The quantitative dependence of reducibility on mineralogical composition in iron ore sinters (blast furnace sinters)

Reducibility is a parameter which describes the ability of oxygen, combined with iron, to be removed from iron ore sinters by a reducing gas used in a blast furnace, and is often characterized by a Fe²⁺ content in a sinter. In sinters, iron at Fe²⁺ valence can occur in various types of minerals, which differ in values of reducibility. The set of sinters with the reducibility from 0.63%/min to 1.49%/min, prepared in the different laboratory conditions, were examined in terms of their mineral composition. The quantitative dependences between the fractions of the individual mineral constituents of the sinters and the values of reducibility were sought. The increase of the reducibility was correlated with a decrease of the content of magnetite and a rise of the fraction of hematite.