A method of processing iron ore fines from various possible sources, with particle size up to 0.15 mm (through 100 mesh sieve) with no or limited comminution, directly into the intense mixer, with a set of binders in specific proportions, aiming to optimize physical and metallurgical properties of the pellets with minimal binder addition, thus not compromising the quality of steel products. The binders are starch, sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide, among others. The mixture with adjusted moisture content goes through conventional balling discs or drums and size screening. The green pellets then undergo drying with forced air at around 150° C. for a short time. The pellets obtained have excellent metallurgical properties, and compression resistance around 70 kgf/pellets, without the high and undesirable economic and environmental costs of the conventional indurating process. An alternative embodiment (FIG. 3) considers indurating the pellets at temperatures below 1,200° C. to obtain similar mechanical resistance than pellets made by the conventional induration process, with temperatures above 1,300° C.

Agglomeration process in agglomeration plants is quite sensitive to changes in input feed material characteristics. End-to-end optimization of the agglomerate process by combining all the units is difficult due to unique complexities and challenges associated with combining the individual process outputs. A method and system for optimizing the operation of an agglomeration plant has been provided. The system performs real time optimization on integrated wet agglomeration and thermal agglomeration process which subsequently increases the plant productivity and agglomerate quality and minimizes the operating cost and emissions from the plant. The optimization process involves various steps such as receiving data, pre-processing of data, prediction using physics-based and data-driven models of agglomeration plant, and optimization execution and configuration. The process also involves continuous monitoring of model performance and self-learning of the models in case of a performance drift. The system is also configured to estimate the key performance parameters of agglomeration plant.

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 m/s or more, the discharged fuel gas is combusted to generate combustion gas, and the combustion gas is used for igniting the carbon material.

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.

The invention relates to a method for producing an agglomerate, which is used as a blast furnace feed material, by mixing a fine material containing metal and/or metal oxide, a mineral binder, which comprises a mineral raw material and a lime-based material, and optionally other additives to form a mass and solidifying the mass to form an agglomerate, wherein a raw material comprising a silicon oxide fraction of at least 40 wt %, a fine grain fraction of less than 4 m of at least 20 wt %, and a grain size fraction of less than 1 m of at least 10 wt % is used as the mineral raw material. The invention further relates to a blast furnace feed material that can be produced by means of the method according to the invention, and to a pre-mixture for producing the blast furnace feed material.

A method of producing a sintered ore includes charging a sintering raw material containing a powder ore and a carbonaceous material onto a circulatory moving pallet to form a charged layer, igniting the carbonaceous material on a surface of the charged layer, introducing air above the charged layer containing a gaseous fuel diluted to not more than a lower limit of combustion concentration with wind boxes arranged below the pallet into the charged layer by suction, and combusting the gaseous fuel and the carbonaceous material in the charged layer, wherein more than 50% of a total supply of the gaseous fuel is supplied in a front portion of a region supplying the gaseous fuel.

The invention relates to a method and equipment for the continuous sintering of mineral material in a sintering furnace (S). In the method, a material bed (2) is formed on a conveyor base (1), the material bed (2) is conveyed by the conveyor base (1) through the process zones (I-VII) of the sintering furnace that have different temperatures, the zones including at least one drying zone (I), at least one cooling zone (VII), and at least one other process zone (II, III, IV, V, VI) between the said drying zone and cooling zone, and gas is conducted through the conveyor base and the material bed (2), when the material bed travels through the process zones (I-VII), and gas is circulated in a circulation gas duct (3) from the last cooling zone (VII) to the drying zone (I). Part of the gas flow that is conducted to the drying zone (I) in the circulation gas duct (3) is removed as an exhaust gas flow (B) by the exhaust gas blower (5) of an exhaust gas duct (4). The volume flow of the exhaust gas flow (B) is regulated by regulating the blowing power of the blower (5) to control the temperature of the gas flow travelling through the material bed in the drying zone.

Agglomeration process in agglomeration plants is quite sensitive to changes in input feed material characteristics. End-to-end optimization of the agglomerate process by combining all the units is difficult due to unique complexities and challenges associated with combining the individual process outputs. A method and system for optimizing the operation of an agglomeration plant has been provided. The system performs real time optimization on integrated wet agglomeration and thermal agglomeration process which subsequently increases the plant productivity and agglomerate quality and minimizes the operating cost and emissions from the plant. The optimization process involves various steps such as receiving data, pre-processing of data, prediction using physics-based and data-driven models of agglomeration plant, and optimization execution and configuration. The process also involves continuous monitoring of model performance and self-learning of the models in case of a performance drift. The system is also configured to estimate the key performance parameters of agglomeration plant.