The Influence of Coal and Reduction Process Parameters in Producing Iron Nugget

Limitation of iron ore reserve having high quality ore and of energy has enhanced development in iron and steel producing technology and method. The ITmk3 process is one of iron making technology that can cope with the problems. It uses composite pellet as feeding material. In this process the ratio between iron and carbon are very important. Carbon holds an important role in the reduction process of iron. The transformation from iron oxides to iron metal will complete if composite pellet contains enough carbon. This paper discusses the influence of carbon ratio in iron reduction process. Nickel saprolite and coal are used as iron and carbon source. They are grinded, crushed, sieved, mixed and formed in cylinders. The weight ratios of ores to coal are 1:1 and 2:1. The reduction held in a furnace at 1100OC for 60 minutes and 1250OC for 120 minutes. The results show that the reduction could not complete. Weak peak of FeNi is due to reduction process do not immediately follow the dehydroxylation process.