Disintegration of Cold-bonded Agglomerates of Iron-bearing Materials in Blast furnaces and DRI Shaft Furnaces

To decarbonize blast furnace ironmaking and DRI shaft furnace ironmaking, the old cold-bonded agglomeration technologies have caught wide attention for processing fine iron-bearing materials into agglomerates for the shaft furnace ironmaking. Catastrophic disintegration of cold-bonded agglomerates of iron-bearing materials in blast furnaces and DRI shaft furnaces is one of the barriers which have prevented the industry from using the agglomerates at a significantly high charging rate. In this paper, measurement of the disintegration is described, measured results of some cold-bonded agglomerates are presented and compared with sinter and fired iron ore pellets, and reasons for the catastrophic disintegration are discussed.

Naiyang Ma | ArcelorMittal Global R&D – East Chicago