Comparisons of iron ore granulation and sintering performance between horizontal high-shear granulators and drum granulators

Granulation is a key operation unit in preparation of iron ore raw materials. This work presented an experimental study on the iron ore granulation and sintering using a novel horizontal high-shear granulator and a traditional drum granulator. The mixing and granulation performance and the effect of granulation on sintering indicators were analyzed. The results showed that the optimal filling level of the shear granulator was about 9%, which was slightly lower than that of the drum granulator (12%). However, the uniformity, bed permeability and the fracture strength of the granules from the shear granulator were significantly better than those from the drum granulator. Compared with the drum granulator, the shear granulator had better mixing ability in the axial direction, more even distributions of water and calcium and less segregation. For the thick-bed sintering with a height of 900 mm, the sintering indicators in terms of sintering speed, sinter yield, strength and flue composition showed the shear granulator was significantly better than that of the drum granulator.