Process

Process Layout

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The pellet plant facility is conceived as versatile operation capable of producing a variety of product types, as predicated by
the ore supply and/or the market demand. Thus, from time to time, campaigns may be run to produce varieties ranging
from acid pellets, pellets with nominal limestone addition or fluxed pellets.

The Pelletization Plant is provided with single strand indurating machine to achieve the uaranteed capacity as mentioned
above.

Bentonite / Hydrated lime & ground coal is used as additive for Pelletizing.

The Pelletizing Plant can be broadly classified into the following sections

 Ore Beneficiation & Grinding Section

 Storage Silo & Bins Section
 Weighing & Mixing Section
 Balling (Green Pelletizing) & Screening Section
 Indurating Section
 Dedusting Section

ORE BENEFICIATION & GRINDING SECTION

Iron Ore received from the mines needs to be beneficiated & ground. The process of Beneficiation depends upon quality of
Iron Ore. The ore with Fe content of + 63% can be beneficiated by washing & to be ground upto 300 mesh for
Pelletization.

For Iron Ore with low Fe content, Beneficiation can be done by various alternatives like Gravity Separation, Magnetic
Separation, etc. Grinding of Iron Ore can be done by Dry grinding or Wet grinding depending on the process of
Beneficiation. For wet grinding filtration is required after grinding.
Beneficiation process will ensure good and consistant quality of Pellets having Fe always more than 65%.

STORAGE SYSTEM & BINS

Storage systems are large Silos/ Bins with aeration & extraction System to store raw material, binding, etc.

The Storage System comprises of:

 RCC Storage Silo with aeration & extraction System along with Bag Filter
 Ground Bentonite Bin with bag filter.
 Ground Coal Bin with inert gas purging & bag filter
 Organic Binder bin.

WEIGHING & MIXING SECTION

Accurately weighed quantity of ground iron ore with binders / additives from respective bins are conveyed to mixer via a
belt conveyor & all ingredients are mixed in Intensive mixer. Normally iron ore is mixed with water, bentonite & ground
coal. Set points are adjusted as per balling performance / requirement. Intensive mixing is necessary with the following
explanation:

To achieve a uniform growth and control of green pellets within the pelletizing disc as well as a uniformity in relation to
physical properties of the green pellets.
For Chemical reaction between additive and ore during the firing process. This reaction is more uniform, if better mixing
take place. It also influences physical properties of the fired pellets.

BALLING & SCREENING SYSTEM

The green Pelletizing Section has Pelletizing discs. One Pelletizing disc serves as a stand by unit. All the Pelletizing Units
are identical. Mixed material is discharged from bin via vibrating mouthpiece and the Dozing Belt Weigher. The amount
discharged is controlled in accordance with the set point fixed in the process control room. In the feeding chute to the
Pelletizing disc, a fluffer and adjustable guide plates are installed to allow in a certain range the charging point of mixed
material onto the Pelletizing disc. The function of the fluffer mainly is to disintegrate the fed material from the Weigh
Feeders and spreading the mixed material on a certain area of the Pelletizing disc. The Rotary movement of the disc
produces the green Pellets. The disc’s rotational speed is below the critical, so that the material carried along can roll down
from the highest point of the disc to the lowest. The rolling motion of the material and the surface tension of the water in
the individual particles of material lead to forming of micro Pellets. As the disc carries them along and as they roll down
again, due to tumbling action, these micro pellets grow until they reach a specific size & then spill over the edge of the disc
(separating out effect).

The pellets discharged from the discs are directed to the roller screen conveyor. The roller screen conveyor separates the
fraction Minus 6, 6 to 16, and + 16 mm. The fraction 6 - 16 mm is fed onto the green Pellet collecting conveyor. The
fraction 0 - 6 mm is fed to a recirculating belt conveyor whereas the fraction + 16 mm is fed onto another recirculating
belt conveyor. The green pellet collecting belt conveyor feeds the green pellets having the fraction 6 - 16 mm onto the
moving belt conveyor, which discharges the green pellets onto the descending belt conveyor & from there to the roller
conveyor.

