Depending upon their chemical composition and, to a lesser extent on their physical properties, iron oxide pellets reveal varying degree of sticking tendency during direct reduction at elevated temperatures. For an efficient shaft furnace operation, it is imperative to prevent pellets from sticking to each other and, hence, forming clusters. Coating of pellets with a suitable inorganic material has increasingly been gaining recognition amongst the pellet producers and Direct Reduction (DR) plant operators as an effective method of preventing sticking. In this study, coating of DR-grade pellets produced by Gulf Industrial Investment Company (GIIC) of Bahrain was investigated. Results show that bauxite and serpentine alone and limestone and bentonite in combination are the most suitable materials from technical, operational and economical points of view.
展开▼
