IRON MAKING

Dr. Trinath Talapaneni

Assistant Professor
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
OP. Jindal University
 Course Content
• Unit – I
• History of iron making process, Raw materials for Iron making, Iron minerals and its
characteristics, Iron deposits in India, Valuation of iron ore; Metallurgical Coal & its types,
Reserves of Metallurgical Coal in India; Limestone and Dolomite as Flux, Evaluation of Flux
and its deposits in India. Raw material Handling system, Raw material Beneficiation process,
Problems of Indian Raw materials.

• UNIT –II
• Burden Preparation- Functions of coke, Characteristics of coal for coke making, Raw
material preparation, Different types of Coke ovens & its construction features, Coke making
process, Assessment of coke quality; Agglomeration Process- Raw material preparation & its
size for sintering process, parts of Sintering machine, Sintering mechanism, Types of sinters.
Raw material preparation & its size for Pelletization process, Disc pelletizer & mechanism of
green ball formation, Types of induration process, Quality test for agglomerates.
• UNIT –III
• Design and Construction features of Blast furnace, refractories used at different parts of blast
furnace, Blowing-in process of blast furnace, Burden distribution, Blast Furnace
Aerodynamics, Various reactions occur at different parts of blast furnace, Thermodynamics of
BF ironmaking, Kinetics of Gas solid-reactions, Steady state material and heat balance,
Overall Oxygen Balance, Bottom segment oxygen balance, Bottom segment enthalpy balance,
Combined enthalpy and Oxygen balance equation.
• UNIT –IV
• Blast furnace products and their utilization- Pre-treatment of hot metal, Control of Si, S and P
present in hot metal, BF slag and its usage, Bf gas cleaning system and its usage; Furnace
irregularities and its control, blast furnace productivity.

• UNIT –V
• Alternate routes of Iron Making-Coal based processes, Gas based processes; Smelting
Reduction processes- raw materials for SR processes, classification of SR processes some
common smelting reduction processes- Corex processes etc.
Unit- I
 History of Iron Making Process
• Stone age was followed by the bronze age which in turn followed by the iron age. Despite
relative abundance of iron in nature, bronze age came before iron age due to the fact that
smelting the iron required more fuel and high temperature.
• The word iron is derived from the words meaning something “hard from the sky”.
• The first signs of iron use date back to 4000 BC.
• Iron ore smelting was based on the bloomery, a furnace where iron ore and charcoal
were placed
• The size of the primitive furnace was nearly 30-60 cm in dia and nearly 50-60 cm deep,
constructed of clay or stone with a clay lining.
• Air was forced into the flames by bellows worked by hand or foot.

• This kept the charcoal burning but the air supply was kept low to make sure that the
charcoal did not burn fully.
• CO thus produced from the combustion of charcoal, reduced iron oxide to produce
metallic iron in the solid form.
• The temperature in a bloomery was never high enough to produce iron in a liquid state.
• The solid spongy mass or the bloom of 1-3 kg, had its pores filled with ash and slag were
produced.
• The bloom was heated to soften solid iron and melt slag and subsequently hammered
repeatedly and folded to force the molten slag out of it.

