Reduction of iron ore pellets using coke bed technique

Abstract

This research project was carried out with the intension of producing high quality iron are pellets for iron making using processed Data (Rathnapura) iron ore and Aruwakalu lime is coke bed. Different pellet compositions were prepared by changing the percentage of Dela ore, lime and coke and thereafter firing them under different temperatures with the aim of obtaining required physical properties enabling its subsequent reduction to metallic iron. Reducibility of pellets at different temperatures were done by the packed coke bed crucible method developed by the authors, for those pellets which satisfied the required porosity and compression strength parameters. By observing the micro structure of specimen before reduction and after packed bed reduction, the quality of the pellets so produced was assed. This method may be adopted in the lab as a relatively cheap method to study reducibility of iron ores.