Kinetics of isothermal reduction of stainless steelmaking dust pellets

The stainless steelmaking dust pellets were reduced in isothermal temperature condition simulating the direct recycling practice in the stainless steel production and the kinetics of the reduction process was investigated. The pellets were formed after mixing the dust with carbon as the reducing agent and dolomite as the binder and smelting flux. An electric furnace was used to heat the pellets and an electrical microbalance was used to check the mass of the pellets in the reduction process. The reduction rate was calculated according to the data of pellet mass change in consideration of the evaporation of moisture, zinc and lead at high temperature. The results of the experiments show that the reduction process is in two consecutive stages. The reduction kinetic models were set up for each stage and the kinetic parameters such as activation energy and frequency factor were determined. The apparent activation energy of the first stage is 21.69 kJ/mol, and this stage is controlled by chemical reaction. The apparent activation energy of the second stage is 17.35 kJ/mol, and this stage is controlled by the diffusion of carbon monoxide through the resultants of reaction.