Iron Ore Pellet Dustiness Part II: Effects of Firing Route and Abrasion Resistance on Fines and Dust Generation

Iron ore pellets abrade during their production and handling, which lowers product quality and leads to dustiness issues. Pellets were collected from a variety of plants (operating either Straight-Grate (SG) or Grate-Kiln (GK) furnaces) to understand whether furnace type affects fines and dust formation. Results showed that pellets fired in SG furnaces were less abrasion-resistant (3.5 × lower) than pellets fired in GK furnaces. Concurrently, laboratory pellets were prepared using various ores, binders, and firing temperatures. These were tested to understand the relationship between abrasion index and dustiness. AI was observed to range from 1 to 14%. Dustiness, determined via AI and size distributions of abrasion progeny, ranged from 0.2 to 1.6%. For AI greater than 5%, AI can be used to indicate potentially high levels of dust. For AI less than 5%, there was a poor correlation between AI and dustiness. This was explained by the observation that as AI decreased, the abrasion product fineness increased. The results from parts I and II of this investigation suggest that material loss and levels of pellet dustiness may be significantly affected by pellet quality up to a certain point. Poorly fired pellets will be dusty during handling and transportation, while well-fired pellets will generate less – but finer – material as their quality improves. This could lead to little observed changes in dust generation over a wide range of pellet quality. Dust generation at each site would then depend on the quantity of material produced and their extent of handling.     

A Comparison of Pellet Quality from Straight-grate and Grate-kiln Furnaces

Both straight-grate and grate-kiln furnaces have been accepted in the iron ore industry. Both are considered to be roughly equal when comparing overall costs and expenses versus the final product production rate. However, the product quality of these two systems is not equal. This is shown by critically examining the dust generation of pellets from several facilities. The dustiness of pellets is associated with overall pellet strength, and is an important quality measure of fired pellets on its own. A clear distinction between the dustiness of grate-kiln and straight-grate fired pellets is established. We conclude that grate-kiln-cooler systems provide superior pellet quality, but at the cost of some pellet production rate.     

Forecast Formulas for Bulk Material Dustiness Under Low Vacuum Conditions in a Single‐Drop Device

The release of particles from bulk materials is usually an undesired quality. Nevertheless, it can occur in a wide range of material‐handling processes and may present a hazard to humans and the environment. Therefore, the dust formation tendency represents an important material property that depends on the specific type of stress. A forecast of the dust formation tendency could simplify and expedite the assessment of possible hazard potentials as it would eliminate the need for comprehensive dustiness measurements. A single‐drop method was used to analyze the dustiness of nine materials at low pressure conditions. Based on the experimental results, an empirically derived apparatus‐specific forecast parameter and a prediction function were developed.     

Particle size segregation of bulk material in dustiness testers via DEM simulation

Dustiness testers are used to quantify the level of dust within a bulk material. The generation of dust can occur as a result of many bulk material handling activities, including filling or discharge from storage bins, during free-fall, material impact on conveyor transfers, or impact with other materials. Dust generation can have a serious impact to the environment as well as workers and nearby communities. This paper presents the findings of a discrete element modeling (DEM) study of the flow behavior of a range of binary granular mixes tested in the European Standard and the Australian Standard dustiness testers. Due to current computing limitations, a nondusty material has been chosen for these simulations to determine the underlying characteristics of particle migration within the rotating drums. A range of simulations have been performed using different starting positions of the simulated test product within the rotating drums to determine if this has any overall effect on the particle interactions. Additionally, simulated binary mixtures containing varied size ratios of the same product have been used in an attempt to uncover possible trends, especially in terms of axial and radial segregation.     

The investigation of particle flow mechanisms of bulk materials in dustiness testers

ABSTRACT

The generation of dust occurs in many bulk materials handling applications, including during free-fall, material impact on conveyor transfers, or impact with other materials. Dust has potentially serious consequences to the surrounding environment as well as workers and nearby communities. Companies need to identify and quantify the dust being generated so they can find ways to reduce or eliminate this dust generation. Dustiness testers are one method which can be used to quantify dust generation. This paper investigates the experimental material flow and the subsequent discrete element method (DEM) simulation in the rotating drums of two dustiness testers: the European Standard dustiness tester and the Australian Standard dustiness tester. Preliminary comparisons of the rotating drum designs were undertaken using particle/bulk parameters of polyethylene pellets, a granular “non-dusty” material to investigate the flow behavior, to provide a reference base to compare equivalent simulations and subsequent analysis. A calibrated DEM material model for polyethylene pellets was generated via experimental comparison. Investigations of the rotational speed, volume, and initial loading location of product sample have been performed. The motion of particles in the simulated rotating drums has been compared to visual observation from experimental testing.     

纺织厂粉尘及其处理方式

文章介绍了纺织厂内粉尘的种类，产生的影响及除尘的设备和方法，对不同情况进行不同处理，以保证车间工人的身体健康和产品产质量的提高。     

Iron Ore Pellet Dustiness Part I: Factors Affecting Dust Generation

Iron ore pellets abrade during handling and produce dust. This study was conducted to determine what factors affect pellet dustiness, and whether dustiness can be related to the abrasion index. Factors studied included bed depth within a straight grate furnace; pellet chemistry; firing temperature; coke breeze addition; and tumble index. Abrasion indices for all pellet samples ranged from 1.9–5.0% (20 samples) and from 7.1–27.5% (5 samples). Pellets were dropped in an enclosed tower, which enabled the collection of airborne particles generated during pellet breakdown. The quantity of airborne particles generated by each pellet type was 10–100 mg/kg-drop, or 50–500 mg/kg over five drops through the tower. Pellet dustiness was predominantly affected by pellet chemistry and by pellet firing temperature. Results showed a nearly 21% increase in dustiness for every percent decrease in firing temperature – this was based on a typical firing temperature of 1280°C. Pellet dustiness was regressed to the pellet abrasion index (for AI < 5%), which yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.22. These results show that, although AI is one of the best indicators of fired pellet quality and can indicate high levels of dust, it could not explain the dustiness of good quality pellets.

The second paper (Iron Ore Pellet Dustiness Part II) explains the relationship between AI and dust for good-quality pellets; and compares fines generation between pellets fired in Straight-Grate (Traveling Grate) and Grate-Kiln furnaces.     

济钢320m~2烧结圆筒混合机的优化改造

分析了济钢320 m2烧结机的圆筒混合机在运行过程中出现的一些问题,介绍了针对筒体粘料、衬板脱落、圆筒掉大块、加水系统、进料端扬尘采取的柔性清料装置等一系列改造。实施后取得了减少故障、稳定烧结生产、提高作业率的显著效果。     

Food Powder Characteristics Important to Nonelectrostatic and Electrostatic Coating and Dustiness

ABSTRACT: Corn starch, maltodextrin, powdered sugar, cellulose, soy flour, corn flour, wheat flour, cocoa, nonfat dry milk, and salt were coated at 0, 19, and 25 kV using corona particle charging. Particle size, powder charge, density, and flow characteristics (flow index, cohesiveness, angle of repose, Hausner ratio) were correlated to coating efficiency and dustiness. Nonelectrostatic coating efficiency improved with large particle size, small powder charge, and low cohesiveness. Electrostatic coating at 25 kV improved with small particle size, low flow index, and high particle density. Dustiness decreased with large particle size-particle density interaction, high flow index, and low cohesiveness. Electrostatics improved coating efficiency 68% and decreased dustiness 65% (excluding largest salt).