Agglomerate is a material composed of iron oxides and gangue, roasted and sintered [notes 1] [1] in an agglomeration plant. This product is obtained by burning coal previously mixed with iron ore and oxides. This conditioning of iron ore optimizes its use in the blast furnace.
The advantages of agglomeration were identified very early on, but the processes used at the time were not continuous. The primitive method, which consisted of a grindstone grate, was abandoned towards the end of the 19th century because it was too fuel-intensive. [L 1] Shaft furnaces then replaced them, their much higher efficiency being due both to the confinement of the reaction and to counter-current operation (the solids sink and the gases rise). [L 2]
In these furnaces, iron ores were roasted to obtain the opposite result to the one we're looking for now: in 1895, roasting was carried out at low temperatures to avoid aggregation, and to obtain friable ore. [L 3]
At the time, ore roasting furnaces were tanks inspired by blast furnaces and lime kilns, and were not very productive tools. [2] [L 4] Around 1910, the Greenawald process, which automated the principle3, [3] saw some development, enabling the production of 300,000 tonnes a year. [4]
In June 1906, A.S. Dwight and R. L. Lloyd built the first agglomerating machine on a chain (also known as a grate), which began agglomerating copper and lead ores. The first agglomeration line for iron ores was built in 1910 in Birdsboro, Pennsylvania. [2]
It took some thirty years for the sintering of ores on chains to become widespread in the steel industry. Whereas before the Second World War, it was mainly used for reconditioning ore fines, after 1945 it became widespread for processing raw ores. Today, it plays an essential role in the blending of different ores and, above all, in the incorporation of mineral wastes of varying iron content. This recycling role improves profitability and limits the amount of waste generated by steel complexes, which generate numerous iron-rich residues (slag, sludge, dust, etc.). [2]
Chipboard is a product optimized for use in blast furnaces. To do so, it must meet several conditions:
Another advantage is the elimination of undesirable elements: the chain agglomeration process eliminates 80-95% of the sulfur present in the ore and its additives. [2] It's also a way of getting rid of zinc, the element that "poisons" blast furnaces, as its vaporization temperature of 907°C corresponds to that of a well-conducted roast. [L 7] [notes 2]
On the other hand, agglomerate is an abrasive product that damages blast furnace vessels, especially if these are not designed for absorber, [SF 1] and is above all fragile. Repeated handling degrades its grain size and generates fines, making it unsuitable for packaging at sites far from blast furnaces: pellets are therefore preferable. Cold resistance, particularly to crushing, can be improved by increasing the energy input during sintering. [5]
Improving mechanical strength also improves the performance of agglomerates in the processes that use them. The reduction of hematite (Fe2O3) to magnetite (Fe3O4) creates internal stresses. However, in addition to increasing the cost of agglomerate production, reducibility deteriorates when mechanical strength is sought. [5]
Agglomerates are generally classified as acidic or basic. The complete basicity index ic is calculated by the following ratio of mass concentrations: [2]
It is often simplified by simply calculating a simplified basicity index noted i (or sometimes ia), equal to the ratio CaO / SiO2. [SF 2] An agglomerate with an index ic of less than 1 is said to be acidic; above 1, it is generally said to be basic; equal to 1, it is said to be self-melting (ic=1 being equivalent to ia=1.40 [SF 3] ). Before the 1950s, agglomerates with an ic value of less than 0.5 were in the majority. Then, when it was realized that agglomerate could incorporate limestone, which was then charged into the blast furnace separately, basic indices became widespread: in 1965, indices below 0.5 represented less than 15% of the tonnage of agglomerate produced, while basic agglomerates accounted for 45%. [2]
Again, we find the relationship: k being an empirically determined constant [6] (sometimes equal, for simplicity, to 1 [SF 4] ). Iron reduction is, in itself, favored by a basic environment, and peaks at 2<ib<2.5. It is also in this range that mechanical strength is best (and also, the slag's fusibility is the worst, which complicates its removal from the blast furnace). Above an ib value of 2.6, the proportion of molten agglomerate increases, clogging the pores and slowing down chemical reactions between gases and oxides. As for acid agglomerates with an ib index of less than 1, softening begins as soon as only around 15% of the ore has been reduced. [6]
The optimum basicity index is therefore determined according to the ore used, the technical characteristics of the blast furnace, the intended use of the cast iron and the desired qualities. For example:
Smelting is a process of applying heat and a chemical reducing agent to an ore to extract a desired base metal product. It is a form of extractive metallurgy that is used to obtain many metals such as iron, copper, silver, tin, lead and zinc. Smelting uses heat and a chemical reducing agent to decompose the ore, driving off other elements as gases or slag and leaving the metal behind. The reducing agent is commonly a fossil fuel source of carbon, such as carbon monoxide from incomplete combustion of coke—or, in earlier times, of charcoal. The oxygen in the ore binds to carbon at high temperatures as the chemical potential energy of the bonds in carbon dioxide is lower than that of the bonds in the ore.
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the form of magnetite (Fe
3O
4, 72.4% Fe), hematite (Fe
2O
3, 69.9% Fe), goethite (FeO(OH), 62.9% Fe), limonite (FeO(OH)·n(H2O), 55% Fe), or siderite (FeCO3, 48.2% Fe).
Steelmaking is the process of producing steel from iron ore and/or scrap. In steelmaking, impurities such as nitrogen, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur and excess carbon are removed from the sourced iron, and alloying elements such as manganese, nickel, chromium, carbon and vanadium are added to produce different grades of steel.
