Iron Ore Pellet

Iron Ore Pellets – Overview

Iron ore pellets are small, round balls of iron ore that are used as raw material in steelmaking. They are made by agglomerating fine iron ore concentrate with binders (like bentonite clay) and then hardening them by heating in a furnace.

🔹 Why Pellets?

• Uniform size & high strength → easy to handle, transport, and charge into blast furnaces or direct reduction furnaces.

• Higher iron content (Fe %) compared to lumps and sinter → increases productivity in steelmaking.

• Eco-friendly → generates less dust, allows for better utilization of low-grade iron ores.

🔹 Types of Iron Ore Pellets

1. Blast Furnace Pellets – Used in traditional blast furnaces along with coke to produce hot metal (pig iron).

2. Direct Reduction (DRI) Pellets – Higher Fe and lower impurities, used in gas-based or coal-based DRI plants to make sponge iron.

🔹 Typical Composition of Pellets

• Fe: 63–70%

• SiO₂ + Al₂O₃: 3–6% (gangue content)

• CaO, MgO: fluxes (depending on pellet type)

• Sulphur & Phosphorus: kept very low

🔹 Manufacturing Process

1. Beneficiation – Low-grade iron ore is ground and upgraded (to increase Fe%).

2. Balling – Fine concentrate mixed with binder and rolled into green balls.

3. Induration (Heating) – Green balls hardened at 1250–1350°C in furnaces (straight grate or grate-kiln).

4. Cooling & Handling – Final pellets are cooled and stored for use in steel plants.

🔹 Advantages in Steelmaking

• Increases efficiency and productivity of furnaces.

• Reduces coke consumption.

• Produces cleaner steel with fewer impurities.