Journal of Metallic Material Research | Volume 03 | Issue 02 | October 2020

Journal of Metallic Material Research

[Link]

ARTICLE
Bulk Raw Materials Handling and Blending Techniques of Sinter
Plant: A Case Study of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited, Kogi State,
Nigeria
Cyril Ocheri1* Hebert. A. Obiorah1 Romanus Egwuonwu Njoku1 Nnaemeka Anthony
1 2 3
Urama Joseph Babalola Agboola Christopher Nwankwo Mbah Johnson Nwaemezie
3 3
Ezeanyanwu Chikezie Walter Onyia
1. Department. of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
2. Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State
3. Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Article history Bulk raw materials handling plant and sintering plant preparatory plants are
Received: 21 September 2019 established to receive, blend, stockpile, prepare and supply specified grades
of raw materials for smooth operations of iron making plant (Blast furnace),
Accepted: 29 October 2019 steel making plant (Basic oxygen converter) and lime Plant(calcinations
Published Online: 30 November 2020 plant). The study discusses bulk raw materials handling and some general
problem of scientific analysis and documentation of basic equipment de-
Keywords: tails, stockyard facilities, bulk materials transport systems and sinter pro-
Blast furnace cesses, for the general knowledge and operational procedures of these plant
for effective and efficient operational processes for optical results. Iron ore
Iron concentrate concentrate supplied from the mines to some extent fluctuate in their chem-
Sinter Plant ical composition as a result of the nature of the deposit with various factors
Stockpile controlling beneficiation processes and addition of metal-bearing materials
collected as a waste product from the Rolling Mills, Blast Furnace and Sin-
Stockyard facilities
ter Plant which must be recycled through Iron ore concentrate stockyard.
The part of the sinter mixture is melted at a temperature about 1300-1480 °
C and a sequence of reactions shaping the sinter cake to be loaded into the
blast furnace to produce iron from a pig.

1. Introduction oxygen converter) and lime plant(calcinations plant).

B
Moreover, the decision by the Federal Government to em-
ulk raw materials handling plant and sintering bark on this gigantic project in 1979 at the time the world
plant preparatory plants are established to receive, oil market was facing uncertainties was informed not
blend, stockpile, prepare and supply specified
only by the to diversify the sources of foreign exchange
grades of raw materials for smooth operations of iron but because of the catalytic effect of the steel industry in
making plant (Blast furnace), steel making plant(Basic the development of the real sector of the economy. This

*Corresponding Author:
Cyril Ocheri,
Department. of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka;
Email: [Link]@[Link]

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 Journal of Metallic Material Research | Volume 03 | Issue 02 | October 2020

includes amongst others, the utilization of local raw ma- stockpile not exceeding 0.5% is yet another major reason
terials (which a bound in large quantities in the country why this research work was studied. Other problems often
yet untapped) to a high degree in the production process, encountered by engineers in the field in maintaining rela-
encourage and setting up of steel-related down-stream and tively sTable sinter basicity (Lime / Silica ratio), this was
auxiliary industries, inculcation of adaptive technology also the reason for discussing the basic steps involved in
culture in Nigeria and provision of strong research and de- Sinter charge calculations.
velopment base for the technological take-off of the coun-
try. In fact, Ajaokuta steel company is the first company 2. Raw Materials Requirements of Iron and
of this magnitude in Nigeria to have a high input level of Steelmaking
Nigerians in the project conception and management.
The raw materials requirement of Iron and steel making
The Ajaokuta steel company is planned to produce
processes for Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL)
1.3millon tonnes of liquid steel per annum in the first
comprises of the following: (1) Iron ore concentrate, (2)
phase to be finished in too long products as; 130,000 tons
Coking coal, (3) High-grade Iron ore lumps, (4) Flux-
of wire rods, 400,000 tons of long products and light
es(Limestone and Dolomite), (5) Bauxite, (6) Manganese
structures, 560,000 tons of rails and medium structures.
ore and (7) Ferrous scrap. The annual consumption of
This is to be upgraded to 2.6million metric tonnes in the
the various raw materials and their possible sources are
second phase. The steel plant is designed to reach an ul-
shown in Table 1 below:
timate capacity of 5.6million metric tonnes per year for
long and flat sheet products including various sizes of
Table 1. Raw material input of ASCL
heavy, medium and light structural sections, rails, plates,
pipes and thin sheets. The integrated plant is one of the TYPE OF RAW MA- ANNUAL REQUIRE-
S/No SOURCES
TERIALS MENT (TONNES)
comprehensive steel plants in the world. It is unique in the 1. Iron ore concentrate Itakpe (Kogi State) 2,171,000
completeness and spread of its integration. It comprises 2. High-grade Iron ore Imported 55,000
lumps
several full-fledged auxiliary, support and service indus-
3. Coking coal Imported 1,300,000
tries all in one location. Some of these are; (1)A captive 4. Limestone Jakarta / Mfamosing 694,000
thermal power plant of 110 MW capacity, (2)A 7,000 5. Dolomite Osara / Burum 265,000
6. Manganese ore Imported 84,000
tons capacity integrated foundry, (3) A massive Alumi- 7. Bauxite Imported 13,000
no-silicate plant, the largest in sub-Sahara (Africa), (4) A 8. Ferrous metal scrap Local 120,000
coke-oven and by-product chemical plant, (5)An oxygen
separation plant, (6)A lime calcinations plant, (7)A rub- 2.1 Sourcing of Limestone
berizing plant, (8)Four independent Rolling Mills, (9)A
795,000 tons capacity Billet mill - the only one in Nigeria For the purpose of this project, only sourcing of limestone
and (10)An integrated mechanical repair shop complex. being the major fluxing agent in Iron and steel making
In Ajaokuta, the technology adopted is the time tested process will be discussed in detail. Investigations on the
conventional Blast furnace and Basic oxygen furnace (for suitability of Mfamosing limestone deposit for converter
Iron and steel making processes), suiTable for making grade limestone was initiated in early October 1977 [1].
high tonnage steel. The development strategy for the steel This was done because the available limestone deposit at
plant was based on a “backwards integration” approach. Jakura, though chemically suiTable for converter lime, is
This entailed the construction and completion of the mechanically unfit for conventional L.D converter steel-
final process stages first followed by the construction of making process. Furthermore, it was envisaged that a total
the primary production plant. The backwards integration of about 680,000 tonnes of limestone per annum would
approach adopted was to allow the units already com- be required for the various processes in the steel complex
pleted and which can stand alone as viable enterprises to out of which 240,000 tons per annum of the high-quality
generate revenue for the completion of the primary plants. limestone would be needed for the steelmaking operations
[1]
The analysis of sourcing, handling, blending and prepara- .
tion 0f the basic raw materials to be administered to these
2.1.1 Geology of the Mfamosing Deposit
primary operations of Iron and steel making processes are
the main aims and objective of this project. The Mfamosing deposit is located 30km northeast of
The systematic addition and blending of these materials Calabar city in the Cross-River State of Nigeria. The dis-
to achieve a homogenous stockpile of Iron ore concentrate tance between this location and Ajaokuta is approximately
with a variety of chemical compositions throughout the 600km by road. The deposit is sedimentary in origin,

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 Journal of Metallic Material Research | Volume 03 | Issue 02 | October 2020

occurring in marginal basin deposits of Cretaceous age limestone yields over 70% of fines below 10mm and just
(About 100 mil. Years old) overlying the Precambrian 10% of the accepTable lumps after calcinations.
basement and consist in well-developed algae, or lithic
and detritus facies which related to a reef and classic en- Table 2. Chemical Analysis of Limestone from Jakura and
vironment deposits [2]. The reef variety is white in colour Mfamosing [1]
while the classic variety is grey. Only the white variety Mfamosing
Element DPR (%) Jakarta (%)
of the deposit satisfies the requirement for converter S/No
(%)
Sinter & B/
lime manufacture. For a cross-section of the deposit see (%)
Furnace
Converter Grey White Grey White

