Impact of infrared drying on strength and storage characteristics of iron ore briquettes

The demand for steel products has surged in our infrastructure dependent 21st century world. With iron ore reserves depleting rapidly, it is crucial to utilise iron ore fines and metallurgical waste effectively in the steel industry. To address this, the agglomeration process is employed to make proper use of these fines and metallurgical wastes, such as flue dust and LD sludge, by combining them with bentonite and cement as binders to form cylindrical briquettes. The drying was used in the production of iron ore agglomerates achieving sufficient initial strength which is crucial to prevent breakage during transportation, handling, and storage unlike traditional processes such as sintering and nodulising, which require heating the agglomerates to high temperatures (around 1,100°C) and result in increased carbon emissions. The heat induration process using infrared drying offers a method to produce high-quality dried products and also promoting eco-friendly briquettes with reduced carbon emission.