ABSTRACT
The Chapter accounts for sinter productivity, which is composed of sintering speed and sinter yield. The speed is governed by the gas-dynamics, heat transfer, and the movement of the reaction front across the sintering bed. The bed permeability, before ignition and during sintering, is a deciding factor and is guided by how the mix, being sintered, is granulated. The improvement in granulation with the addition of lime, also through modifying the operational and machine parameters, is mentioned. The adverse effects of alumina diluted through adopting the selective granulation, such as practiced in Japan, are described. The effect of a return fines regime on the sinter productivity in a continuous process vis-à-vis the sinter mean size and the optimum of the return fines regime, also its carbon equivalent, is reported in the Chapter. The Chapter mentions the process variables that affect sinter productivity: characteristics of ore and other mix materials in terms of particle size and their distribution, also mineralogy and chemistry of ores, sinter basicity and its MgO content, solid fuel rate, usage of sized flux and coke, and their split charging. The operational parameters that are being practiced to improve sinter productivity—typically, newer methods of mix charging and low moisture addition in the mix, including steam preheating—are reported here. The research and development and plant practices with respect to the ores having lower alumina and silica contents, also those with a higher content of microfines including blue dust, are outlined. The ores from various resources differ in their sizes, moisture retention capacity, and also textural and assimilation properties, which results in their varied sinterability, and discussed. The plant data, reported here, suggest that blending (different types) of ores improves the productivity.
