This document summarizes research on agglomerating ferromanganese alloy fines to make them suitable for use in steelmaking. The researchers characterized the fines and tested various binders and agglomeration processes. Phenol-formaldehyde resin was found to produce agglomerates with sufficient strength. Laboratory and plant trials showed the agglomerates achieved manganese recovery comparable to lumps without introducing impurities to the steel. Commercialization of the agglomeration process provides an economical way to utilize alloy fines that were previously sold at a lower price.

1. Agglomeration of Ferromanganese alloy Fines to Use in
LD Steel Making Process
Authors
Veerendra Singh, Prabhash Gokarn,
Ashutosh Kumar, B D Nanda, and Amitabh Bhattcharjee
Tata Steel Ltd., Jamshedpur - 831001, Jharkhand, India.
Presented at the th
Research & Development 50 National Metallurgists’ Day ATM of the Indian Institute of Metals

2. Presentation outline
1. Introduction
2. Objective
3. Experimental Studies
3.1. Characterization Studies
3.2. Agglomeration Studies
3.3. Lab Trials
4. Plant Trials & Commercialization
5. Conclusion
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3. Introduction
 Mn alloys are added as deoxidizing agents and
additives to increase strength, elasticity and abrasion FeMn
resistance of steel. Casting
 Mn ferroalloys are made by carbo-thermic reduction
of manganese ores, cast into pans and crushed into
10mm to 60mm size lumps.
FeMn
 Mn is added in the form of lumps of high carbon Cake
FeMn, SiMn and Mn metal.
 The fines generated during sizing can not be used
directly in LD, so these are sold at lower price ( <Rs
12-15k than lumps) to foundries.
• Low Mn Recovery
• Handing losses
• Low grade Lumps (10-80mm)
( Mn : >70, C : 6-8)
 An efficient agglomeration process can make them
Fines & Chips (0-3,3-10mm)
suitable for steel making process. ( Mn : 65-70, C : 6-8)
Research & Development
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4. Objective
To produce a suitable Agglomerate to use in steelmaking in a cost effective way.
FeMn Fines Agglomerate
Ladle
Size : <3mm Size : 20-30mm
Challenges
 It should not add any unwanted ingredient (P,S etc in steel)
 High Cold Compressive Strength to avoid fine generation during handling.
 High Hot Compressive Strength to avoid disintegration at high temperature.
 Agglomeration process should be economical.
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5. Experimental Studies : Characterization of Fines
(a) Chemical analysis of FeMn Lumps & Fines
Element FeMn Lumps FeMn Fines
(>10mm) (0-3mm)
Mn >70 >67
Si 1.5 1.4-2
P 0.30 0.25
C 6-8 6-8
(b) Size analysis of fines
(C) SEM analysis of FeMn& Development
Research Lumps & Fines
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6. Experimental Studies : Agglomeration Process
(a) Binder Selection : Metallic fines shows significantly different behavior than the ore fines
hence binder selection is most critical task.
Molasses +Lime
Cement
Lignosulphate
Coal tar
Sodium Silicate
Resins
 Phenol-formaldehyde Resin
 Acrylic Resin
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7. Experimental Studies : Agglomeration Process
(b) Process parameter (Compaction load, dosage & curing conditions) optimization
Binder % Load (ton) Curing Condition
Sodium Silicate 5, 7.5 & 10 1&5 100 C, 1 hour
Sodium Silicate+ Bentonite 5+2, 7.5+2 & 10+2 1 100 C, 1 hour
Acrylic Resin 5, 8 & 10 1&3 100 C, 1 hour
Phenol formaldehyde Resin 3,4, 5, 8 & 10 1&5 100 & 150 C, 1 hour
Sample Preparation
(0-3mm) FeMn fine)
Mixing Binder
Pressing
(1-5ton)
Curing
(100° C, 60 minutes)
Compressive strength Test
Process Methodology for Binder Selection
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8. Experimental Studies : Binding Mechanism
• Various kinds of forces act on particles in
agglomeration process. (1) Intermolecular forces
:Vander Waals, Hydrogen bonding, Electrostatic and (2)
Others: Capillary force, Solid bridges, Mechanical
Interlocking .