Belt conveyors for collecting the undersize & over size green pellets from roller screen conveyor feed the material into the
mixer with plough scrapper. The recirculated under and oversize green pellets as well as the total disc discharge of the disc
can be dumped in case of emergency or during disc adjustment.

The undersize fraction from the roller screen conveyor is collected by a belt conveyor and fed via other belt conveyors onto
required belt conveyor. Two belt scales are installed in the recycling conveying system to indicate the amount of screened
out undersize material & total amount of recirculated material of the green pellets section onto the concentrate belt
conveyors. Transporting units distribute the green pellets onto the indurating machine with required width as evenly as
possible.

PELLET INDURATION SECTION

Travelling Grate - Machine is basically an endless chain of Pellets. The lifting wheel guides the pellets up onto the rails of
the upper strand, and the lowering wheel guides them down again at the discharge end onto the rails of the lower strand.
Each Pellet consists of two end sections & a center part. The end sections incorporate the running and pressure rolls.

The Indurating machine has nos. of wind boxes, connected to the process gas/air lines and fitted with dust removal
equipment. Wind boxes are equipped with Motorised throttle dampers, so as to be able to adapt the flow of gases in these
sections to the process requirements. All wind box pipes are fitted with compensators to allow for thermal expansion
between the wind boxes and gas mains. Vaned sealing plates between the wind boxes are position in certain area, where
the gas flow reverses. These sealing plates restrict the extent to which the gases take shortcuts at these points.

Above the Indurating machine, hoods with refractory material are installed. Burner chambers are arranged along both
sides of the hood in alternative sections. These Burner chambers are connected to the direct recuperation line via
connecting pipes.
Dividing walls with refractory cladding are situated between various zones in the hoods. To restrict the movement of
infiltrating air or process air between hood and moving pellets to a minimum, sealing air is blown in special sealing
elements. Cooling water system is installed to cool the traveling grates. Burners with flame detectors are installed for firing
of fuel from burner hoods.

PELLET TRANPORT SYSTEM

Vibrating Feeder, Belt Conveyor, Bucket Elevator are installed at various locations for Transportation of Pellets.

DEDUSTING EQUIPMENT FOR INDURATING SECTION

Utmost care is taken in ensuring the proper environment by installing the Pollution Control Equipment at various points.

Economics

The heat consumption does not exceed 1,65,000 K Cal/Ton of finished pellets using oil (Calorific value of oil
10,000 Kcal/Kg for Magnetite Ore & 2,65,000 Kcal/Tonne for Hematite Ore).

The power consumption does not exceed 65 kw/t of finished pellets including grinding.

ESTIMATED CONVERSION COST

For 1 Tonne of Pellets made from Magnetite Iron Ore:

Power Consumption : 65 units/Ton @ Rs. 3.50/ Unit Rs. 227.50
Fuel Consumption 14 Kgs of furnace oil @ Rs. 18/Kg
Rs. 252.00
(Purchase price less MODVAT)
Additives 10 Kgs of Pulverized Coal @ Rs. 4000/Tonne Rs. 40.00
Bentonite 10 Kgs @ Rs. 1500/ Tonne Rs. 15.00
Labor & Maintenance Rs. 100.00
Miscellaneous Rs. 100.00

TOTAL Rs. 734.50

For 1 Tonne of Pellets made from Hematite Iron Ore:

Power Consumption : 65 units/Ton @ Rs. 3.50/ Unit Rs. 227.50
Fuel Consumption:18 Kgs of furnace oil @ Rs. 18/Kg (Purchase price less MODVAT) Rs.324.00
Additives 10 Kgs of Pulverized Coal @ Rs. 4000/Tonne Rs. 40.00
Bentonite 10 Kg@ Rs. 1500/ Tonne Rs. 15.00
Labor & Maintenance Rs. 100.00
Miscellaneous Rs. 100.00

TOTAL Rs. 806.50

FAQs
FAQ on IRON ORE PELLETIZING PLANT

Q1. Is Benefication necessary?

R1. Benefication is necessary. By going through Benefication you can improve the quality of the material
and subsequently you will get better quality of Pellet / Sponge Iron.

