IRON ORE SINTERING PART 1. THEORY AND PRACTICE OF THE SINTERING PROCESS

Sintering is a process by which a mixture of iron ores, fluxes and coke is agglomerated in a sinter plant to manufacture a sinter product of a suitable composition, quality and granulometry to be used as burden material in the blast furnace. This process is studied and researched in the steelmaking industry in general, and in sinter plants in particular, as well as in universities and metallurgical research centres throughout the world. As a result of this research, and the experience accumulated over many years, the sintering process is well understood. Nevertheless, despite this good knowledge of sintering, there are still a number of issues that need to be studied. The present work provides information on the iron ores that form part of the mineral mix which, once granulated, is loaded onto the sinter strand where it is partially melted at a temperature of between 1250-1350 degrees C and undergoes a series of reactions that give rise to the formation of sinter; a material of a suitable composition and strength to be loaded into the blast furnace to produce pig iron.