Performance enhancement by measures of bulk mechanics and granulometry on sintering of iron ore

The sintering operation offers the possibility of using fine ore and fine dust as input raw material in an integrated iron and steel plant. Its performance is considerably affected by the properties of the input raw material as well as of the pre-treatment before feeding on the sinter strand as well as the sintering parameter. The ECSC project was carried out to reduce fluctuations in sinter plant efficiency and in consistency of the sinter caused by low grade sinter mixture and varying input materials, by: studying the behaviour of the mixing and rolling pre-treatment process and optimising the feeding process; correlating the sinter mixture bulk properties and parameter with sinter quality and plant performance; modelling the flame front propagation. It has been shown that the granulation of the sinter raw mixture during the preparation is influencing the sintering operation substantially. Also it has been proved that in a sinter experimental plant it is possible to design variations in sinter feed composition and process parameters in order to investigate on a small scale the influence of different parameters on sinter quality, saving time and resources. In addition, the modelling of the sintering process is applied to understand and adapt the limiting physical and chemical boundary conditions of the sintering process and to detect proportionality factors to predict with good reliability the values of the most important characteristics of the industrial sinter. The results of the studies on lab scale and modelling have provided the basis for improvements in industrial plant.