• The alloy particles are smooth with low
wettability and do not have crakes for binder
absorption like ore particles.
• Phenol-formaldehyde resins are commonly used
in coating, foundry, composites, molding,
refractory and adhesive for woods.
(a) Mn Ore Particle (b) FeMn Particle
• Phenol-formaldehyde resin (resole resin) properties
are as follow
PH(1 % Soln.) : 7.15
Specific Gravity :1.18
Solid Content : 70.65 %
Viscosity at 25deg. C: 200 cps. Min
Carbon : 35 %
Addition Condensation Curing
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9. Experimental Studies : Agglomeration Process
© Agglomerate Quality
Properties Briquette
Size & Shape 30-20mm
Apparent Density 5200 kg/m3
Compressive Strength 55Mpa
Tensile Strength 15Mpa
Tumbler Index (Wt 15kg, rpm 200@25) 95% (>6.3mm)
Abrasion Index (Wt: 15kg, rpm 200@25) 3%( <0.5mm) (ii) FeMn Briquette
Shatter Index (10 kg, 4 drops, Height : 2m) 98%(<5mm) (i) FeMn lump
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10. Agglomeration Process Flow Sheet
 Lab Trials (5Kg)
 Small Scale Pant Trials (500Kg)  Recovery
 Operational Performance
 Large Scale Plant Trials (10ton)  Cost benefit analysis
 Shikher trials
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11. Lab Trials
Metal
Metal Mn Reco.
(kg) (%) (%)
Lump 24.9 12.7 90.87
Briq. 24.7 12.7 90.73
Steel Scrap (20kg) FeMn agglomerate(5 kg) Fine 24.5 11.1 81.09
(Mn: 0.15, C : 0.2,P : 0.011) (Mn: 66.33, C : 7, P : 0.25) Slag
Tempt. : 1650o C
1. It is safe to add the agglomerate
2. The Mixing of fines is very difficult and very faster for briquettes
3. Mn recovery was lowest (81 %) for fines and similar for briquettes and lumps.
FeMn Lumps FeMn Fines FeMn Briquettes
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12. Plant Trials
(a) Briquette addition not increases level of P,S
and Nitrogen in the steel.
(b) Manganese and carbon pickup in steel was
similar for lumps and briquettes.
(c) Briquettes contain lower Mn content than
the lumps but recovery was slightly better
(~3%) for briquettes (t-test -p value:0.13). Metal Analysis
(d) NO other operational problem was faced
during the trial.
Research & Development Slag Analysis
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13. Commercialization
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14. Conclusion
(a) A suitable agglomerate for Steel making can be produced from High
Carbon ferromanganese alloys fines using the Phenolic resin as a binder.
(b) The developed agglomerate shown good physical properties and did not
add any unwanted ingrinednt in the steel.
(c) Benefits :
(i) Tangible :
Profit = Cost Difference in lumps and fine - Briquetting cost
= Rs 12-15,000 - Rs 5-7000
= Rs 7000/ton ( for Tata Steel : 2-3 Crore/annum)
(ii) Non-tangible Benefits
 Environment friendly recycling process
 Effective utilization of resources
 There is also potential to use low price fines of other Ferro-alloys(SiMn, FeCr
etc.) by adapting the similar practice
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15. Contents
Ferro Alloys &
LD#1
Minerals Division Mr. Debashish Das
Mr. Rajeev Singhal
Mr. H Billmoriya
Mr. L S Devikera
Mr. Alok Das Gupta
Mr. S Tanwer
R & D and SS
Dr. D Bhattacharjee
Dr. Vilas Tathavadkar
Dr. P K Banerjee
Dr. D. Srinivas
Dr. Sandip Bhattacharyya
Prof. A K Laheri
th
Research & Development the 50 National Metallurgists’ Day ATM of the Indian Institute of Metals
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16. Research & Developmentthe 50th National Metallurgists’ Day ATM of the Indian Institute of Metals
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