Figure 1 below: 1 Cao 53 min. 53.5 min. 52.28 54.7 54.5 55.04
2 MgO 0.64 max. 1.2 max. 1.14 0.41 0.58 0.24
3 SiO2 1.81 max. 1.0 max. 2.6 0.23 5.07 0.69
4 S 0.052 max 0.05 max. 0.14 0.05 0.18 0.04
5 P 0.01 max. 0.06 max. 0.12 0.03 0.04 0.01
6 Al2O3 0.31 max. 1.5 max. 1.75 0.61 1.6 0.37
7 L.O.I. 43.76 43.76 40.2 43.76 40.2 43.74
8 Fe2O3 0.21 max. 1.5 max. 1.3 0.19 1.2 0.2
9 P 2O 2 0.21 max. 0.03 max. 0.07 0.05 0.02 0.02
10 SO3 0.13 max. 0.13 max. 0.23 0.21 0.09 0.11
11 TiO2 0.02 max 0.02 max 0.05 0.04 0.01 0.02
ALKA-
12 0.09 max. 0.09 max. 0.15 0.14 0.06 0.08
LI

In terms of CaO and SiO2 values, the above Table II in-

dicates that whilst all the three limestones are suiTable for
sinter making and Blast furnace additions, only the white
varieties of Jakura and Mfamosing are suiTable for steel
making.
Figure 1. Idealised Stratigraphic Model Showing Varia-
tion In the exploitation of the Deposit 2.2 Sourcing Dolomite
The major sources of dolomite to the integrated steel
2.1.2 Exploitation of the Deposit
plant for control of Sinter basicity and production of dolo-
The total overburden to be stripped for quarrying opera- mite refractory bricks are the Osara and Burum deposits.
tions is estimated to be 6.72 million tonnes and the esti- However, the Osara deposit is accorded top priority after
mated exploiTable reserve is 18 million tonnes. They are a semi- Industrial test on the deposit was carried out at
known on the surface of 0.7 km2 and mined on 0.25km2. the all-union refractory Institute, Leningrad (USSR). The
Based on the geological information of the deposit, it is chemical and physical analysis conformed to the standard
evident that selective mining will be absolutely necessary specification in the Detailed Project Report [1] as indicated
since not all the deposit is suiTable for the high-quality in Table 3 below:
limestone required for the steel production.
Table 3. Chemical Analysis of Osara Dolomite Deposit
2.1.3 Chemical and Physical Analysis of Mfamos-
S/No Element DPR (%) Osara Deposit (%)
ing Limestone
1. L.O.I. 35.00 33.11
Generally, lime is the basic slag forming component of 2. SiO2 6.38 13.10
3. Al2O3 0.30 0.27
the total charge in L.D. converters for steel making. For 4. Fe2O3 3.00 max. 2.52
this purpose, very stringent high-quality lime is a basic 5. CaO 30.00 min. 35.89
6. MgO 15.00 min. 14.82
pre-requisite for the converter lime. Table 2 below com-
7. K 2O 0.02 min. trace
pares the properties of Mfamosing lime with Jakura and 8. NaO 0.20 max. 0.16
the standard established in the Detailed Project Report [1]. 9. MnO 0.10 max. 0.06
It clearly indicates that the Mfamosing is very suiTable Total 100 % 99.93 %
for the converter lime. It has also been recorded that the

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 Journal of Metallic Material Research | Volume 03 | Issue 02 | October 2020

3. Sourcing of Bulk Materials for the produc- 4. Raw Materials Off-Loading Facilities
tion of Sinter
The whole plant layout covering materials handling and
3.1 Sourcing of Iron Ore Concentrates sintering plant which this project is project is based upon
is shown in Figure 2 below:
The source of this raw material is the National Iron Ore
Mining Company (NIOMCO) at Itakpe in Kogi State. The
chemical analysis of this important raw material required
by the DPR is as shown in Table 4 below:

Table 4. Chemical Analysis of Iron Ore Concentrate for

NIOMP & DPR [3]
S/No. Element DPR % NIOCOM(Itakpe) %
1. Fe 63.00 65.60
2. Al2O3 0.80 1.02
3. SiO2 0.80 5.14
4. P2O5 0.07 -----
5. P 0.03 0.055
6. S 0.014 0.015
7. Mn 0.08 0.06
8. CaO 0.40 0.30
9. MgO 0.20 0.18
10. TiO2 0.17 0.12
11. Na2O +K2O 0.15 0.17
12. Zn(ppm) --- traces

3.2 Sourcing of Coking Coal

Figure 2. Layout of Sintering Plant
Good quality metallurgical coal is not available in Nige-
This unit was charged with the responsibility of receiv-
ria in economic quantity, therefore, the total quantity of
ing, blending, stockpiling and dispatching to the Sintering
metallurgical coal is to be imported. In order to minimize
plant, Blast furnace, Lime plant and Steelmaking shop
the import, coal carbonization tests have been conduct-
according to laid down procedure. To perform this respon-
ed to determine the suiTable coal blends and the extent
sibility efficiently and effectively, the unit comprises the
indigenous coal that can be used to blend the imported
following sections: (1) Off-loading facilities, (2) Fluxes
coals. EBE of Germany after conducting the necessary
stockyard. (3) Metal bearing materials stock bins. (4)
tests have concluded that Indigenous Enugu coal is to be
Iron ore concentrate stockyard. (5) Aspiration plants (Dust
crushed to 100 per cent below 0.1mm. Other blends have
cleaning plants) and (6) Network of inter-departmental
also been recommended to consist of 100 per cent of im-
conveyor belts.
ported coals. The test report has been accepted by V/O
Tiajpromexport (TPE) and it was decided to use 100 per 4.1 Fluxes Off-Loading Facilities
cent imported coal blend during the commissioning of
the plant and up to guarantee test period. To improve the Fluxes are delivered to the steel plant by two conventional
economics of ASCL, it will be prudent to maximize the methods of haulage viz; Railway and Road, therefore an
use of indigenous coal in the blend by adopting suiTable elaborate arrangement has been put in place to receive the
technologies such as partial briquetting of coal etc. fluxes by both bottom discharge locomotive wagons and
The ranges of variations of chemical analysis in metal- tipping trailers. In each case, the fluxes are discharged
lurgical cokes are given in Table 5 below: into underground bunkers 6Nos. in each arrangement with
a combined volume 68m3. In any of the arrangement, the
Table 5: Proximate Analysis of Metallurgical Cokes fluxes are off-loaded and fed into a common 1400mm
width conveyor belt by means of Belt feeders for onward
S/No. Elements Range
delivery to fluxes stockyard. The load-carrying capacity of
1. Fixed carbon 83-90 %
2. Volatile matter 0.5-4 % (preferable < 2 %). the conveyor belt is 1500 tons per hour.
3. Ash. 4-15 % (preferable < 10 %).
4. Moisture. < 5 % (preferable < 3 %) 4.2 Coking Coal Off-Loading Facilities
5. Sulfur. 0.5-3 % (preferable < 1 %).
6. Phosphorous < 0.04 % Because of the high tonnage requirement of coking coal

