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Effect of Blaine Number on the Physical and Mechanical Properties of Iron Ore Pellets

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Abstract

In this work, a comparative study has been done to determine the effect of three different compositions of binders (bentonite and limestone (BLS), limestone and lime (LSL), and cement) and Blaine number on the properties of pellets prepared using the slime generated from the washing of Indian-origin iron ore. The compressive strength (C.S.) value of pellets made with the BLS binder increases first with an increase in Blaine number from 900 to 1470 cm2/g, and then declines with an increase in Blaine number 1800 cm2/g. In pellets made with LSL and cement binders, the C.S. value constantly grows as the Blaine number, drying temperature, and duration increase. Compared to pellets manufactured with BLS and LSL composite binders, cement binders are found to improve the green pellet characteristics and lower the index of indurated pellets. However, the swelling index values of the cement binder pellets are larger than 20, which is relatively high when compared to the standard industrial usage limit of less than 20. In the case of LSL binder pellets, all characteristics are within industry usage norms, except for the reducing index, which is a little over industrial limitations (> 65%). FactSage 6.4 software is used for thermodynamic calculations of the phases formed during the induration process. Based on the obtained results, LSL is found to be the most suitable binder combination at Blaine number 1800 cm2/g compared to BLS and cement for the pelletization process.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express their sincere gratitude to Research & Development Centre for Iron & Steel (RDCIS) SAIL, Ranchi, India, for arranging and sending Iron ore slime sample from Barsua mine to CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur, India for R & D. The authors would also like to thank National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur, India and CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur, for technically and administratively encouraging this work and according to permission to publish the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal, 721302, India

    Deepak Kumar Gorai & Shaik Saida

  2. Mineral Processing Division, CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, 831007, India

    Kapil Dev Mehta

  3. Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur, Jamshedpur, 831014, India

    Binod Kumar Singh

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Gorai, D.K., Saida, S., Mehta, K.D. et al. Effect of Blaine Number on the Physical and Mechanical Properties of Iron Ore Pellets. J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. D 104, 131–141 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40033-022-00374-6

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