2. Introduction To Pelletisation Process
Pellets are spherical balls formed by the agglomeration of natural or
ground iron ore fines in the presence of moisture and binder
These green balls of 5 – 20mm size are then dried, preheated and fired
at 1250 – 13500 C
Bonding is developed between the fine ore particles at such high
temperatures
Additives like Bentonite, lime or dolomite up to 0.5 -1.0% may be
added for improved bonding
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3. Necessity of Pelletisation
Utilization of iron ore fines of size even 0.5-0.15mm
Extending the life of iron ore reserves of nation.
To improve blast furnace performance
Increase in blast furnace productivity.
Decrease in uses of blast furnace fuel / coke fuel. Improve in quality of hot
metal.
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5. Pelletisation process consists of the following steps:
Feed preparation
Green ball production and sizing
Green ball induration
Drying
Preheating
Firing
Cooling of hardened pellets
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6. Feed preparation
Pelletizing feed preparation and mixing: the raw material (iron ore
concentrate, additives —Limestone or dolomite—and binders—Bentonite are
prepared in terms of particle size and chemical specifications, dosed, and
mixed together to feed the pelletizing process
The feed size should be -100 mesh, with more than 60% as -350mesh
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7. The size and shape of feed particles leads to maximum mechanical
interlocking and surface tension to obtain strong green pellets
To produce required quality green pellets, iron ore must be available in fine
ground form with around 60-80% , -45 microns sized particles.
7/18 Feed preparation(cont..)
8. Green ball production
Green pellet formation process involves:
(a) mixing of ground iron ore mixture with process water, binder and fluxes
(b) formation of green pellets in disc or drum pelletizer followed by screening
process by roller screens.
Two important methods of green ball production:
Disc Pelletisation
Drum Pelletisation
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9. Disc pelletizer
The balling disc basically consists of a pan with
a peripheral wall, which rotates with a certain
inclination to the horizontal
They are 3.6 – 5.6 m in diameter and inclined at
45o to the horizontal
The charge is directly fed onto the disc and
moisture level is made up with the water sprays
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10. Disc pelletizer(cont..)
Seeds of green balls are immediately
formed with the addition of water
These seeds grow in size due to the
centrifugal force of the disc
The green balls rise on the inclined
surface of the pelletiser in the direction
of rotation and fall down against the toe
section of the disc
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11. Pelletisation can be carried out on a disc with reasonable flexibility.
In a continuous operation the discharge of desired size balls is balanced by an
equivalent addition of feed.
The production rate of balls depends on
Diameter of the disc
Angle of inclination of disc with horizontal
Speed of rotation
Height of the peripheral wall
Rate of moisture addition
11/18
Disc pelletizer(cont..)
12. Mechanism of ball formation
The formation of balls on a pellet depends primarily on the moisture
content.
If moisture is less than the critical amount its distribution tends to be non -
uniform, major amount being present in the granulated material leaving
the non - granulated material relatively dry.
If the moisture level is more than the critical value, growth rate is more but
the balls produced are liable to deformation because of their plasticity.
Seeds are formed only if critical moisture level is maintained and without
which the process cannot proceed properly.
12/1812
13. Ball formation is three regions
Nucleii formation region
Transition region
Ball growth region
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14. Drum Pelletizer
The drum pelletizer is a steel drum, open
at both ends
It is 2- 3 m in dia and 6 – 9 m in length
It is inclined at 2 – 10 0 to the horizontal
and rotates at 10 – 15 rpm
The charge is fed at the higher end,
where water sprays are located
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15. Comparison of disc and drum pelletiser
S ITEM DISC DRUM
1. Classification of
product
Acts as a classifier Not like disc
2. Nucleation In the wet zone In the wet zone
3. growth Mainly by layering More by assimilation
4. Product quality Closed sized product Wide range of product size
5. size For the same output, the size of
disc is much larger than drum
-
6. Extent of mixing Acts nearly as a perfect mixer Not to the same extent of disc
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16. Productivity
Cost
Labour skill
Time of operation
Adv & Dis adv(Disc, Drum Pelletizer).16/18
17. Theory of bond
Production of hardened pellets starts with the production of green balls in
the first place
It is necessary that the green balls possess adequate strength to stand
bumps, overlying load and abrasion during screening and handling until
finally these are hardened by induration.
There are different water particle systems:
The pendular state
The funicular state
The capillary state
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18. Energy consumption
Easy handling and transportation
Good Bed Permeability
Good Reducibility
Uniform chemical composition
18/18 Advantages of pellets