| 1. |
- Forsmo, S.P.E., et al.
(author)
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Mechanisms in oxidation and sintering of magnetite iron ore green pellets
- 2008
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In: Powder Technology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0032-5910 .- 1873-328X. ; 183:2, s. 247-259
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Thermal volume changes and oxidation mechanisms in magnetite iron ore green pellets balled with 0.5% bentonite binder, as a function of raw material fineness and pellet porosity, are shown. When a pellet starts to oxidize, a shell of hematite is formed around the pellet while the core still is magnetite. Dilatation curves were measured under non-oxidizing and oxidizing atmospheres to separately describe thermal volume changes in these two phases. Dilatation measurements showed contraction during oxidation between 330 and 900 °C by 0.5%. The extent of contraction was not influenced by the raw material fineness or the original porosity in pellets. Sintering started earlier in the magnetite phase (950 °C) compared to the hematite phase (1100 °C). The sintering rate increased with increasing fineness in the magnetite concentrate. A finer grind in the raw material would, therefore, promote the formation of duplex structures with a more heavily sintered core pulling away from the less sintered outer shell. At constant porosity in green pellets, the oxidation time became longer as the magnetite concentrate became finer, because of the enhanced sintering. In practical balling, however, the increase in fineness would necessitate the use of more water in balling, which results in an increase in green pellet porosity. These two opposite effects levelled out and the oxidation time became constant when green pellets were balled at constant plasticity. Combining the results from the oxidation and dilatation studies revealed new information on the rate limiting factors in oxidation of iron ore pellets. At 1100 °C, the diffusion rate of oxygen was limited by sintering in the magnetite core, taking place before oxidation rather than by the diffusion rate of oxygen through the oxidized hematite shell, as has been claimed in earlier literature. The oxidation rate was at maximum at around 1100 °C. At 1200 °C, the rate of oxidation substantially decreased because both the hematite shell and the magnetite core show heavy sintering at this temperature. Dilatometer measurements showed large thermal volume changes in the presence of olivine, at temperatures above 1200 °C. This is explained by the dissociation of hematite back to magnetite. Dissociation leads to an increase in the volume of the oxidized shell, while sintering of the magnetite core is further enhanced by the olivine additive.
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| 2. |
- Forsmo, S.P.E., et al.
(author)
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Studies on the influence of a flotation collector reagent on iron ore green pellet properties
- 2008
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In: Powder Technology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0032-5910 .- 1873-328X. ; 182:3, s. 444-452
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The properties of iron ore green pellets with varying additions of a surface-active flotation collector reagent (Atrac) were studied by small-scale balling. The compression strength and plasticity were measured with a semi-automatic measuring device and the pressure curves were saved and subjected to further mathematical treatment. The green pellet breakage was also filmed with a high-speed camera. Adding Atrac to the pellet feed seriously damaged the quality of green pellets, even in small dosages. This is because an increasing amount of air bubbles became so strongly attached on the particle surfaces that they could not be removed during compaction by balling. The adsorption of air in green pellets was seen as an increase in porosity and a decrease in the filling degree (proportion of pores filled with water). Both the wet and dry compression strength decreased. The air bubbles behaved in wet green pellets like large, plastic particles and the plasticity increased beyond an acceptable level. Breakage started inside the green pellets, along the air bubbles, and generated multi-breakage patterns in wet as well as dry green pellets. Green pellet breakage to crumbs instead of a few distinct segments, promotes the generation of dust and fines and leads to lower bed permeability in the pelletizing machine. The results show that the decrease in iron ore green pellet wet strength in the presence of surface-active agents is not fully described by the so called Rumpf equation, where surface tension and contact angle are used as variables to describe the capillary forces. The green pellet breakage in the presence of air bubbles took place by crack propagation along pore structures rather than through the loss of the capillary forces.
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| 3. |
- Fenstad, M H, et al.
