries it has been demonstrated that fluxed pellets;
fluxed with either limestone/dolomite mixtures or olivine, and also properly sized, can achieve
blast furnace performances comparable to that of fluxed, sized sinter.

8.5.2 Pelletizing
Pelletizing differs from sintering in that a green unbaked pellet or ball is formed and then hardened
by heating. Experimental work, started many years ago by E. W. Davis and his associates at the Uni-
versity of Minnesota on the concentration and agglomeration of low grade iron ores, showed that it
was possible to ball or pelletize fine magnetite concentrate in a balling drum and that if the balls
were fired at sufficiently high temperature (usually below the point of incipient fusion) a hard,
indurated pellet, Fig. 8.29, well adapted for use in the blast furnace, could be made. Consequently,
despite the unquestioned benefits of sinter on blast furnace performance, intense interest in the pel-
letizing process had developed because of the outstanding performance achieved by steel producers

610 Copyright © 1999, The AISE Steel Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA. All rights reserved.
 Iron Ores

in extended operations with pellets as the principal iron bearing material in the blast furnace bur-
den. In North America this interest was further promoted by the absence of coarse sintering ores
coupled with the opportunity to effectively utilize abundant reserves of low grade taconite ore.
In general, the pelletizing process is desirable for agglomeration of finely divided concentrates
because they are normally of such fine size that they will form into a green ball with little diffi-
culty. Concentrates and high grade ores that are not suitable in size for pelletizing are in some cases
ground to the required size when pellets are desired as the final product.
The balling drum and the disc pelletizer are the most widely used devices for forming green balls.
Compared with the balling drum, the disc has the advantages of lighter weight and greater possibil-
ity for adjustment. Its inherent design averages out the effect of instantaneous fluctuations in the feed,
whereas the drum cannot. Also, the classifying action of the disc promotes discharge of balls of more
uniform size, which simplifies screening of the product. However, the capacity of the discs is low and
discs generally require closer control than drums. Best control of ball size is achieved when the
balling device is in closed circuit with a screen to remove and recycle the undersize material.
Binders, such as bentonite, clay or hydrated lime, are generally used to raise the wet strength of green
balls to more acceptable levels for handling. Bentonite consumption at the rate of 6.3–10 kg (14–22
lb) per ton of feed is a significant cost element and adds to the silica content of the final product. Con-
siderable effort has been directed to reducing bentonite usage and to development of cheaper substi-
tutes. The ballability and strength of green balls are influenced by the additives and by the moisture
content and particle size distribution of the concentrates. Optimum moisture content for good balling
is usually in the 9–12% range. It appears that balling characteristics are relatively independent of the
chemical composition of a concentrate, but are strongly affected by its physical properties. For exam-
ple, specular hematites are more difficult to ball than magnetite concentrates because of the plate-like
structure of the specular hematite particles. In any case, satisfactory pellet formation is usually
achieved by regrinding to about 80–90% –43 µm (–325 mesh). Normally, any material considered for
pelletizing should contain at least 70% – 43 µm (–325 mesh) and have a specific surface area (Blaine)
greater than 1200 cm2/gram for proper balling characteristics.
Both the drop and compressive strengths of green pellets are important but because dried pellets
are not required to withstand much handling, their compression strength is considered most impor-
tant. The strength of fired pellets is important in minimizing degradation by breakage and abrasion
during handling and shipping, and in the blast furnace. Strong bonding in pellets is believed to be
due to grain growth from the accompanying oxidation of magnetite to hematite, or recrystalliza-
tion of hematite. Although slag bonding may promote more rapid strengthening at slightly lower
firing temperatures, pellet strength is normally decreased, especially resistance to thermal shock.
Fired pellet strength is most commonly determined by compression and tumble tests. Compressive
strengths of individual pellets depend upon the mineralogical composition and physical properties
of the concentrate, the additives used, the balling method, pellet size, firing technique and temper-
ature, and testing procedure. The compressive strengths of commercially acceptable pellets are
usually in the range of 200–350 kg for pellets in the size range of –13 mm +9 mm. In the tumbler
test 11.4 kg (25 lb) of +6 mm pellets are tumbled for 200 revolutions at 25 rpm in a drum tumbler
(ASTM E279-65T) and then screened. A satisfactory commercial pellet should contain not more
than about 5% of –0.6 mm (–28 mesh) fines, and 94% or more of +6 mm size, after tumbler test-
ing. A minimum of broken pellets between 6 mm and 0.6 mm in size is also desirable. Other impor-
tant properties of fired pellets to be used for blast furnace feed are reducibility, porosity, and bulk
density. With some concentrates these can be varied within certain limits.
The flow sheet of a pelletizing process is similar in many respects to the sintering process, partic-
ularly in the materials handling area. Usually the associated mining, concentrating, and grinding
installations are operated as a feed preparation section of the pellet plant. A typical pelletizing plant
is shown in Fig. 8.35. The three most important pelletizing systems are the traveling grate, the
grate-kiln, and the shaft furnace. Each system has been used commercially to make acceptable
quality pellets and thus, capital and operating cost factors are usually involved in choosing one or
the other. Fuel requirements for pelletizing by these systems vary from about 500,000 to 1,000,000

Copyright © 1999, The AISE Steel Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA. All rights reserved. 611
Ironmaking Volume

kJ per tonne (Btu/long ton) of pellets depending on the feed material. Oxidation of magnetite to
hematite during pelletizing will provide a significant proportion, about 400,000 kJ per tonne (Btu
per long ton), of the heat requirement in all of the systems. For pelletizing of hematites, the use of
coke breeze (or some carbon source) in the pellet feed mixture has become a common practice to
provide the additional indurating energy normally provided by magnetite oxidation. Pelletizing
processes are being improved constantly and further details on their technology and development
may be found in the references at the end of the chapter. The production of self-fluxing pellets is
an example of an innovation that has been accepted on a commercial scale and has led to major
advances in blast furnace performance. A brief description of important differences in the major
pelletizing systems are pointed out in the discussion that follows.