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 Journal of Metallic Material Research | Volume 03 | Issue 02 | October 2020

for production of coke in the coke-oven plant, it was en- Mining Company (NIOMCO) by rail wagons of 60 to
visaged that only rail transport system could cope with the 70 tons carrying capacity into ASCL’s marshalling yard
annual requirement of 1,386,000 tonnes of coal per annum. where NIOMCO’s locomotive engine de-coupled and
As a result, the off-loading facility for coal was designed coupled with trains of pre-arranged empty wagons back
to receive the coking coal by means of only bottom dis- to NIOMCO’s loading yard for another circle. The circle
charge wagons into 6 numbers underground bunkers of the time was determined to be 3hrs 22mins. ASCL’s shunt-
combined volume of 68m3. By means of belt feeders, the ing locomotive engine was coupled to the concentrate
discharged coals are fed into 1000 tonnes/hour conveyor consignment from marshalling yard and move the loaded
belt, which is expected to deliver at the spacious coal stock- wagons through the intricate network of rail lines until it
yard via a rail-mounted stacker machine and later dispatch is carefully positioned on the wagon tippler’s discharging
to coke-oven proportioning bins by means of a reclaimer track. The shunting locomotive engine was de-coupled
machine on request by the user shop. A schematic diagram and re-coupled to the previously discharged empty wag-
of the rail-mounted traversing stacker machine is shown ons back to marshalling yard for onward transfer back to
in Figure 6 below. The area of one stockyard is 460m ҳ NIOMCO. This is the main function of ASCL’s internal
26m with an average bulk height (Stocking height) of 2.5m shunting locomotive engines. The positioned, loaded
and a volume of 29,900m3. The storage capacity of one wagons on wagon tippler’s track are coupled with an elec-
stockyard is 30,000 tonnes of coking coal, there are four trically remotely controlled wagon-pusher (or car pusher)
stockyards of similar dimension, which give a total storage see Appendix V via a pushing flat form attached with the
capacity of 120,000 tonnes. This corresponds to 3 weeks pusher. The car pusher has a tested pushing capacity of
of continuous operation stock to coke-oven. The stockyard 160 KN, with this pushing force it can push 25 wagons
is also equipped with 3numbers of Stackers with the loaded with 60-70 tonnes of concentrate, with a forward
capacity of 1,500 tonnes per hour each and 3numbers of speed of 0.5m/sec and 1.0m/sec while empty.
Reclaimer with the capacity of 1,300 tonnes per hour each. The car pusher itself has a total weight of 70 tonnes. Its
The off-loading facility building has a height of +18.035m function is only to push fully loaded wagons serially and
and - 19.3m deep (i.e. from level ground surface), this carefully position one wagon at a time on the centre of
building housed all the receiving underground bunkers and wagon tippler’s plat-form (cradle). This was done by the
conveyor belt delivery tunnels. operator from his operating cabin (pulpit) with the help
of wagons attendant on the shop floor, and perform the
4.3 Metal Bearing Materials Off-Loading Facili- function of supervising the centring operations, coupling
ties and decoupling of wagons before and after each tipping
Metal bearing materials are waste products of rolling circle. Massive rotating structure measuring 17470mm
mills, Blast furnace, Lime calcinations plant and Sinter- x 9639mm x 9038mm equipped with a well-balanced
ing plant processes which otherwise would have passed platform that accommodates loaded wagons ready for
for waste but with this blending techniques developed off-loading. The plat-form (cradle) was overlain with a
they can now be recycled back into the process line. The railway track properly aligned with the surface railway
arrangement provided in raw materials handling unit to track when in normal idle position but it rotates with the
receive, off-load and stockpile metal-bearing materials tippler when off-loading independently from the surface
either by tipping trucks or by pneumatic tankers as the railway track. During tippling operation, the rotor rotates
case may be. The type of metal-bearing waste and their through an angle of 175o. At this tilt angle, the materials
estimated quantities are listed below: are off-loaded into an underground bunker by means of
(1) Scales from the Rolling Mills = 37,000 t/yr. gravity and a vibrator to ensure all content of the wagons
(2) Lime screening from the Lime Plant = 10,000 t/yr. are completely emptied, after which the tippler return
(3) Flue dust from the Blast furnace) = 18,000 t/yr. back to its normal position by reversing the tippling action
(4) Sinter screenings from sintering plant = 170,000 t/yr. ready for another circle of operation.
Items (1), (2) and (4) above are received by tipping This rotation is accomplished by employing the prin-
trucks while item (3) is received by pneumatically pow- ciple electro-dynamic braking system where alternating
ered off-loading tanker trucks. current and direct currents are charged to the system al-
ternately at various pre-determined angular stages of the
4.4 Iron Ore Concentrate Off-Loading Facility 175o rotation. At the dead-end of 175o, the whole power
supply is cut-off, this action instantly set the electro-hy-
The concentrate was received from National Iron Ore draulic braking system on. It was timed to remain in this

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 Journal of Metallic Material Research | Volume 03 | Issue 02 | October 2020

position for a period of about 15 seconds during which

vibrator must have stopped and all content of wagon emp-
tied. The whole process of the rotation was then reversed
to its initial take-off position and circle take s 63seconds
to complete.
The underground bunker has a capacity of 180 tonnes
of concentrate, it is equipped with apron-feeder below
the bunker, which feeds concentrate continuously into
the network of conveyor belts of 1000 tonnes capacity
through chutes at each transfer points from underground
to surface concentrate stockyard. The Wagon tippler
building has a height of +18.035m and -19.30m from the
ground surface.

5. Theoretical Analysis Figure 6. Stacker and Reclaimer Machines with Stock

Pile of Iron Ore Concentrate
5.1 Stockyards Ore and Fluxes Stockyard
Length = 92,000mm
Raw materials received by ore and fluxes off-loading Width = 30,000mm
facilities are discharged into ore and fluxes stockyard Height = 13,500mm
by means distributing car positioned on a gallery ele- Volume = 37,260m3
vated at 22m above the stockyard ground level and it Period of stock = 30 days.
is mounted on a rail with electric drives that enable it Tonnage of stockpile = 93,150 tones.
traverses the whole length of the stockyard which is The number of stockpiles in a bay = 4 stockpiles.
566.2m. The distributing car ensures stockpiling of ore Total No. of stockpiles 3 x 4 = 12 piles.
and fluxes at pre-determined spaces earmarked for each Total tonnage capacity of the whole stockyard =
type of ore and fluxes. The overall area of the stockyard 1,117,800 tons.
is 566.2m x 94m = 53222.8m2, with this surface area, Effective volume of stockyard = 447,120m3.
the stockyard can store up to 30 days stock of the fol- Specific bulk weight (density) of Conc. = 2.5 t/m3
lowing materials: Details of the stockyard arrangement are shown in the
(1) Limestone =58,400 tonnes general layout diagram of Appendix IV above.
(2) Dolomite = 24,460 tonnes and 90 days (3 months)
stock of 5.3 Stockpile Building - Process Techniques
(3) Bauxite = 3,250 tonnes
(4) High grade Iron ore lumps = 14,000 tonnes. There are three widely known methods of building stock-
The stockyard is equipped with two giant pay-loaders piles of Iron ore concentrate viz; Chevron layering, Wind
of KOMATSU make; each has a 5m3-bucket capacity brow layering (parallel pile), and Coil layering [4]. The
charged with the responsibility of dispatching ore and decision to apply any of the three methods entirely de-
fluxes to the user shops as directed by dispatcher stationed pends on the chemical and physical characteristics of the
at the central control room. The stockyard is also equipped raw material being stockpiled. During this project work,
with 1,300 t/hr conveyor belt at both sides used for dis- the chemical and physical properties of the beneficiated
patching the fluxes to the user shops. A cross-section of Iron ore concentrate from Itakpe was carefully studied
various stockpiles of ore and fluxes and the dimensions of and analyzed, chevron system of stockpiling is hereby
the area they occupy is shown in. recommended for use in ASCL’s concentrate stockyard,
this is because the concentrate received from the benefi-
5.2 Iron Ore Concentrate Stockyard ciating plant of NIOMCO has a particle size range from 0
to 1mm and it has a relatively uniform chemical composi-
Iron ore concentrate received by wagon tippler is stored tion. Chevron method is suiTable for this class of material
in this stockyard by means of a Stacker machine shown since there are no large lumps to give rise to size segre-
in figure 6. The whole stockyard consists of 3 bays and gation at base of stockpile because of gravity differential
in each bay, there are 4 stockpiles, each stockpile has the during stockpiling operation. For this reason, the chevron
following dimensions: method of stacking will be discussed in detail with a view

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 Journal of Metallic Material Research | Volume 03 | Issue 02 | October 2020

to implementation when full operation commences. Other the full base area of the bedding yard, the second tier of
methods too will be discussed briefly. the piles is formed by filling in the furrows left between
the piles. In this manner, a flat-topped pile can be formed
if so desired depending on the base, width and height of
the pile.

