The invention concerns a method of operating a sinter plant, where a sinter mix is fired in a sintering machine, the method including crushing fired sinter to below an upper particle size limit; screening the crushed sinter to remove fines and separate at least two sinter size fractions, typically smaller, intermediate and upper size fractions; storing each of the at least two sinter size fractions in a respective, separate storage bin, where
the screened sinter fractions are not mixed again at the sinter plant but are forwarded to the blast furnace plant, where they are stored in respective, separate storage bins, and the screened sinter fractions can be intermediately stored in separate bins at the sinter plant, before being forwarded to the blast furnace.

Uneven sintering is prevented in a sintering machine, and thus sintered ore having high strength and a high lump yield rate is manufactured. A method for manufacturing sintered ore comprising: charging sintering raw material comprising fine ore and carbon material on a circulatively moving pallet to form a raw material layer; igniting the carbon material on a surface of the raw material layer and sucking air from above the raw material layer down to below the palette so that the air is introduced into the raw material layer; and combusting the carbon material in the raw material layer to thereby manufacture sintered ore, wherein fuel gas is discharged from a nozzle at a flow speed of 40 Nm/s or more, the discharged fuel gas is combusted to generate combustion gas, and the combustion gas is used for the igniting the carbon material.

A screening apparatus comprises superposed screening decks with an upper one of the screening decks having a pellet input, and each screening deck ends with an oversize pellet output, the screening decks have screens to screen the green ore pellets from top to bottom, the oversize pellet outputs feeding the travelling grate through pellet chutes with the oversize green ore pellets of one of the upper and the lower one of the screening decks being superposed to oversize green ore pellets of the other one of the lower and the upper one of the screening decks, the pellet chutes defining a curved delivery path with an input slope at the chute pellet input greater than an output slope of the chute pellet output to reduce a delivery speed of the green ore pellets from the oversize pellet output to the travelling grate. There is also provided a method for screening and delivering green ore pellets onto a travelling grate of an induration furnace.

A screening apparatus comprises superposed screening decks with an upper one of the screening decks having a pellet input, and each screening deck ends with an oversize pellet output, the screening decks have screens to screen the green ore pellets from top to bottom, the oversize pellet outputs feeding the travelling grate through pellet chutes with the oversize green ore pellets of one of the upper and the lower one of the screening decks being superposed to oversize green ore pellets of the other one of the lower and the upper one of the screening decks, the pellet chutes defining a curved delivery path with an input slope at the chute pellet input greater than an output slope of the chute pellet output to reduce a delivery speed of the green ore pellets from the oversize pellet output to the travelling grate. There is also provided a method for screening and delivering green ore pellets onto a travelling grate of an induration furnace.

Provided is a pallet car for the transport of bulk material for a thermal treatment thereof. The pallet car comprises a frame with at least two opposed cross-beams on which grate bars rest and two end pieces each connecting the cross-beams with each other, which each include at least two rollers and at least one side wall. In the pallet car, the grate bars and/or the side walls and/or the insulating plates are made of a ceramic fiber composite, wherein the fibers are metallic and high-temperature resistant.

Provided is a pallet car for the transport of bulk material for a thermal treatment thereof. The pallet car comprises a frame with at least two opposed cross-beams on which grate bars rest and two end pieces each connecting the cross-beams with each other, which each include at least two rollers and at least one side wall. In the pallet car, the grate bars and/or the side walls and/or the insulating plates are made of a ceramic fiber composite, wherein the fibers are metallic and high-temperature resistant.

A pallet car for conveying material to be processed is disclosed. The pallet car includes first and second sidewalls formed from sidewall members that each include a metal frame and a heat-resistant liner, such as formed from refractory. The refractory formed on the metal frame of the sidewall members provides insulation for the metal frame without the need for a hearth layer of pre-processed material in the material bed of the pallet car. The sidewall member including the refractory layer increases the effective volume of the pallet car, which increases the overall efficiency of the furnace and material processing procedure.

A pallet car for conveying material to be processed is disclosed. The pallet car includes first and second sidewalls formed from sidewall members that each include a metal frame and a heat-resistant liner, such as formed from refractory. The refractory formed on the metal frame of the sidewall members provides insulation for the metal frame without the need for a hearth layer of pre-processed material in the material bed of the pallet car. The sidewall member including the refractory layer increases the effective volume of the pallet car, which increases the overall efficiency of the furnace and material processing procedure.

A method for producing iron ore pellets for operation of a blast furnace, where the iron ore pellets have a CaO/SiO.sub.2 mass ratio greater than or equal to 0.8 and a MgO/SiO.sub.2 mass ratio greater than or equal to 0.4, the method including balling green pellets by adding water to an iron ore material and dolomite and firing the green pellets. The dolomite is in a miniaturized state in a structure of the green pellets.

A method for charging pallet cars of a traveling grate for the thermal treatment of bulk material includes in a first step a first layer is applied as a hearth layer on a grate surface of the pallet car. In at least one second step a second layer at the same time or successively is applied as a side layer on two opposed side walls of the pallet car and a third layer is applied as green pellet layer between the side layers and on the hearth layer. The pellets used for the grate and the side layer differ in terms of their diameter and size distribution.