Slag is a by-product of smelting (pyrometallurgical) ores and recycled metals. Slag is mainly a mixture of metal oxides and silicon dioxide. Broadly, it can be classified as ferrous, ferroalloy or non-ferrous/base metals. Within these general categories, slags can be further categorized by their precursor and processing conditions. "Slag generated from the EAF process can contain toxic metals, which can be hazardous to human and environmental health".
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. Blast refers to the combustion air being supplied above atmospheric pressure.
Industrial processes are procedures involving chemical, physical, electrical, or mechanical steps to aid in the manufacturing of an item or items, usually carried out on a very large scale. Industrial processes are the key components of heavy industry.
Copper extraction refers to the methods used to obtain copper from its ores. The conversion of copper ores consists of a series of physical, chemical and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ore source, local environmental regulations, and other factors.
In materials science, a refractory is a material that is resistant to decomposition by heat or chemical attack that retains its strength and rigidity at high temperatures. They are inorganic, non-metallic compounds that may be porous or non-porous, and their crystallinity varies widely: they may be crystalline, polycrystalline, amorphous, or composite. They are typically composed of oxides, carbides or nitrides of the following elements: silicon, aluminium, magnesium, calcium, boron, chromium and zirconium. Many refractories are ceramics, but some such as graphite are not, and some ceramics such as clay pottery are not considered refractory. Refractories are distinguished from the refractory metals, which are elemental metals and their alloys that have high melting temperatures.
Pyrometallurgy is a branch of extractive metallurgy. It consists of the thermal treatment of minerals and metallurgical ores and concentrates to bring about physical and chemical transformations in the materials to enable recovery of valuable metals. Pyrometallurgical treatment may produce products able to be sold such as pure metals, or intermediate compounds or alloys, suitable as feed for further processing. Examples of elements extracted by pyrometallurgical processes include the oxides of less reactive elements like iron, copper, zinc, chromium, tin, and manganese.
Direct reduced iron (DRI), also called sponge iron, is produced from the direct reduction of iron ore into iron by a reducing gas which either contains elemental carbon or hydrogen. When hydrogen is used as the reducing gas there are no greenhouse gases produced. Many ores are suitable for direct reduction.
Cement clinker is a solid material produced in the manufacture of portland cement as an intermediary product. Clinker occurs as lumps or nodules, usually 3 millimetres (0.12 in) to 25 millimetres (0.98 in) in diameter. It is produced by sintering limestone and aluminosilicate materials such as clay during the cement kiln stage.
Roasting is a process of heating a sulfide ore to a high temperature in the presence of air. It is a step in the processing of certain ores. More specifically, roasting is often a metallurgical process involving gas–solid reactions at elevated temperatures with the goal of purifying the metal component(s). Often before roasting, the ore has already been partially purified, e.g. by froth flotation. The concentrate is mixed with other materials to facilitate the process. The technology is useful in making certain ores usable but it can also be a serious source of air pollution.
Zinc smelting is the process of converting zinc concentrates into pure zinc. Zinc smelting has historically been more difficult than the smelting of other metals, e.g. iron, because in contrast, zinc has a low boiling point. At temperatures typically used for smelting metals, zinc is a gas that will escape from a furnace with the flue gas and be lost, unless specific measures are taken to prevent it.
Archaeometallurgical slag is slag discovered and studied in the context of archaeology. Slag, the byproduct of iron-working processes such as smelting or smithing, is left at the iron-working site rather than being moved away with the product. As it weathers well, it is readily available for study. The size, shape, chemical composition and microstructure of slag are determined by features of the iron-working processes used at the time of its formation.
Cobalt extraction refers to the techniques used to extract cobalt from its ores and other compound ores. Several methods exist for the separation of cobalt from copper and nickel. They depend on the concentration of cobalt and the exact composition of the ore used.
Plants for the production of lead are generally referred to as lead smelters. Primary lead production begins with sintering. Concentrated lead ore is fed into a sintering machine with iron, silica, limestone fluxes, coke, soda ash, pyrite, zinc, caustics or pollution control particulates. Smelting uses suitable reducing substances that will combine with those oxidizing elements to free the metal. Reduction is the final, high-temperature step in smelting. It is here that the oxide becomes the elemental metal. A reducing environment pulls the final oxygen atoms from the raw metal.
The Manhès–David process is a refining process of the copper mattes, invented in 1880 by the French industrialist Pierre Manhès and his engineer Paul David. Inspired by the Bessemer process, it consists of the use of a converter to oxidise with air the undesirable chemical elements contained in the matte, to transform it into copper.
Adrien C. B. Chenot was a French engineer best known for his inventions in metallurgy as well as his research on manufactured gases. He is notably the inventor of one of the first modern methods of direct reduction of iron ore, based on the use of coal reacting with the ore in retorts. He exhibited the first samples of pre-reduced iron ore at the Lisbon Universal Exhibition of 1849, and was awarded the "Grandes Medailles d'Or" at the Paris Universal Exposition of 1855.
In the iron and steel industry, direct reduction is a set of processes for obtaining iron from iron ore, by reducing iron oxides without melting the metal. The resulting product is pre-reduced iron ore.
The Krupp–Renn process was a direct reduction steelmaking process used from the 1930s to the 1970s. It used a rotary furnace and was one of the few technically and commercially successful direct reduction processes in the world, acting as an alternative to blast furnaces due to their coke consumption. The Krupp-Renn process consumed mainly hard coal and had the unique characteristic of partially melting the charge. This method is beneficial for processing low-quality or non-melting ores, as their waste material forms a protective layer that can be easily separated from the iron. It generates Luppen, nodules of pre-reduced iron ore, which can be easily melted down.
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