Figure 7. Stacker Machine

5.3.1 Chevron Layering

Figure 8. Reclaimer Machine with Iron Ore Concentrate
This method consists of traversing the stacker arranged Stockpile
to feed the centre of the bed being formed. On the first The advantage of this system is that it avoids segrega-
pass, a triangular section of the material was deposited tion, the disposition of the lumpy materials of each pass
along the length of the stockyard. Let us consider the being restricted to the confines of its own smaller trian-
stacker having a stocking-out capacity of 1,500 t/hr and gular pile as an integral part of the whole bed. An exam-
an average traversing speed of 25 meters per minute. The ination of a pile bedded in this manner clearly indicates
angle of repose of Iron ore concentrate is 35o. On the a pre-determined cross-section blend with the lumpy ma-
first pass, a triangular section pile was deposited along terials deposited consistently throughout the completely
the length of the stockyard having a width of 1125mm homogeneous mass.
and a vertical height of 375mm. On the second pass, a
thickness of 150mm was added to the top of the first pass 5.3.3 Coil Layering
(pile). As bedding proceeds, the thickness of the layers is
This is a system similar to that described above, but with
theoretically decreasing to only a few mm. The main dis-
added refinement on the stacker control equipment. This
advantage of this method is that segregation of materials
would entail a form of Pantograph system or similar meth-
occurs where lumpy materials constitute parts of the feed,
od so that the control gear would be coupled to a profile
resulting in the larger materials tending to be deposited
model of the refined file being laid. Bedding would begin
in bands at the bottom and outside edges of the pile. In
at the side of the stockpile remote from the stacker, and
some instances, depending on the method of blending and
the machine would traverse.
reclaiming employed, this does not give the correct bene-
The full length of the stockpile. At the end of the yard,
ficiation required to the final burden. In the case of ASCL,
the stacker would be arranged to slew round to form the
at least for the nearest future, it is an only fine concentrate
end of the pile before returning along the yard on the edge
(0-1mm) was expected to be bedded. Chevron layering is,
of the pile nearest the stacker. At the opposite end of the
therefore, most suitable, providing a finished pile that is
yard, the stacker would automatically slew to form the
practically homogeneous in its size distribution and chem-
other end of the pile and on the second complete circuit.
ical composition.
A coil layer would be formed within the periphery of
5.3.2 Wind Brow (Parallel Pile) Layering the first. Layering would continue until the whole of the
bedding area was covered with triangular piles, each rep-
This method consists of laying a series of parallel piles by resenting one pass of the Stacker. Now, the Stacker would
slewing the stacker at the end of each long travel circuit be elevated to form the second tier by filling the furrows
down the stockyard. When the first pile has been laid over left between the initial base piles. This process would con-

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 Journal of Metallic Material Research | Volume 03 | Issue 02 | October 2020

tinue with the coils becoming progressively smaller until tion.

the desired height of stockpile had been formed. The addi- Therefore, the following can be deduced:
tional advantage of this system over parallel pile layering (1) During forwarding direction, the relative velocity of
is that it spreads the materials more evenly throughout the material discharge = V-Vf
width and length of the bed. Although such an automatic (2) During the reverse direction, the relative velocity of
system has not been installed to date, as far as we know, material discharge =V-Vr
due to the high initial capital cost of control gears and the (3) Time to traverse the length of stockyard in forward-
general lack of development in this direction, this method ing direction = L/Vf
could well be the answer to the age-old enemy of bedding (4) Time to traverse the length of stockyard in reverse
segregation. direction = L/Vr
Then,
5.3.4 Determination of Stacker Traverse Speeds The amount of material laid in forward direction =
It will be readily appreciated that in order to attain effi-
L
cient bedding it is necessary to achieve a constant rate (V − Vf ) . .W / V
Vf
of stocking of materials irrespective of the direction of
travel of the equipment along the stockyard. Obviously, The amount of material laid in reverse direction =
if the stacker travels at the same speed in the forward and
reverses direction, due to the decreasing length of the ma- L
terial-carrying section of the main stocking-out belt. (V + Vf ) . .W / V
Vf

These rates are to be equal,

L W L
(V − Vf ) . (V + Vr ) . .W / V
. =
Vf V Vr

L, W and V are equal in both sides, then the equation

reduces to

(V − Vf ) (V + Vr )
=
Vf Vr

Figure 9. Stacker and Reclaimer Machines with Stock V  V 

Pile of Iron Ore Concentrate  =− 1   + 1 − − − − equation1
 Vf   Vr 
Thus in order to attain a constant rate of stocking-out,
we have two separate conditions. During forward motion
V / Vf − 2 = (V / Vr )
of the Stacker, the amount of materials laid equals the
relative velocity of the materials discharged multiplied by
the weight of material per meter of the belt. During the = (V − 2Vf ) / Vf
V / Vr
reverse motion of the Stacker, the amount of material laid
equals the relative velocity of the material discharge mul-
tiplied by the time to traverse the length of stock-yard in  V   V − 2Vf 
the reverse direction, multiplied by the weight of material  = 
 Vr   Vf 
per meter of the belt.
Let W = Rate of materials flow tons/min.
V = Velocity of stockyard belt, m/min. Vr (V − 2Vf ) = V .Vf
Vf = Traversing velocity of Stacker in the for-
ward direction, m/min.
Vf
Vr = Traversing velocity in the reverse direction,
= Vr V=. ReverseVelocity − − − − equation (ii )
m/min. V − 2Vf
L = Distance traversed by Stacker in each direc-
From equation (i) above

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 Journal of Metallic Material Research | Volume 03 | Issue 02 | October 2020

