ASSESSMENT OF REDUCTION BEHAVIOR OF HEMATITE IRON ORE PELLETS IN COAL FINES FOR APPLICATION IN SPONGE IRONMAKING

Studies on isothermal reduction kinetics (with F grade coal) in fired pellets of hematite iron ores, procured from four different mines of Orissa, were carried out in the temperature range of 850–1000°C to provide information for the Indian sponge iron plants. The rate of reduction in all the fired iron ore pellets increased markedly with a rise of temperature up to 950°C, and thereafter it decreased at 1000°C. The rate was more intense in the first 30 minutes. All iron ores exhibited almost complete reduction in their pellets at temperatures of 900 and 950°C in < 2 hours' heating time duration, and the final product morphologies consisted of prominent cracks. The kinetic model equation 1 ? (1 ? α)^1/3 = kt was found to fit best to the experimental data, and the values of apparent activation energy were evaluated. Reductions of D. R. Pattnaik and M. G. Mohanty iron ore pellets were characterized by higher activation energies (183 and 150 kJ mol^?1), indicating carbon gasification reaction to be the rate-controlling step. The results established lower values of activation energy (83 and 84 kJ mol^?1) for the reduction of G. M. OMC Ltd. and Sakaruddin iron ore pellets, proposing their overall rates to be controlled by indirect reduction reactions.