The iron ore production has significantly expanded in recent years, owing to increasing steel demands in developing countries.
However, the content of iron in ore deposits has deteriorated and low-grade iron ore has been processed.
The fine ores resulting from the concentration process must be agglomerated for use in iron and steelmaking.
Bentonite is the most used binder due to favorable mechanical and metallurgical pellet properties, but it contains impurities especially silica and alumina.
Better quality wet, dry, preheated, and fired pellets can be produced with combined binders, such as organic and inorganic salts, when compared with bentonite-bonded pellets.
While organic binders provide sufficient wet and dry pellet strengths, inorganic salts provide the required preheated and fired pellet strengths.
12. Figure 4. Schematic diagram of the grate-rotary kiln induration process/ grate-kiln pelletizing
process (also known as the rotary-kiln process) (MourĂŁo et al., 2013).
14. Figure 2: Ratios of pellets produced by different
pelletizing processes in China in 2000 and 2011.
Table 1: Main producers of iron ore pellets in
the world between 2010 and 2012 (Mt per
year) (Narciso, 2013)
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