V V  Rate of material flow over the boom conveyor in the

=  +2 reverse direction equals the rate of material flow along the
Vf  Vr 
stockyard belt plus weight of material per foot of stock-
yard belt multiplied by the traversing velocity of the stack-
V   V + 2Vr  er. We have therefore the rate of material flow over boom
  −1 = 
 Vf   Vr  conveyor in the reverse direction: W+(W+Vr/V) . This
Vr
expression can be re-written as [(V + ]W tonnes / min .
Vf (V + 2Vr ) =
V .Vr V
Number of passes: - The number of passes in producing
a pile influences the efficiency of blending a great deal. It
 V .Vr 
=Vf  =  Forward Velocity − − − − equationiii is given by N = (W .V .60) / (C.L)
 V + 2Vr 
Where N = Number of layers or passes.
Although the traversing velocities of Stacker are not W = Pile capacity, tons.
directly proportional to the speed of the main stocking out V = Average Stacker traversing velocity, m/min.
belt, Vf must be less than V, Otherwise, no material can be C = Main stocking belt capacity in tons/hour.
deposited over the Stacker’s head in the forward direction. L = Length of the stockyard.
Examination of equation (ii) will show that Vf approaches
7. Sintering Plant
v
, Vr approaches infinity, and in practice, Vf is always
2 The purpose of sintering process is to prepare high-quality
v feedstock for the Blast furnace from Itakpe Iron ore con-
considerably less than as previously pointed out, Vr centrate, manganese ore, Blast furnace flue dust, mill scale
2
will always be faster than Vf and generally practical con- and other Iron bearing materials by sintering them with
siderations will fix the value of Vr at a maximum, thus the corresponding amount of limestone and dolomite with
allowing Vf to be determined from equation (iii). coke breeze used as solid fuel. The heart of a sintering
plant work is the production of sinter cake. In accordance
6. Determination of Stacker Capacities with the requirement of a Blast furnace process, good sin-
ter should have: (1) Constant content of Iron manganese
Since the time taken to travel along the stockyard in the and Iron monoxide with minimum deviation from basic
forward direction is greater than that taken to travel in ones; (2) Constant (with minimum deviation from basic
the reverse direction, and since the amount of material ones), basicity that is calcium dioxide-to-silicon dioxide
deposited in both direction must be the same, then obvi- ratio; (3) Minimum sulfur content; (4) High mechanical
ously the rate of material flow over the boom conveyor strength; (5) Minimum content of fines (fraction 0-5mm)
under these conditions must be different. The following when being charged into the blast furnace.
expressions will give the actual rates during forward and Getting uniformity with respect to maximum tempera-
reverse traversing of the boom stacker. The rate of flow ture. The distribution of heat ensures homogeneous sinter-
over the boom conveyor in the forward direction equals ing, refining, Efficiency and synthetic efficiency. Sintering
the rate of flow along the stockyard belt minus the weight of a double layer is Performed in some plants to achieve
of materials per meter of stockyard belt, multiplied by the this goal (realization of Homogenous Tmax in its entire
traversing velocity of the Stacker. We have, therefore: sinter bed thickness), and it consists of the preparation of
Rate of flow of material over boom conveyor in the the upper coke layer Contenu in the bottom to stop the ten
forward direction [23]
. When sintering is achieved at lower temperatures than
1300 ° C, decreases magnetite formation (less FeO) and
W − (W .Vf / V )
improves the RI and the Degradability Index (RDI)-RDI.
This expression can be re-written as In addition, the optimal structure for reducibility of sinters
Attainment of hematite nuclei (un-melted) in the blast fur-
Vf nace Surrounded by a network of acicular ferrites [33].
[(V − ] In modern plants, infrared thermography is used to
V
Track the burn-through sintering point (when the flame
occurs) The front approaches the base of the bed, but also
Vf for predicting Sinter characteristics and solid fuel rate
((V − )].W tonnes / min
V

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 Journal of Metallic Material Research | Volume 03 | Issue 02 | October 2020

change (adjusting the solid fuel rate) Amount of coke in 8.1 The Sinter Machine
a blend) [32]. Simulation models for sintering have been
used to research the Method variables [30,31], so that the The sintering machine installed at Ajaokuta consists of
equations for heat distribution could be achieved [18]. The an endless pallets chain and is provided with gear-shaped
conduct of crude blends with a high content of goethite sprockets for lifting and lowering the pallets at the load
ore in the structure and permeability of sinter beds were and discharge ends respectively in figure 9 above. The
examined. Japanese steel mills since the 1980s [24,26]. foot-shaped guide rails for the lifting and lowering sta-
Sintering is a method of thermal agglomeration (1300- tions are normally designed in such a way that the pallets
1480°C, [29] of a blend of mineral fines from iron ore (0.5 are separated by both segments and pass from the upper
to 8 mm), iron and steel production by-products, Fluxes, strand to the lower strand without the pallets coming into
elements forming slag, and fossil (coke) fuel. The target contact with each other and without being subjected to too
method by which the mixture of charged materials is much wear. Cross-section of the sinter machine is shown
mixed partly fused to create clustered clusters at a high in figure 10.
temperature, the load (12-35 mm) for the blast furnace is Major accessories of the sinter machine include;
received. The required physical-chemical and lowest me- (1) The ignition and heat treatment load, (2) the pallets
chanical characteristics [26]. On the opposite, incineration and (3) the vacuum chambers
occurs as a horizontal layer. This passes across the bed The sinter machine drive is located in the lifting station
vertically. The density of this A small fraction of the bed with the power of electric motor being transferred by the
is a layer. Permeability is an output Load requirement, and tooth segment of lifting sprockets to the pallet trust roll-
for that reason the granulation Method is used beforehand ers. A torsion proof drum connects both lifting sprockets.
(permeability enhanced during [22]. The sintering process
is dependent on an increase in the temperature of Rough
mix with a view to partial melting and Creation of a mol-
ten metal that crystallizes during refrigeration. In many
mineral phases that agglomerate or solidify The system.
The coke burning provides the energy for [27,28]. Sinter is
stronger at softening and melting than pellets and ore, but
worse at meltdown and high-temperature gas resistance,
resulting in a 65 per cent mixed burden Sinter, 20 per cent
lump ores, and 15 per cent pellet Best Outcome [34].

8. Raw Materials Requirement for Sinter

Production Figure 10. Travelling Grate Sinter Machine
The lifting and lowering sprocket shafts run in an-
The raw material consumption data for the production of
ti-friction bearings which are connected to a central lu-
high-quality sinter are shown in Table V below; Sinter
brication system Shaft mounted gearboxes are used for
burden consists essentially of Iron ore concentrate, met-
applying the starting torque. To be able to effect changes
al-containing waste, manganese sinter ore, lime screening,
on the pallet travel speed, the drive side is equipped with
limestone, dolomite, sintering recycles and solid fuel fine
a floating type bearing with adjusTable equipment. Pallet
(coke breeze).
travel speed can then be altered by varying the position of
Table 6. Raw Material Requirement for Sinter Production the lifting sprocket relative to the centre line of the sinter
machine. A brief description of the major components
Consumption Moisture
S/No. Type Of Raw Material
(tons/year)
Size Range(mm)
Content (%)
mentioned above is attempted below:
1. Iron ore concentrate 2,135,000 0-1 6 (1) Pallets: - A typical pallet consists of three main
2. Mill scale 40,000 0-1 6 parts namely; the central frame, the sidewalls and the
3. Blast furnace flue dust 18,000 0-1 8
4. Manganese 85,000 0-8 10
rollers. Depending on the design of the pallet may come
5. Sludge 205,000 - 6 as one piece or in three separate parts with the sidewalls
6. Lime dust 58,000 - - and roller bearings attached to the central frames on site.
7. Limestone 300,000 0-80 2
8. Dolomite 240,000 0-80 2
The bottom of the pallets consists of fire grates which are
9. Sinter return 1,543,000 0-5 - replaceable. The materials for the pallet construction may
10. Coke 240,000 0-30 4 be cast iron or cast steel.

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 Journal of Metallic Material Research | Volume 03 | Issue 02 | October 2020