(author)
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STOX2 but not STOX1 is differentially expressed in decidua from pre-eclamptic women : data from the Second Nord-Trondelag Health Study
- 2010
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In: Molecular human reproduction. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1360-9947 .- 1460-2407. ; 16:12, s. 960-968
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Variation in the Storkhead box-1 (STOX1) gene has previously been associated with pre-eclampsia. In this study, we assess candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in STOX1 in an independent population cohort of pre-eclamptic (n = 1.139) and non-pre-eclamptic (n = 2.269) women (the HUNT2 study). We also compare gene expression levels of STOX1 and its paralogue, Storkhead box-2 (STOX2) in decidual tissue from pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia and/or fetal growth restriction (FGR) (n = 40) to expression levels in decidual tissue from uncomplicated pregnancies (n = 59). We cannot confirm association of the candidate SNPs to pre-eclampsia (P > 0.05). For STOX1, no differential gene expression was observed in any of the case groups, whereas STOX2 showed significantly lower expression in deciduas from pregnancies complicated by both pre-eclampsia and FGR as compared with controls (P = 0.01). We further report a strong correlation between transcriptional alterations reported previously in choriocarcinoma cells over expressing STOX1A and alterations observed in decidual tissue of pre-eclamptic women with FGR.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Bhuiyan, Iftekhar Uddin, et al.
(author)
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Consideration of X-ray microtomography to quantitatively determine the size distribution of bubble cavities in iron ore pellets
- 2013
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In: Powder Technology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0032-5910 .- 1873-328X. ; 233, s. 312-318
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- X-ray microtomography data of iron ore green pellets of approx. 12 mm in diameter were recorded using a commercial instrument. The reconstructed volume after thresholding represented a unique dataset consisting of a three-dimensional distribution of equiaxed objects corresponding to bubble cavities. This dataset was used to successfully validate a stereological method to determine the size distribution of spherical objects dispersed in a volume. This was achieved by investigating only a few cross-sectional images of this volume and measuring the profiles left by these objects in the cross-sectional images. Excellent agreement was observed between the size distribution of the bubble cavities obtained by directly classifying their size in the reconstructed volume and that estimated by applying the aforementioned stereological method to eight cross-sectional images of the reconstructed volume. Subsequently, we discuss the possibility of calibrating X-ray tomography data quantitatively using the size distribution of the bubble cavities as a figure of merit and the results obtained by applying the stereological method to SEM images as reference data. This was justified by considering the validity of the stereological method demonstrated by tomography, the accurate thresholding made possible by back-scattered electron imaging and the solid reproducibility of the results obtained by SEM. Using different threshold values for binarization of the X-ray microtomography data and comparing the results to those obtained by SEM, we found that X-ray microtomography can be used after proper calibration against SEM data to measure the total porosity of the bubble cavities but can only provide a rough estimate of the median diameter because of the limited resolution achieved in this study.
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| 6. |
- Bhuiyan, Iftekhar Uddin, et al.
(author)
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Quantitative image analysis of bubble cavities in iron ore green pellets
- 2011
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In: Powder Technology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0032-5910 .- 1873-328X. ; 214:3, s. 306-312
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Scanning electron microscopy and image analysis was used for quantitative analysis of bubble cavities in iron ore green pellets. Two types of pellets prepared with and without addition of flotation reagent prior to balling were studied. The bubble cavity porosity amounted to 2.8% in the pellets prepared without addition of flotation reagent prior to balling. When flotation reagent was added prior to balling, the bubble cavity porosity increased by a factor of 2.4 and the median bubble diameter was decreased slightly. It was also shown that mercury intrusion porosimetry is not suitable for determination of the distribution of bubble cavities. Finally, our data suggested that the difference in total porosity determined by mercury intrusion porosimetry and pycnometry between the two types of pellets was due to the bubble cavities.
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| 7. |
- Forsmo, S.P.E., et al.
(author)
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A study on plasticity and compression strength in wet iron ore green pellets related to real process variations in raw material fineness
- 2008
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In: Powder Technology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0032-5910 .- 1873-328X. ; 181:3, s. 321-330
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The main binding force in wet iron ore green pellets has been found to be the cohesive force of the viscous binder. The wet compression strength (wet-CS) in green pellets is, however, also influenced by the green pellet plasticity. A certain degree of plasticity is needed to sustain the green pellet growth rate. Too much plasticity results in decreased bed permeability and production problems. As the plasticity increases, wet-CS decreases. The amount of moisture needed to create a given degree of plasticity depends on particle properties and on the particle size distribution. Therefore, it was of interest to study how wet-CS would be influenced by variations in raw material fineness, if the green pellet plasticity was kept constant, i.e. the green pellet properties would be compared under relevant industrial balling conditions. For this purpose, magnetite concentrates of different particle size distributions were balled in a laboratory drum and the moisture content for constant plasticity was determined for each of the materials. No difference in green pellet wet-CS as a function of the raw material fineness was found when the bentonite binder was used and the plasticity was adjusted to a constant level. Green pellets prepared of raw materials with narrow size distributions were just as strong as those with broader ones. This is because the main binding force is the cohesive force of the viscous binder. In green pellets balled without the bentonite binder, wet-CS increased with increasing specific surface area in the raw material, in a similar manner as has been shown in earlier agglomeration literature. In this case, the capillary forces prevail. Comparison of wet-CS at constant moisture, instead of constant plasticity, would lead to erroneous conclusions. Fineness, or rather the slope of the particle size distribution curve, had a major impact on the moisture content needed for constant plasticity. If the slope increases, more water is needed to keep the plasticity on a constant level. Implications of these results in control of industrial iron ore balling circuits are discussed.
