Experimental and Modeling Study on Reduction of Hematite Pellets by Hydrogen Gas

Abstract

Gaseous reduction by hydrogen was performed for three types of hematite pellets, two from industry and one prepared in the laboratory. The reduction mechanisms of the pellets were studied based on the morphologies of the partially reduced samples. Two mechanisms were found, the mechanisms of the two types of industrial pellets being very similar. The degree of reduction was followed as a function of time for each type of pellets. On the basis of the reaction mechanism of the industrial pellets, a mathematical model was developed. As a pioneer effort, the model combined the computational fluid dynamics approach for the flow and mass transfer in the gas phase with model of gas diffusion in the solid phase as well as the description of the chemical reaction at the reaction sites. The calculation results agreed well with the experimentally obtained reduction curves. The present work also emphasized the importance of evaluation of the reduction mechanisms and the properties of different types of iron ore pellets prior to developing a process model. While the present approach has established a good foundation for the dynamic modeling of the shaft reactor, more efforts are required to accomplish a realistic process model.