Sintering Properties and Optimal Blending Schemes of Iron Ores

In order to obtain good sintering performance, it is important to understand sintering properties of iron ores. Sintering properties including chemical composition, granulation and high-temperature behaviors of ores from China, Brazil and Australia. Furthermore, several indices were defined to evaluate sintering properties of iron ores. The results show that: for chemical composition, Brazilian ores present high TFe, low SiO2, and low Al2O3 content. For granulation, particle diameter ratio of Brazilian ores are high; particle intermediate fraction of Chinese concentrates are low; and average particle size and clay type index of Australian ores are high. For high-temperature properties, ores from China, Brazil and Australia present different characteristics. Ores from different origins should be mixed together to obtain good high-temperature properties. According to the analysis of each ore's sintering properties, an ore blending scheme (Chinese concentrates 20% + Brazilian ores 40% + Australian ores 40%) was suggested. Moreover, sinter pot test using blending mix was performed, and the results indicated that the ore blending scheme led to good sintering performance and sinter quality.