8.5.2.1 Traveling Grate

The traveling grate system for producing pellets, illustrated in Fig. 8.36, is essentially a modifica-
tion of the sintering process. The green balls are fed onto the grate continuously to give a bed depth
of about 300–400 mm (12–16 in.) and are dried in the first few windboxes by updraft air recuper-
ated from the firing zone, followed by downdraft drying using recuperated air from the cooler. This
arrangement of hot air flows limits pellet damage resulting from condensation of moisture in the
bed. Following drying, the pellets are preheated by downdraft air from the cooling zone. Firing is
done downdraft in the combustion zone by burning fuel oil or natural gas with hot air from the
cooling zone. The cooling zone follows the combustion zone and uses updraft fresh air.
Fuel consumption in the traveling grate system is about 350,000 to 600,000 kJ per tonne (Btu per
long ton) of pellets produced from magnetite and up to 1,000,000 kJ per tonne (Btu per long ton)
when pelletizing hematite. The system offers good temperature control in the firing zone. Pellet
consistency throughout the bed may be achieved by recirculating some fired pellets to form hearth
and side layers on the grate. The largest grate machines are 4 m (13 ft) wide and are capable of pro-
ducing more than 3 million tonnes of pellets per year. Circular grate machines have also been
designed and one such machine is in operation.

8.5.2.2 Grate-Kiln System

The grate-kiln system depicted in Fig. 8.37, consists of a traveling grate for drying and preheating
the pellets to about 1040°C (1900°F), a rotary kiln for uniformly heating the throughput to the final
induration temperature of 1315°C (2400°F), and an annular cooler for cooling the product and heat
recuperation. Heat for firing is supplied by a central oil, gas, coal or waste wood burner at the dis-
charge end of the kiln. Hot gases produced in the kiln are used for downdraft preheating of the pel-
lets. Hot air from the cooler is used to support combustion in the kiln and is also recuperated to the
traveling grate for drying and tempering preheat.
The grate-kiln system offers excellent temperature control in all stages of the process and produces
a consistently uniform product. Fuel consumption is 300,000 to 400,000 kJ per tonne (Btu per long
ton) of standard pellets produced when using magnetite ore, and up to 700,000 kJ per tonne (Btu
per long ton) of standard pellets produced when the feed is hematite. These fuel consumption num-
bers will increase by 250,000 kJ (BTU per long ton) when producing fluxed pellets. Power con-
sumption, from balling to pellet loadout, is 23 kWh per long ton. Grate-kiln systems can be
designed for production tonnage’s up to 6 million tonnes per year per line.

8.5.2.3 Vertical Shaft Furnaces

Vertical shaft furnaces are not as common as the traveling grate or grate-kiln systems. There are sev-
eral variations in shaft furnace design but the most common is the Erie type, shown in Fig. 8.38.
Green balls are charged at the top and descend through the furnace at a rate of 25–38 mm (1–1 1/2
in.) per minute countercurrent to the flow of hot gases. About 25% of the total air enters the furnace
through the hot gas inlet at temperatures from 1280°C (2340°F) to 1300°C (2375°F). Pellets in this
zone of the furnace reach temperatures of 1315°C (2400°F) or higher because exothermic heat is
released when the magnetite oxidizes to hematite, increasing the temperature. The remaining 75%

612 Copyright © 1999, The AISE Steel Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1999, The AISE Steel Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA. All rights reserved.
Fig. 8.35 Schematic diagram of U.S. Steelís Minntac agglomerator. Magnetic concentrate is filtered from slurry, mixed with bentonite binder, rolled into green balls in the balling drums
Iron Ores

613
and fired to the grate-kiln furnaces to make taconite pellets
Ironmaking Volume

Ore
Balling
section
Additives

Mixing section Grinding section

Hearth layer

Hardening section
Feeding &
screening
section

Product
pellets

Green
pellet
Ignition
feed
Drying and
preheating Burning Cooling

Fig. 8.36 Schematic diagram of the traveling grate system for producing pellets.

of the furnace air enters via the cooling air inlet. Pellets discharge at about 370°C (700°F), and top
gas temperature is about 200°C (400°F). Typical furnace capacities are 1000 to 2000 tonnes per day.
Shaft furnaces are more energy efficient than the traveling grate or grate-kiln systems. The shaft fur-
nace is well suited for pelletizing magnetite, but not hematitic or limonitic materials.
Disadvantages of shaft furnaces are low unit productivity and difficulty in maintaining uniform
temperature in the combustion zone. Hot spots may occur which cause pellets to fuse together into
large masses, producing discharge problems. It is also very difficult to produce fluxed pellets in a
shaft furnace.

614 Copyright © 1999, The AISE Steel Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA. All rights reserved.