Q2. At present Iron Ore Fe 66.5% getting is not possible in the Bellary sector,please clarify?
R2. Iron ore of 66.5% is normally not available but you can use available Iron Ore, beneficate and use for
Pelletization.

Q3. What should be Fe content?

R3. Pellets are generally considered having uniform quality which can be achieved after benefication
otherwise you will have pellets of wearing quality in chemistry depending upon your iron ore. Hence
benefication process will ensure good and consistent quality of pellets having Fe always approx. 65%.

Q4. What is the water required per Tonne during Benefication and how we have to dispose the waste?
R4. For Beneficiating every 3 Tonne Iron ore we require 1 tone (1m3) of water. The disposable of the
waste has to be dumped in to dumping grounds or use it for filler in mines.

Q5. What is the loss during the Benefication?

R5. The loss of material during Benefication depends upon the quality of iron ore. Normally, as a thumb
rule, in beneficiation process initial loss is 8% and thereafter for every 1% increase in Fe the loss is
2%. For. eg- To have Iron ore Fe 64% to Fe 65%, total loss will be 10% and to upgrade Fe 63% to Fe
65%, the total loss will be 12%.

Q6. What type of filter is used?

R6. We can use any filter which can reduce the moisture to 8-10%. The types of filter are : i) Open Belt
Type Filters.
ii) Belt Filter (Pressure Filter)
iii) Vacuum disk filter, etc.
Q7. Type of Reymond's roller mill, capacity to be furnished.
R7. Reymond Roller Mill ( 3 Rollers) -1 no. is required of capacity 4 Tonne/hr. This is standard mill used
for grinding Limestone & Bentonite.

Q8. What is the Fuel consumption in Indurating System?

R8. The fuel consumption of Indurating system offered by us will be 180000 K Cal/ Tonne for Magnetite &
260000 K Cal/ Tonne for Hematite. This will be further reduced if we use the coke breeze.

Q9. Whether B.F gas can be used instead of furnace oil or combination can be used in furnace heating?
R9. Blast Furnace gas can be used as secondary fuel. It is advisable to use gas as fuel.

Q10. Can we avoid use of coal as additive as import is difficult? We propose to use gas as fuel.
R10. You can use Gas as fuel then coal will not be required at all. We can make the pellets without addition
of coal in Green Balls if imports are difficult.

Q11. What is the installation time and delivery period of the equipment?
R11. The total time required for the project will be roughly 24 to 28 months.

Q12. What will be land requirement?

R12. Land requirement will be approx 25 Acres for 1.2 MTPA plant.

Q13. What is the increase of production by using Pellets in DRI?

R13. By using the pellets in DRI the production of Kiln can be increased by about 25%. At the same time
pellets having high tumbling index the shutdown due to accretion in Kiln is avoided considerably,
which also affects the production.

Q14. What about decrepitating tendency of raw materials?

R14. The input raw materials used in Pelletization do not have decrepitating tendency.

Q15. Can low carbon high VM coal (Steam Coal/ Power coal) be used for heating the pellet?
R15. It can be easily used for heating the pellets. The important part is that the ash content should be
barely minimum.

Q16. For Pelletizing of hematite ore the use of coke breeze in the pellet feed mixture has become a
common practice to provide additional indurating energy.
R16. Coke breeze can be used for providing additional indurating energy.

Q17. Can coke be mixed in fines so as to increase carbon in Sponge Iron so as to reduce the usage of Pig
Iron in Induction Furnace?
R17. There is a limitation in adding the Coke in the fines. Maximum we can add 1% Coke in the fines.
Otherwise it will effect the strength of the pellets.

Q18. Ash content is near 4% so please confirm the quality of coal.

R18. We add 1% coal while making the Green Balls. These coals should have as low as Ash content as
possible. Hence, we recommend using imported coal.

Q19. Any unit working in India with similar technology?

R19. All the pellet Plants in India are operating with Straight Grate Technology. We are also offering the
same technology but in a smaller size, this technology we have adopted considering the suitability for
hematite ore.

