On dynamic nonisothermal techniques for characterization of ironmaking raw-materials

The standard tests for the determination of different characteristics of various raw materials provide important guidelines for their selection or rejection of the raw-material for the process. Of these, iron ore and coal are the basic raw materials for the ironmaking process. This paper discusses the standard test methods and proposes some novel ways for assessing the performance characteristics of basic raw materials of the iron and steel industry. As an improvement over the conventional static isothermal technique (SIT), a dynamic non-isothermal technique (DNT) is discussed. This technique necessarily employs the movement of the reaction mixture under a preset time-temperature programme. The paper also covers some basic approaches of the different techniques and presents a comparison of the results obtained from the other methods: the standard reducibility test; commercial thermal analyser. It is shown that the data generated using DNT are more useful because the technique simulates some of the essential features of continuous vertical reactors.