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| 8. |
- Forsmo, S.P.E., et al.
(author)
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Binding mechanisms in wet iron ore green pellets with a bentonite binder
- 2006
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In: Powder Technology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0032-5910 .- 1873-328X. ; 169:3, s. 147-158
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Fundamental research during the past decade has been focussed on understanding the role of viscous forces on agglomerate deformability and strength. Much of this work has been done on glass spheres using Newtonian liquids as a binder. In this work, we show the variations in plasticity and strength of magnetite iron ore green pellets with varying liquid saturations and binder dosages (viscosities). For this purpose, a new measuring instrument was built to analyze the green pellet wet compression strength, plastic deformation and breakage pattern. Industrial iron ore green pellets are over-saturated and a supporting "network" of viscous liquid is formed on the green pellet surface. At least half, probably more, of the total binding force appeared to be due to the cohesive force of the network. The other half (or less) of the total compression strength can be explained by the capillary force. Due to irregularities on green pellet surfaces, both fully developed concave pore openings and saturated areas are expected to be found at the same time. Wet green pellets started showing plastic behaviour as they became over-saturated. In over-saturated green pellets, an explosive increase in plasticity with increasing moisture content was seen, due to the contemporary increase in porosity. Plasticity is an important green pellet property in balling and should gain the status of a standard method in green pellet characterization. It is suggested that the control strategy for the balling circuits be based on plastic deformation and compression strength of green pellets instead of the rather inaccurate drop number. The results also point out the importance of knowing whether the balling process should be controlled by adjusting the moisture content (plasticity) or by adjusting the bentonite dosage (viscosity). These two operations are not interchangeable-even if they would compensate in growth rate, the green pellet properties would differ. A new green pellet growth mechanism is suggested, based on the measured over-saturation. Firstly, green pellet plasticity needs to exceed a minimum level to enable growth. This limiting plasticity defines the material-specific moisture content needed in balling. Secondly, it is suggested that the growth rate be controlled by the viscosity of the superficial water layer rather than by the mobility of the pore water.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Leimalm, Ulrika, et al.
(author)
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Blast furnace pellet textures during reduction and correlation to strength
- 2010
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In: ISIJ International. - : Iron and Steel Institute of Japan. - 0915-1559 .- 1347-5460. ; 50:10, s. 1396-1405
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The blast furnace is the most common means of producing hot metal. As the amounts of reduction agents increases, which influence in-furnace conditions such as ascending gas properties, temperature profiles and the ore-to-coke ratio, new demands are put on the iron-bearing material in terms of both reducibility and mechanical strength. To investigate the possibilities to use the Pellet Multi Press (PMP) equipment for compression strength measurements of reduced pellets and to gain a deeper understanding of the correlation between pellet texture and strength, an initial study of pellets taken from the LKAB Experimental Blast Furnace (EBF) was conducted. Furthermore, the pellet pieces generated after compression tests were characterized using light optical microscopy. In order to correlate the texture of pellet pieces to the pellet texture prior to breakage, a characterization of the chronological pellet texture development during reduction in the EBF was performed. The original pellet texture remained in the beginning of reduction and differences receded through the EBF shaft as wustite and Femet was formed. Occurrence of Femet in the pellet texture increased the compression strength, while less reduced and less sintered textures showed the reverse effect. So far, the results from compression strength tests indicate that disintegration of pellets takes place at a reaction front, at the transition between different texture types of iron oxide or at the location of a visible surface crack. © 2010 ISIJ.
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| 11. |
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