Q20. Is pellet form Magnetite ore suitable for Sponge Iron Production?
R20. Magnetite ore when used for Pelletization and in process Magnetite Ore gets converted to Hematite
Ore at 800 deg. C. & output pellet will be of Hematite only. Hence, can be easily used for Sponge Iron
Production.

Q21. What experience VT CORP have in Pelletizing Plant?

R21. V T CORP has entered into technical tie up with M/s. , USA, world renowned
company for Iron Ore Pelletization. V T CORP also has team of experts in the field of Iron Ore
Pelletization who has several years of experience in Pellet Plants of India.

Q22. Hematite ore is more difficult to ball than magnetite ore hence grinding cost in hematite ore shall be
higher than in case of magnetite ore. Any material considered for Pelletizing should contain at least
70% - 325 mesh and have specific surface area of 1200 cm2 / gram.
R22. It is not that Hematite is more difficult to ball than Magnetite or vice versa. It is the hardness index of
the ore which determines the hardness of the material and it is responsible for increase or decrease in
grinding cost. In grinding our target should be 100% -100 mesh i.e blain number 1600- 1700
sqcm/gm.

Q23. Can we feed 100% Pellets to DRI Kiln?

R23. Yes, you can feed 100% pellets to DRI Kiln.

Q24. Iron ore should be of 1mm size (below 3mm size), which will constitute only about 10%, what about
the balance?
R24. We have considered Iron Ore of 1 mm size to arrive at the size of the mill for costing purpose. We can
use any size of iron ore but the cost of grinding i.e capital cost and running cost will go up
accordingly.

Q25. Any ball mill/ grinding mill is required?

R25. We can use any Ball Mill for grinding wet or dry depending upon the process selected.

Q26. Which are the countries, which export pellets?

R26. Brazil, India, Canada, Mexico & Australia are the countries who are exporters of Pellets.

Q27. Details of squeezer.

R27. Squeezer is used for regrinding oversize or undersize green balls. This is a standard product available
in India.

Q28. Process flow scheme of Indurating furnace showing arrangement of controls of temperature, gas line,
burner line, zone wise temperature, etc. What sort of instrumentation arrangement level required for
operating furnace DCS, PLC, Local / instrument control panel, etc.
R28. Temperature Zone of Indurating Furnace - Chart is included in the offer. Indurating Furnace needs to
be controlled by PLC control system.

Q29. Manpower required for operation and maintenance of the plant of 0.6 MTPA Pelletizing Plant?
R29. 60 Personnel are required for operation and maintenance of the plant.

Q30. What is the local electrical system requirement 6.6 kv/ 3.3 kv, Total installed load, maximum
demand, etc. motor rating of what capacity will be maximum and what is the feed voltage?
R30. Local electrical system requirement is 6.6 KV in HT and 440 volts in LT will be required. Maximum
installed load required is approx. 7 MW for 0.6 MTPA and 11 MW for 1.2 MTPA Pelletizing Plant
(including grinding).

Q31. Finished outlet of pellets will not be in open, it will be stored in silo of certain size so that moisture will
not be added, no breakage during handling, etc. If the pellets can be directly fed to DRI, what sort of
additional transportation equipment will be required? Additional cost required for same.
R31. Finished product can be easily stored in general shade as they do not absorb moisture. The Tumbling
Index is more then 90% thus they will not break during transportation.

Q32. Please explain both technology and its cost difference?

R32. Technology

The Grate-Kiln-Technology was earlier developed by a American company Allis Chalmer. Similar
technology is now offered by Chinese Companies.

Basically, this technology is suitable for Magnetite Ore (Fe 3O4). In their Technology, material moves
on Straight Grate bar till it attains the temperature of 800 deg.. Thereafter it is transferred to rotary
kiln where the temperature is further raised upto 1250/1300°C.

At 8000C , the Magnetite Ore gets converted into Hematite Ore (Fe 2O3) in an exothermic reaction. The
liberated heat hardens the green balls which is helpful in withstand the tumbling impact in the Rotary
kiln. Thus the green balls in the kiln do not break.

