Experimental Study on Reduction Behavior of Iron Ore Fines at Low Temperature

To optimize iron ore reduction processes, as well as to develop new ones, it is necessary to know the reduction kinetics of the iron ore of interest under the relevant operating conditions. In this work the reduction kinetics of hematite fine iron ore was studied for using the gas-conveyed technology at low temperatures. Experiments were performed in a laboratory-scale gas-conveyed reactor fluidized with H(2)- N(2), CO-N(2), H(2)-CO-N(2) to simulate the relevant process conditions. The effects of gas solid flow ratio, temperature, gas composition and particle size on the degree of reduction were tested and discussed. The result showed that higher concentrations of H(2) in the reducing gas gave higher rates of reduction due to good diffusion. The rate of formation of carbon and iron carbide increased especially in the presence of H(2).