Grate-kiln pelletization of Indian hematite fines and its industrial practice

Indian hematite fines normally have a high iron grade and minor impurities; they are usually used as sinter fines for feeding into a blast furnace. In this work, the grindability properties of two kinds of Indian hematite fines and the roasting behaviors and induration characteristics of pellets made from these fines were revealed through experiments involving dry ball milling and small-scale and pilot-scale tests. In addition, the microstructures of the particles of ground India hematite fines and fired pellets were investigated using optical microscopy. On the basis of the results, a grate-kiln production line with an annual output of 1.2 Mt of oxidized pellets was established in India. This pellet plant operates stably and reliably, further confirming that preparing high-quality pellets with Indian hematite fines pretreated by dry ball milling is an industrially feasible process.