Case Study of Thermal Profile Design for Traveling Grate Pellet Furnace

ABSTRACT

Production of iron ore pellets with enough strength to resist the transport and reduction on reactors requires an accurate adjustment of traveling grate furnace process parameters. The firing zone is the most energy intensive step to ensure quality and this study based on Lean Six Sigma methodology to evaluate and optimize the thermal profile through temperature fine-tuning. A pilot scale assessment aid to analyze physical, chemical, metallurgical and microstructure properties of pellets through different temperatures to accurate industrial implementation. The validation of lab-scale trials was concluded by industrial implementation to guarantee the quality, productivity and reduced costs.

KEYWORDS:

• Firing zone
• pelletizing
• Lean Six Sigma
• process optimization

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the institutions Samarco Mineração, CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior), CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico), CAPES-PROEX (Programa de Excelência Acadêmica), and FAPEMIG (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais) for supporting the investigation.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.