Biomass Reduction Roasting Of Goethite Ore At Low Temperature

Goethite ore are the third most abundant source of iron. The overwhelming part of these ore is represented by low-grade varieties which cannot be used in iron and steel industry without preliminary beneficiation. Biomass is a renewable solid fuel, which is feasible for the substitution of coke and coal in the manufacturing due to its lower contents of harmful elements and abundant raw material sources. Utilization of biomass in iron ore sintering process as heating agent and reducing agent contributes to energy conservation and emission reduction. The biomass was mixed together with goethite ore for roasting process to investigate the effects of reduction roasting. The results show that the goethite ore is dramatically reduced and magnetized into maghemite by biomass with the biomass dosage less than 20% and the roasting temperature below 650 oC. When the goethite ore roasted with biomass, the magnetization values could be enhanced more than two orders of magnitude, meets the standard of magnetic separation, which could significantly reduce the iron beneficiation cost. Keywords: biomass, goethite, reduction, magnetization, roasting