Iron recovery and phosphorus removal from oolitic high-phosphorus haematite using the FASTMELT® process: a comparative study of two reductants

The FASTMELT process was developed as an alternative to blast furnace ironmaking; in this process, high-quality molten iron is produced using direct reduction followed by high-temperature slag/metal separation. In this study, iron recovery and phosphorus removal from oolitic highphosphorus haematite using the FASTMELT process was investigated. The performance of two reducing agents, coal and wood char, was compared. Direct reduction experiments indicated that with optimized reductant addition, the ore-char and ore-coal briquettes attained metallization values of 82% and 78%, respectively, and residual carbon contents of 0.24 and 2.35%, respectively. The slag/metal separation experiments revealed that molten iron containing 0.41% phosphorus and 0.021% silicon (by mass) was produced from optimally reduced ore-char briquettes, and molten iron containing 0.78% phosphorus and 0.91% silicon from optimally reduced ore-coal briquettes. The study indicates that carbonaceous materials with high CO2 reactivity are suitable for use in the FASTMELT process for phosphorus removal and iron recovery from oolitic high-phosphorus haematite.