(2) Vacuum Chamber: - Immediately below the sinter run alternatively to eliminate caking or hanging of moist
machine is the vacuum chamber inside which the ra- material in the bunkers due to long storage.
re-faction necessary to draw the process gas is created. To
ensure efficient rarefaction, a tight seal must be achieved 9. Proportioning Process at Materials Stock
between movable pallets and stationary vacuum chambers Bins
in both longitudinal and traversal direction to the machine.
Proportioning means taking the exact amount of quantity
For this purpose, sealing of strips is located on either of
of materials by weight required to make a given quantity
each pallet. Strings into the stationary vacuum chamber
of product. This proportioning was done at concentrate
beams ensuring efficient sealing press the strips. Addition-
stockyard, sintering plant stock bins, sinter returns by cali-
ally, sealing plates are installed at the beginning and end
bration of feeders, and weigh scales to deliver the required
of the suction area to effect the cross seal of the vacuum
quantity on tons per hour. The chemical analysis and stock
chambers.
level can change the consumption pattern or proportion
(3) Sinter Machine Discharge End: - Sinter was dis-
to give the same quantity and quality of the product. To
charged from the sinter machine through a crash deck to a
achieve this, charge calculation will predict the chemical
single-roll tooth (star) crusher. Here the sinter was crushed
analysis of sinter product. In addition, material balance
to a maximum size of -250mm. An ideal sinter has the fol-
will give the quantity expected. This calculation should
lowing features:
be done as a priority before sampling. At ASCL, propor-
(a)The crush deck must be lined with special refractory
tioning starts at Raw materials stockyard. At Raw mate-
bricks that will cool rapidly to ensure repairs around the
rials handling, mill scales, BF Flue dust, manganese ore,
roll crusher after only short stoppages.
sludge, lime dust, are added to the iron ore concentrate
(b)The parts must be quickly interchangeable to de-
during delivery to the stock bins at sintering plant. Lime-
crease short-down time.
stone and dolomite will be delivered in their consumption
(c)Wear-resistant material must be used in the crushing
ratio to the hammer crushers. Charge calculation to pre-
area.
dict the chemical analysis of the Fe-material is essential.
(d)The geometry of the crushing system (point of im-
This prediction and actual analysis are required for further
pact, crushing angle, co-ordination of crushing facilities
charge calculation at the stock-bins-building to predict
etc.) must be optimized.
sinter analysis. At this stage, the proportioning processes
8.2 Sinter Raw Material Stocking should be well defined and predictions made. The formula
for the supply of limestone and dolomite to the hammer
All the raw materials delivered are crushed and ground to crushers should be well defined as:
required particle sizes and are stocked in the appropriate Annual consumption of limestone (L) = 300,000 tons
stock bins (proportioning bins). Annual consumption of Dolomite (D) = 240,000 tons
Therefore, consumption ratio = 3: 2.4 = 1: 0.8 = 5: 4
Table 7. Materials in Sinter Stock Bins
Delivery Stock Bins
9.1 Primary & Secondary Mixing of Sinter Raw
No. of No. Of
S/No. Type Of Material Capacity Period
Bins.
Capacity
Feeders Mix (Pelletizing) Primary Mixing
(t/hr) (hours) (tons)
1. Fe-materials 1,300 650 3 2,000 3 The proportioned materials are mixed in a drum of dimen-
2. Coke breeze 150 11 1 340 2
3. Limestone/Dolomite 500 16 2 1,350 4 sion φ 4.2m x 12m slightly inclined at 2o 30′ angle. The
4. Sinter returns 750 2.5 1 305 2 purpose is to homogenize the material such that each mi-
The operation of the feeders are; cro-volume of the sinter mix has an equal composition by
(1) Fe-materials; 2 Feeders on, 1 stand-by. weight of the materials proportioned.
(2) Limestone and Dolomite; 2 feeders on and 2 stand- The degree of homogeneity and the rate of discharge of
by. materials depends on; (i)The speed of rotation of the mix-
(3) Coke breeze; 1feeder on and 1 standby. ing drum, (ii) Angle of inclination, (iii) Internal structures
(4) Sinter returns; 1 feeder on and 1 stand-by and (iv)Length of the drum.
The purpose of the stocking is to; The mixing drum has a variable speed control. On
(1) Ensure the continuous flow of materials. internal surfaces, ribs are welded to increase the resident
(2) To serve as a buffer in case of break down. time in the drum, thereby increasing the mixing efficiency.
(3) To assist in changes in consumption pattern. Good There is provision for water spraying in case of very dry
stocking practice makes sure that bunkers and buffers are material generating dust in the working area.

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 Journal of Metallic Material Research | Volume 03 | Issue 02 | October 2020

9.2 Secondary Mixing (Pelletizing) S/No Materials From Stockyards SiO2 CaO L.O.I.
1. Concentrate 9.3 0.66 1.5
The homogenized sinter mix is charged into another drum 2. Dolomite 4.07 31.02 43.57
of dimension φ 4.2m x 24m long has provision for water 3. Limestone 1.81 53.00 43.76
4. Coke 7.0 1.00 85.00
spraying. The purpose of pelletizing is to increase the
permeability of the sinter mix. The principle of pelletiz-
ing is based on the theory that small wet particles gently Table 9. Material Consumption Rate
rolling over each other stick together with the aid of sur- Non-calcined Calcined
S/No. Type Of Materials
face tension of water(liquid) in the presence of binding (tons/hour) (tons/hour)
1. 278.4x(100-LOI
material (lime or bentonite) forming balls and segregat- Concentrate 278.4
= 278.4x0.985 = 294.22
ing(Rolling) to the ends For pelletizing the following facts 2. Dolomite 29.7 29.7x0.564 = 16.75
are related;
3. Coke 30.3 30.3x0.15 = 4.54
(1) Speed of rotation of the drum, (2) Angle of rotation,
TOTAL 295.61
(3) Moisture content (%), (4) Length of the drum.
The speed is inversely proportional to the pellet size. Calculation of limestone requirement in tons:
The higher the speed, the smaller the pellets. The higher 1st calculate the amount of silica introduced into the
the angle, the smaller the pellets. There is optimum mois- burden charge through other raw materials i.e.
ture above or below which the pellet size becomes small-
Silica ( SiO2 ) in concentrate = 278.4 x % of SiO2 in Table 7
er.
25.89 t
= 278.4
= x0.093
9.3 Quality Control of Sinter Hour
= 278.4
= x 0.093 25.89 t / hr.
Despite the efforts made in proportioning and calibration
there are still errors or malfunctions that are not easily SiO2 in Dolomite = 29.7 x % of SiO2 in Table 7
determined until the result of the laboratory tests are = 29.7 x 0.041 = 1.22 t/hr.
obtained. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) specifies the
SiO2 in Coke = 30.3 x % of SiO2 in Table 7
sinter chemical analysis as follows:
Ferrous total = 52% 29.23 t
= 30,3
= x 0.07
Manganese (Mn) = 1.06% Hour
Phosphorous (p) = 0.036%
Total SiO2 introduced through burden charge = 25.89 +
Sulphur (S) = 0.011%
1.22 + 2.12
Ferrous Oxide = 13.55%
Ferric Oxide = 60.29% 29.23 t
Manganese Oxide = 1.33%
Hour
Silica (SiO2) = 9.43%
Alumina (Al2O3) = 1.00% = 29.23 t/hr.
Calcium Oxide (CaO) = 12.09% The lime requirement to neutralize this silica and main-
Phosphorus Pentaoxide = 0.082% tain the required basicity of 1.28 is given by;
Sulphur Trioxide = 0.021%
Others = 014% CaO
= 1.28
SiO2
9.4 Charge Calculation to Produce Sinter of Rat-
ed Basicity
CaO
= 1.28
Initial data for charge calculation are: 29.23

 CaO 
Sinter=
Basicity =  1.28 29.23 x1.28 = 37.41tonnes
 SiO2  CaO =
Hour

Table 8. Silica and Lime Content of Raw Materials at Now, to calculate the amount of CaO introduced into
Stockyards the burden charge through other raw materials as indicat-
ed in Table 7

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 Journal of Metallic Material Research | Volume 03 | Issue 02 | October 2020

CaO content in concentrate = 278.4 x % of CaO Correction of the amount of Limestone with the charge
of calcium oxide content e.g. CaO content decrease to
278.4 x 0.0066 = 1.84 tonnes 51%.
 =
Hour To produce Sinter with necessary basicity of 1.28,

CaO content in Dolomite = 29.7 x % of CaO it is necessary toincreasethe amount of Limestoneby