In the case of Hematite Ore, which is abundantly available in India, the exothermic reaction is not
possible and hence the hardening of the balls simply does not take place. Thus, at 800 0C , green balls
still remain soft. Thus they are not suitable for sustaining the tumbling impact in the Rotary kiln.

We know that a leading company of India had put up Pelletizing Plant with Grate Kiln Technology
similar to Chinese design. But, they could not successfully operate it even with best of the talents
available with them. Finally the plant was scrapped. Some of the design personnel working in my
organization were earlier in the design team who had supplied Pelletizing Plant. After detail study with
those designers and some of the prominent process experts in the country having more than 30 years
of experience in this field, who are now associated with us, we have recommended Straight Grate
technology which is suitable for all type of Iron Ore available in India.

We understand that a couple of Indian companies who had ordered the Pelletizing Plants on Chinese
Manufacturers recently, have not got the guarantee for using 100% Hematite Ore in their plant. Their
guarantee is for a specific mix of Magnetite and Hematite, which is tested by them. Also note that
these plants were finalized 2 years ago, but have not even reached half way due to various difficulties
such as language problem, misunderstanding in scope of supply, their ignorance of handling Hematite
ore, inability in modifying their own design to suit Indian requirement, etc.

The Straight Grate technology, offered by us, is ideal for Magnetite Ore (Fe 3O4) and Hematite Ore
(Fe2O3)both. The Green Balls remain always in Stationary position and travel in the pellet carts at
12500C / 13500C . without getting disturbed till they are transformed into the pellets.

Traveling Grate – The VT CORP Indurating Machine is a Straight Grate Indurating Furnace which is
basically an endless chain of pellets. The lifting wheel guides the pellets up onto the rails of the upper
strand, and the lowering wheel guides them down again at the discharge end onto the rails of the
lower strand. Each Pellet cart consists of two end sections & a center part. The end sections
incorporate the running and pressure rolls.

The Indurating machine has nos.of wind boxes, connected to the process gas/air lines and fitted with
dust removal equipments. Out of all wind boxes, some of the wind boxes are equipped With Motorised
throttle dampers, so as to be able to adapt the flow of gases in these sections to the process
requirements. All wind box pipes are fitted with compensators to allow for thermal expansion between
the wind boxes and gas mains. Vaned sealing plates between the wind boxes are positioned in certain
area, where the gas flow reverses. These sealing plates restrict the extent to which the gases take
shortcuts at these points.

Above the Indurating machine, hoods with refractory material are installed. Burner chambers are
arranged along both sides of the hood in alternative sections. These Burner chambers are connected
to the direct recuperation line via connecting pipes.

Dividing walls with refractory cladding are situated between various zones in the hoods. To restrict the
movement of infiltrating air or process air between hood and moving pellets to a minimum, sealing air
is blown in special sealing elements. Cooling water system is installed to cool the traveling grates.
Burners with flame detectors are installed for firing of fuel from burner hoods.

Cost

It is not possible to compare the cost of two plants made by two different technologies.

Straight Grate equipment is always expensive as against the Grate-Kiln-Technology. It is because the
Straight Grate equipment is made of high alloy Stainless Steel material for its pellet carts.

Straight Grate Technology, offered by us, has its inherent advantage that it can be used with any
available iron ore as against any specific iron ore by Chinese Grate Kiln Technology.
Q33. What is Taconite?
R33. Taconite is a Precambrian Sedimentary Rock referred to as banded iron formation or Band
Magnetite Quartzite (BMQ). It is basically a low grade ore, containing: 25 - 30% Magnetite,
banded in tough variety of quartz called Chert. Due to a very low Fe content they are not economical
to use. Minnesota Mines - one of the biggest mines in North America started their mining operation
in 1880s and due to high demand all the good hematite was exhausted between the periods of 1930-
50. During that period Taconite was untouched due to its very low content of Fe.

As there was no option left hence they decided to mine the Taconite for iron ore. The process adopted
was blasting of hard rocks of Taconite, crushing, beneficiation and Pelletizing. The main process of
Benefication was magnetic separation as Magnetite is magnetic in nature and hence easily separate
out by magnetic separator.

