Development of Rotary Kiln Furnace for Iron Reduction and Slag Separation

Development of Rotary Kiln Furnace for Iron Reduction and Slag Separation

Hui Li, Wenbin Yang, Wei Zhao, Xiaodan Fang, Qiang Zhi, Xingyan Zhang, Yong Min
Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology Xi'an 710055, Shaanxi

Abstract:

There is a big challenge in the steel industry to use hematite ore due to its special “oolitic-like” composite particle structure.  Both magnetic selection and floating selection were investigated with a very little of success.  In this paper, we would like to introduce a novel process, which had directly reduced the hematite ore into iron and separated from the slag. Experimental rotary kiln furnace was made and used to investigate the iron reduction and slag separation processes.  A pilot scale rotary kiln furnace was also build to scale up the process with industrial grade hematite ore as the raw materials.  The initial result indicated that total iron content is greater than 88%, which reached the product requirements of the Chinese national standards.  The comprehensive studies of material formulation, process conditions, as well as characterization will be introduced during the presentation.

Keywords: rotary kiln furnace, iron reduction, slag separation, iron slag separation