53tonnes
29.7 x 0.31 = 9.20 tonnes = = 1.039 times
= 51tonnes
Hour
That is, the amount of Limestone after correction will
CaO content in Coke 30.3 x % of CaO
be 51.4 x1.039 = 53.4 tonnes
30.3 x0.01 = 0.30 tonnes
= 54.46
Hour For wet Limestone
= 53.4 x1.02
=
tonnes
Total CaO introduced into the burden charge through
other raw materials 10. Pollution Control of Working Environment
1.84 + 9.20 + 0.30 =11.34 tonnes On a general note, the receiving and stockpiling of vari-
=
Hour ous raw materials such as Iron ore concentrate and fluxes
generate a substantial quantity of dust during handling
The amount of CaO required to be introduced through
through chutes and along with conveyor belts, especially
the addition of Limestone
in underground handling facilities. Dust pollution is haz-
ardous to workers respiratory system; it causes chronic
37.41 − 11.34 =26.07 tonnes
occupational diseases such as Silicosis, Pneumoconiosis,
Hour
etc. For that reason, all the dust-generating points within
Dry Limestone consumption is given by the materials handling facilities of ASCL are connected
with a network of dust extraction pipes by means of in-
26.07 duced draught Fans using either Electrostatic precipitator,
=
(0.5 − CaO required to neutralize SiO 2 inthe Limestone) Venturi scrubber or Fibre bag filter as the case may be,
26.07 recovered dust is recycled back into the system. This sin-
=
[0.53 − ( 0.0181 x1.28 )] gular advantage of cleaning the working environment and
recycling the scarce and expensive raw materials back
51.4 tonnes
= into the process line that could have been lost to the atmo-
Hour
sphere justify the huge capital investment in their instal-
Limestone consumption at normal humidity of 2% is lation. The technical and process description of the three
types of aspiration plants used will be briefly discussed
51.4 x1.02 = 52.43 tonnes below.
Hour
11. Electrostatic Precipitator Technical De-
To check for the basicity, scription
Wt of calcined burden
= 295.61 + 52.43 x 0.56 Electrostatic precipitator consists of the following:
324.97 tonnes (1) A rectangular sections of the diffuser (for gas in-
Wt of calcined burden =
Hour let) and confuser (for gas outlet) adjoined to section’s
(29.23 x SiO 2 in dry Limestone)
Content of CaO in Sinter = faces; (2) Hoppers at the lower part of the housing to
324.97
(29.23 x 51.4 x 0.0181 100%
collect and remove the recovered dust; (3) Housing is
Content of CaO in Sinter = x = 9.28% covered by glass fiber in some units as a heat insulator
324.97 1
11.34 x 0.53 x 51.4 to prevent cooling of process gases, which could lead
Content of CaO in Sinter =
= x100% 11.87%
324.97 to moisture condensation of noxious gases (SO 2 and
CaO 11.87 H2O) because of temperature drop; (4) Collecting elec-
Basicity of Sinter
= = = 1.28
SiO 2 9.2 trodes, discharge electrodes, jolting mechanisms of the
electrode, insulator units and gas-distributing grids are

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 Journal of Metallic Material Research | Volume 03 | Issue 02 | October 2020

assembled inside the housing; (5) Discharge electrodes

are connected at the top to a high-voltage feed source
of rectified current 50-60 KV; (6) Collecting electrodes
are earthed through the body of the housing; (7) Side-
walls of housing are solidly made from 6mm thick steel
plates with horizontal ribs to provide structural stability;
(8)Housing roof has an aperture used for assembly of
equipment and installation of insulators; (9) Gas distrib-
uting grids were installed at diffuser (gas inlet) side to
distribute gas evenly along all sections of the electric fil-
ter; (10) Collecting electrode of frameless construction is
arranged in the vertical position in the same plane and all
cells must be parallel to each other. Each cell is 640mm
wide and hung to suspension beams by brackets; (11)
Jolting beam consists of two strips 10 x 80mm connect- Figure 11. Principle of Electrostatic Precipitator
ed between them by anvil from the impact end, and from
The corona discharge from highly insulated negative
the opposite by insert; (12) Discharge electrodes are flat
(discharge) electrode ionizes the gases and the ions be-
bar frames with taut tape-needle members, turn of nee-
come attached to the dust particles, then rapidly across to
dles are directed parallel to gas flow; (13) All electrodes
the earthed collecting electrode from which they are re-
are installed on suspension frames by means of brackets.
moved at regular intervals by means of jolting mechanism
Suspension frames support top brackets freely; threaded
and the dust particles are collected at the bottom hopper.
joints of lower brackets are tightened and welded round;
The transit time through the cells must be sufficient to
(14) Suspension frames of discharge electrodes together
allow each particle to travel across the width of the cells
with the discharge electrodes form a common system,
(electrodes) under electrostatic forces that is applied to it.
which was hung on suspension pipes, china base through
The high-voltage rectified current is led to electrodes of
high tensile strength insulators, and it is adjustable; (15)
ESP along high voltage cable. At the rectifier, positive ter-
Jolting mechanism of discharge electrode has a recipro-
minals are earthed while negative terminals are properly
cating motion with provision for adjustments. Maximum
insulated and connected to discharge electrode through
the angle of lift of hammer is 60o and height of lift is 100
high voltage cable. High-voltage, low current is supplied
mm; (16) Jolting mechanism of collecting electrodes was
to discharge electrode, the electric field is generated in the
assembled by blocks. Each block consist of a shaft with
ESP between discharge and collecting electrodes. Voltage
hammers, couplings and bearings mounted on the frame.
quantity of the field is increased automatically by a thyris-
The shaft of blocks are connected together by couplings,
tor-controlled circuit until the maximum voltage of 80 kV
and frames are fixed to the housing; (17) Jolting mech-
is reached. As the voltage increase approaches maximum,
anism of both electrodes is driven by means of gear
corona discharge arises in the space between the two
motors mounted on speed reducers with maximum. The
electrodes. Induced Draught (ID) Fan suck process gases
output torque of 150kgnm and 0.2rpm; (18) A combined
containing dust particles through the ESP, weighted parti-
units of disc gate and sluice feeders are installed bellow
cles contained in gases are admitted into ESP through the
the hoppers for continuous discharge of collected dust
diffuser and gas-distributing grids for uniform gas distri-
to scrapper conveyor for recycling and (19) Hatches and
bution throughout the ESP chamber. They are ionized and
doors are provided for accessibility into the ESP during
carried by the moving ions. Ionized particles under the
inspection and repairs.
influence of electric field move to collect electrodes and
12. Process Description settle them temporarily, cleaned gases continue to move
through the electric field until it reaches confuter at the
Electrostatic precipitator operates based on the principle end of ESP and flows through the gas duct to ID Fan and
that; When two electrodes are connected to a high recti- stack. The temperature must be maintained above due
fied voltage of 50-80KV, a coronary discharge of electrons points of both Sulphur dioxide and steam because of their
from highly insulated negative (discharge) electrode to deleterious effect of corroding the structural members
earthed positive (collecting) electrode occur. and ID fan impeller blades. Once the maximum voltage is
reached, the thyristor cut-off the voltage to zero and the

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 Journal of Metallic Material Research | Volume 03 | Issue 02 | October 2020

