Pelletization kinetics of an earthy iron ore and the physical properties of the pellets produced

The iron ore sample used in this investigation was brought from the El-Gedida iron ore deposit, Baharia Oasis, Egypt. This ore is porous, earthy, hard, and has a relatively high specific surface area.The batch balling kinetics of this ore show that the ball growth rate increased by increasing the moisture content. The water content required for pelletizing this ore ranged between 16 and 19% of the dry weight of the charge. As expected, increase in bentonite content retarded the ball growth. Finer feed produced by more dry grinding increased the ball growth rate.The average drop number of pellets was improved by increasing the moisture content to a certain limit, after which the quality of the pellets decreased. The drop number also went up as the amount of bentonite was increased. Increasing the degree of fineness of ore improved the level of drop number.The crushing strength of dried pellets improved with increasing water content to a certain limit, then the trend reversed. Bentonite addition slightly improved the crushing strength of pellets. Increasing the degree of fineness of the ore decreased the crushing strength of dry pellets.The bulk density of pellets increased with higher moisture content to a certain limit and then the trend reversed. Small amounts of bentonite addition decreased the bulk density, but when bentonite exceeded 0.5% the bulk density slightly increased with increasing amount of bentonite. Denser pellets were produced when finer feed was used.