LKB Sweden gets their ore almost 800 mtrs. below the ground level having Fe content of 35% they
beneficiated this ore to 66% +.

Even Kudramukh Iron Ore has a low grade Magnetite having Fe content nearly 35% they
beneficiated to 65 to 66% Fe. Beneficiation depends purely on type of ore and impurities it contains.
Numbers of procedures / methods are available for benefication of ore.

We would like to inform you that some of the companies like 1. Empire Iron Making - USA, 2.
United State Steel - Minnesota -2 Units. 3. Sydvarangar - Norway - 1.5 Million Unit, are using
Taconite (BMQ) which is a type of Magnetite Ore Only.

"Why is Magnetite Magnetic and Hematite Nonmagnetic?"

Magnetic fields and magnetic material properties arise from electrons in motion. Electrons are always
spinning and usually orbit atomic nuclei or travel linearly through space. Electrons spinning and
revolving in tiny orbits around atomic nuclei generate magnetic dipoles-fields with both north and
south poles like those that would emanate from atomic-sized bar magnets. In most materials,
electrons orbit around the nucleus within configurations that have particular ranges, or bands, of
energy. These bands can be subdivided into orbitals, which are usually evenly filled with electrons that
pair together such that the paired orbits are alike in orientation, but exactly opposite in direction.
When this occurs, the two magnetic dipoles that are generated point oppositely, cancel each other,
and no large-scale, or bulk, magnetic properties are exhibited. In those few materials that do exhibit
bulk magnetic properties, electron orbital nearer the nucleus are not evenly filled, so those electrons
are not completely paired and through an interaction between adjacent atomic dipoles, a coupling
occurs that tends to align the orbits of the electrons involved. In this manner, alignment of great
numbers of atomic dipoles in a material will produce bulk magnetism.

Magnetite, (Fe3O4), has 4/3 or 1 and 1/3 atoms of oxygen (O) for every atom of iron (Fe). Also called
lodestone, magnetite is a natural ferrite. All ferrites exhibit strong magnetic properties and are hard,
brittle ceramic-like materials.

Magnetite is composed of iron atoms in two different states, one atom with a valence of +2 (Fe++ or
ferrous iron) and two atoms with a valence of +3 (Fe+++ or ferric iron). A valence number is usually
the number of outer electrons, which are those in the outermost and highest energy band. Further,
the valence indicates the number of negatively charged electrons that are available for ideal sharing
(i.e. bonding) with other atoms and can be either - for a surplus or + for a deficiency. In magnetite,
the magnetic dipoles of the two Fe+++ atoms are pointed oppositely and cancel each other. However,
the magnetic dipole of the Fe++ atom tends to align with many adjacent dipoles of other Fe++ atoms
throughout the mineral by the same interaction mentioned previously, and this parallel alignment of
many atomic dipoles produces a bulk magnetism called ferrimagnetisms. Since magnetite is strongly
ferromagnetic, ordinarily strong production magnets are sufficient to separate magnetite from a finely
ground mixture of taconite ore, which includes magnetite and its host rock. Typical taconite ore
contains about 20-25% iron by weight. After such a removal of iron-rich magnetite, the waste rock is
called taconite tailings.

Hematite, (Fe2O3), has 3/2 or 1½ atoms of oxygen for every atom of iron. Thus, it is a more oxidized
iron mineral than magnetite and may be considered iron rust, because as metallic iron oxidizes,
hematite can be formed. Hematite is actually very weakly magnetic as is explained below.

Over time, randomly mobile hematite molecules will statistically self-organize to form a crystal
structure, or crystal lattice, whose regular pattern of molecules in three dimensions can be regarded
as produced by repeated translations in space of a unit cell of atoms. The hematite crystal is notable
in that the geometry of its packing distorts its lattice such that iron atoms within the unit cell are
paired with slightly altered lattice spacing and although their dipoles would be expected to point
oppositely, an interaction between the paired atoms tilts the two dipoles so they do not completely
cancel, making bulk hematite very weakly magnetic. Thus, exotically powerful and expensive magnets
would be required to separate hematite from a finely ground mixture of hematite and host rock.