jolting mechanism rap and shake the collecting electrodes tion cabinets are provided at the ground floor with gauges
thereby dropping the collected dust particles inside the for measuring suction pressure from 0-63kgf/m2 and water
hopper below. The circle is repeated throughout the op- flow rate from 0-50m3/hour, a switch knob for starting and
erating time, collecting dust in the hopper is periodically stopping the system was also provided by the side of the
and incessantly removed by means of sluice feeder and instrumentation cabinet; (12) Suction of dust-laden gas
scrapper conveyors back to the process line. through the venturi scrubber is achieved by an exhauster
fan of type D18X2Twith a capacity of 180,000m3/hour, it
12.1 Technical Description of the Venturi Scrub- was driven by a high tension electric motor with a power
ber rating of 320KW and 6.6KV supply; (13) The exhauster
Venturi scrubber consists of the following: (1) The ven- motor was interlocked with maximum sludge level sensor
turi scrubber of model KMP-8 consists of a venturi tube in the spray tower and main water supply motorized gate
(tube-coagulator) with a hydraulic seal which creates a valve.
water curtain at the bottom discharge end; (2)The ventu- 12.2 Process Description
ri tube consists of a casing, 30mm jet nozzle and water
chamber for water film spraying along the inner surface Venturi technically means narrows to a throat and then
of the venturi tube expander with a combined flow rate of gradually increase to the original diameter, it was used in
31.5m3/hr.; (3) The venturi tube was of welded design and fluid mechanics to generate turbulence flow in fluids.
consists of an air inlet pipe from the top, which admits The basic principle of the venturi scrubber (wet coagu-
air at the rate of 105,000m3 /hour, a throat and expander. lation dust catcher) is to provide intimate contact between
Main water supply was provided through the 30mm jet the collecting fluid and the contaminant in the air to be
installed at the central axis of venturi throat, the jet noz- cleaned. When the contaminant is particulate, the wetting
zles are easily detachable; (4) Additional water supply of the particle increases its mass and it becomes relatively
for the chamber flowing down in the shape of a uniform easy to remove from the air stream. The intimate mixture
film along the entire inner surface of the venturi tube was of air and liquid provides a large interface area between
also provided; (5) When filling the chamber with water, a the two media so that solution or reaction of the contami-
hydraulic seal preventing air in-leakage from the environ- nant was enhanced; the efficiency increases with pressure
ment is created; (6) When filling the chamber with water, drops. In venturi scrubber type KMP-8, the contaminant
a hydraulic seal preventing air in-leakage from the envi- air is passed through a venturi throat at a very high ve-
ronment is created, Water was supplied to the chamber locity of about 100m/sec and flow rate of 105,000m3/hr.
through the semi-circular 25mm pipe and two numbers. Water, which is simultaneously fed in at a rate of 31.5m3/
25mm gate valves connected to the chamber’s outer pe- hour into the throat was atomized by the turbulent air into
riphery The chamber was covered with Iron sheets at the a fine fog. The intimate mixing of the contaminant and
top; (7) Openings for removal of sludge during repairs and water in the turbulence created by the venturi results in
cleaning are provided at the bottom discharge outlet; (8) rapid wetting and collection, pressure losses is as high as
The spray tower of type 3ИΛ-900 (drop catcher) consists 330mm (13.2 inches) and the efficiency of separation is
of a casing and a branch pipe in the lower part meant for estimated at 97.5% in the sub-micron particle size range.
air supply from venturi (coagulator) and a scroll used for
removal of cleaned air at the top of the spray tower. Clean- 13. Fibre Cloth Bag Filter: Technical Descrip-
ing efficiency that can be achieved is up to 97.5% and tion
dust particles in the emissions not to exceed 1.43mg/m3;
Fibre cloth bag filter (Bag filter) consists of the following:
(9) Sludge formed as a result of gas cleaning is removed
(1) Each unit is made up of rectangular box measuring
from spray tower through the hydraulic seal in the lower
6000mm x 2000mm x 2200mm divided into eight com-
the casing. For periodic flushing, the part of hydraulic
partments each measuring 1500mm x 100mm x 2200mm;
compartment was supplied with water through 25mm
(2) Each compartment contain 24 Numbers of bag filters,
gate valve; (10) For flushing of internal walls of spray
a total of 96Nos. for each unit of eight compartments; (3)
tower, periodic spraying of the walls by means of nozzles
Dimension of each bag was ∅200mm x 2200mm height;
installed at the upper part of the casting was done. Water
(4) Each bag is hooked with a spring from the top end in
is supplied to the nozzles through a circular pipe around
addition to bag clamp to prevent the downward collapse
the circumference of the spray tower; (11) For observation
of the bag in the event of upper clamp failure to grip; (5)
and visual inspection of the inner wall of the spray tower,
Each compartment is provided with a baffle at the bottom
an inspection man-hole is provided, 2 Nos. Instrumenta-

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 Journal of Metallic Material Research | Volume 03 | Issue 02 | October 2020

end entrance into bags compartment for controlling alter- collapse during counter-current flow of compressed air,
nate exhauster suction and counter flow of compressed air which serves as a shaking mechanism during a circle of
supplied by solenoid valves; (6)Each compartment is pro- bag cleansing. When the solenoid valve is activated, it
vided with an electrically activated programmed solenoid releases a pressurized compressed air which was deflected
valve for controlling compressed air supply for the pur- upward into bags compartment by a baffle at the same
pose of cleaning filter bags; (7) Bottom hoppers of all the time blocking suction from exhauster fan from below.
eight compartments are connected with a common pipe Compressed air was blown through the fabric in a count-
for discharging the collected dust back to process line; er-current to the flow of clean air, which equally serves as
(8) The exhauster fan model ци6-45N8 has a capacity of a shaking mechanism to the bags. The shaking mechanism
15,500m3/hour with 37KW electric motor or model ци6- must vigorously rap, shake and flex the fabric to discharge
45N8 which has a capacity of 8,100m3/hour with 22KW the dust, which may adhere very firmly.
motor depending on specific design requirement, the The shaking circle must as indicated be frequent
type installed in each unit depends on the dust emission enough to ensure continuous maintenance of the designed
rate in the unit. There are a total of 24 units in the whole filtration rate, an automatic interlock between exhauster
section under study; (9) A start and stop push button fan motor solenoid valves is provided such that the sole-
switch is provided near each exhauster fan motor and (10) noid programmer was only activated when the exhauster
Electro-pneumatic programmed box is mounted on each fan motor is switched on. The material caked on the cloth
control panel board (CPB) controlling each exhauster fan was continuously dislodged from the surface and since
motor. it is agglomerated, is not restrained in the airstream but
fall to the collecting hopper. The resistance after the ini-
Process Description tial build-up is essentially constant at the suction hoods,
By sucking action of exhauster fan through suction hoods, branch pipe velocity of 1,350-1,670 meters per minute for
dust-laden air enters one section of the fabric and emerges concentrate, fluxes and coke specks of dust were adopted.
through the other side as cleaned air and discharge to the
14. Conclusion and Recommendation
atmosphere through the chimney. The cleaning process
is not simple filtration since the pores of the medium are There is no gainsaying the fact that an integrated steel
usually much larger than the particles to be collected. plant like Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited can only be
When the cloth bag filter is new, much dust will pass successfully operated with a sure guarantee of regular and
through the filter until a bed of deposited dust was built timely supplies of bulk raw materials input. The bulk raw
upon the fabric. The process was complicated, it involves materials requirements like Iron ore concentrate, lime-
impingement of the particles on the fibres, as well as stone, dolomite and coking coal are locally sourced and
deposition of the particles under the influence of settling, are available in the country except for coking coals which
Brownian motion and static electricity created by flowing require high-grade foreign coals to be blended with low-
air. The dust mat will rapidly build upon the medium, and grade local coal.
it was this mat, rather than the fabric, which acts as the Therefore, adequate planning and logistics for their
filtering agent. exploitation and transportation to site via road and railway
A permanent dust base will be created within the pores, systems, storage and handling will ensure not only the
which will not be dislodged by shaking so that cleaning smooth operations but also the economic promotions for
efficiency remains high. The most commonly used fabric various operations of an integrated Iron and Steel Plants.
medium for normal application such as cleaning of con- The various types of machinery and facilities made
centrate, fluxes and coke dust is cotton or wool sateen/ available on site for the bulk materials handling are so
felt. The size of the filter, i.e. the area of filter medium designed to ensure smooth expansions from the initial 3
through which a given stream of air passes, will affect the million tonnes, to 2.6 million tonnes and 5.6milion tonnes
resistance to airflow and therefore the required exhauster signifying the first, second and third phases of liquid steel
fan motor with a power rating of 37KW and 22KW was production per annum at ASCL.
installed at different units depending on projected (an- The provision of highly rated and tested tipping,
ticipated) dust emission. Normal resistance (i.e. pressure off-loading and stocking facilities at various stockyards
drops) of the filter to flow of air with a ratio of 3 to 1 used was a significant assurance of uninterrupted operations.
was 75mm of water. The advantages of the suggested techniques of stocking
An important feature of the design of bag filters is and blending are:
the inflation of the bags during suction and their sudden (1) Reduction of the overall price of raw material uti-

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 Journal of Metallic Material Research | Volume 03 | Issue 02 | October 2020

lized, by carefully balancing the rich and poor materials Symposium on the Precambrian Geology of Nigeria,
to obtain the desired overall requirement in a burden; (2) Kaduna, 1981
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Conflict of Interests
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