Agglomeration of Iron Ores Metals and Alloys Series

This book focuses on agglomeration, or the size enlargement process, of iron ores. This process sits at the interface of mineral processing and extractive metallurgy. The book begins with a discussion of raw materials preparation and the beneficiation process. It then describes fundamental principles of the sintering and pelletization processes, including formation of green mix through granulation and green balls as well as chemical reactions during sintering. Finally, it offers a brief description of iron making processes and correlations related to the agglomerates: quality parameters and BF productivity and coke rate.

Introduction. Preamble. Agglomerates in Iron Making. Raw Materials. Sintering. Preamble. The Process of Sintering. Sintering Fundamentals. Sinter Productivity. Sinter Mineralogy. Sinter Morphology/ Porosity. Quality Parameters. Plant Practices and Process Parameters. Newer Processes. Pollution Control in Sintering Operation. Mathematical Modeling and Simulation of Sintering Operation. Performance Evaluation of Sintering Plant Operation. Process Control. Pelletization. Preamble. The Process of Pelletization. Pelletizing Fundamentals. Induration of Pellets. Mineralogical and Morphological Characteristics of Pellets. Properties of Indurated Pellets. Pelletisation of High LOI (Goethite) Ore. Plant Practices and Process Parameters. Miscellaneous. Test of Quality Parameters of Sinter and Pellets. Behavior of Sinter and Pellets during Reduction. Effect of Sinter/ Pellets and their Quality Parameters in Iron Making. Advantages and Disadvantages of Pellets vis-à-vis Sinter in BF Iron Making. Annexure : Transport Properties of Sinter and Pellets.

Ram Pravesh Bhagat (born October 1954 has 36 years of research experience in the iron ore beneficiation & agglomeration areas while serving premier R&D establishments, SAIL-RDCIS and CSIR-NML.

He has worked with Soviet Experts to implement R&D Projects at SAIL plants aimed to improve the productivity of sinter and its quality. In the 1990’s, the author research projects in collaboration with IIT Kharagpur, RAS Russia and with support from Private Industries. His subsequent research career in CSIR-NML (2000--2014) had been concentrated to the agglomeration area with support from the Ministry of Steel (Govt, of India), Private/ PSU Organisations,

As a faculty member of AcSIR-CSIR and IIT (ISM), the author has developed courses in agglomeration technology and delivered invited lectures. He has supervised two Ph.D. scholars (IIT Kharagpur) and four M. Tech students (ISM). At ISM he initiated research in the field of agglomeration. He has contributed three book chapters including "Agglomeration" in the Encyclopedia of Iron, Steel, and Their Alloys (CRC Press). He has also published over a hundred research papers in journals and conference proceeding volumes. He is life fellow and member of several professional bodies. He is also recipient of various awards and fellowship including CSIR-DAAD.