Analyzing cleaner alternatives of solid and gaseous fuels for iron ore sintering in compacts machines

The steel industry has faced challenges with regard to the raw materials and fuels and hence economic and environmental restrictions. This paper is focused on searching alternatives based on biomass and gaseous fuels suitable for replacing the coke breeze fossil fuel. Nevertheless, testing these technologies are expensive. Therefore, comprehensive mathematical models based on transport phenomena are efficient tools to study and indicate new possibilities for designing operational conditions as well as resizing the machines for minimizing the hazardous emissions. We proposed new concept of operation combining gaseous fuels and biomass for partially replacing the coke breeze in a compact sintering machine. Thus three possible ways for 20% of the amount of coke breeze replacement are analyzed in a combined manner: a) replacement by steelmaking mixing gas, b) replacement by biogas and c) replacement by pellets of biomass. The results indicated that about 20% of the solid fossil fuels could be replaced by waste solid residue of biomass (processed as small pellets). For the analyzed cases, the productivity increase of 5% for the steelmaking mixing gas, 15% for the biomass pellets and 25% for the biogas fuel. For all cases considered it was predicted a decrease of the amount of hazardous compounds emissions.