• The result of this process was a product known as wrought iron, which is reasonably
malleable solid iron containing very little carbon.
• During the process it was realized that the poor yield was due to the short time of contact
of CO with the ore it led to construction of a shaft.
• The increased height allowed longer contact of ore with the reducing gases and a high
recovery of iron was achieved.
• By the 8th century BC, larger bloomeries were constructed in Europe and furnaces
approximately a meter tall, capable of smelting 150 kg iron.
• By the 9th century BC, the height of the furnace increased nearly 16 ft. and these are capable
of smelting 350 kg of iron.
• In the 13th century, the next development took place in Spanish for increasing the
production rate and decreasing fuel consumption, leads to a new smelting unit known as
Catalan Forge.
• The air bellow was replaced by a falling water device known as trompe to force air blast
through the furnace.
• The principle is simple: A water jet rushing down a pipe with an opening in the upper part
will suck air down with the jet too, and thus can be used as a pump for evacuating vessels
(today's use), or as a blower creating an air stream
• In such furnace about 0.5 t of 40-50 % Fe iron ore yielded about 100 kg of metal consuming
nearly 1.5 t of charcoal.
• The demand for iron in Europe, increased the size of catalan furnace progressively
increased resulting in the evolution of Stukofen furnace built of stone and clay.
• This is considered to be the model/ prototype of the modern Bf.
• Using dense charcoal, increased height of the furnace with max blast pressure eventually
resulted in the generation of adequate temperature in the furnace such that the product is
molten iron producing 45-50 t per annum.
• In 1709, coke was used as a fuel in the blast furnace.
• Till the middle of 19th century the furnace top was open and the waste gases burns at the
top when it comes in contact with atmospheric air.
• Eventually, attempts were made to use the heat of burning gases to preheat the blast air.
the invention of bell-hopper arrangement that kept the top closed except when the bell
was lowered to charge materials into the furnace.
• This principle was later used to developed to use double bell and hopper (in 1883) that
made it possible to charge materials without ever completely opening the furnace top.
• The hot waste gases from the furnace top were drawn off to preheat the stove checker
bricks, which in turn heated the blast later.
• In 1876 blast furnace is started operating with oxygen enrichment of blast.
• In 1877, injection of coal in to blast furnace tuyere is started.
• In 1883 the inclined skip host was installed with double bell arrangement.
• In 1887, agglomeration of pyrite ore is started.
• In 1894, pig casting machine was invented. (sand bed)
• In 1906, Dwight Lloyd sintering machine was invented.
• In 1912, preparation of pellets from fine concentrates
• In 1919, ESP was invented and incorporated along with dust catcher and scrubber.
• In 1950s, the running Bf is quenched in japan by passing liquid nitrogen through its
tuyere and the furnace was sectioned, collected samples from different zones of Bf to
study the internal state of the furnace.
• The subsequent improvements regarding the design of blast furnace may be grouped
broadly in five periods:
• 1876 to 1893: Water cooled cinder notch cooler was introduced.
• 1894 to 1904: The overall height of the furnace and hearth dia increased. Various
auxiliary equipment's were introduced.
• 1905 to 1920: The overall height of the furnace and hearth dia increased further by
keeping bosh height constant.
• 1921 to 1946: The overall size of blast furnace had increased, improvements in handling
and blending raw materials has introduced. Charging, operating conditions were
improved along with gas cleaning, slag handling & its utilization.
• 1947 to 1966: Design improvements done in stoves to increase hot blast temperature. oil
injection, steam injection, oxygen enrichment, high top pressure etc. were the
achievements of the period.
• The first bell less top was commissioned in 1978 with double hopper and single hopper
bell less top is introduced in 1989 for accurate control on distribution.
 Evolution of Iron making Technology in India
• The efforts of make iron using coke led to the establishment of Bengal Iron works at Kulti
in 1870. The open top Bf was commissioned in 1875.
• Charge- ore and coke
• Capacity of individual furnace- 20 t/day.
• Chemical composition: C- 2.84% ; Mn-0.97 % ; Si-1.13% ; P-0.36% ; S-0.12%; Balance
Fe.
• Jamshedji Tata was established an integrated steel plant in 1908 in the name of Tata Iron
and Steel Co.(TISCO) and its production started in 1912.
• The Indian Iron and Steel co. was started in 1918 at Hirapur near Asansol for the
production of pig iron.
• In 1936 it picked up the Bengal Iron and Steel Co. and in 1953 both were amalgamated
into an integrated steel plant now known as the Indian iron and steel Co. at Burnpur.
• In 1974 it was taken over by the then Hindustan Steel Ltd., a government of India
undertaking.
• In 1918 Mysore Iron and Steel works at Bhadravati now named as the Visvesvaraya Iron
and Steel Ltd was started with a small charcoal Bf of 60t/day capacity to produce 20,000
t of pig iron per annum. The capacity was later on increased to 100t/day. In 1936 it was
converted in to an integrated steel plant.
• In 1955-60, various steel plants were set up like RSP, BSP, DSP etc.
• Bokaro steel plant was setup in 1965-70 and it started production in 1973.
• In 1970s the government of India setup a central agency called “Steel Authority of India
Ltd” to control, supervise, develop the iron and steel industry.
• In 1980s government policies changed towards Liberation rather than central control,
accordingly VSP was setup under an independent authority as Rashtriya Ispath Nigam
Ltd.
• In 1990s, iron making units and also mini integrated iron and steel making plants began
to be set up in private sector which includes the traditional blast furnace based steel
plants; DRI plants, particularly coal based and gas based (MIDREX) process was
preferred for large scale production of DRI, which is to be used in EAF process.
List Of Major Iron and Steel Plants (PSU) In India
SI.No. Name of the plant Crude Steel capacity, Location Product
MTPA, by SEP 2020
1 Bhilai Steel plant 7.0 Bhilai Rails, wire rods, heavy plates etc.
2 Durgapur Steel Plant 2.2 Durgapur Blooms, Billets, wheels, axles etc.
3 Rourkela Steel Plant 4.2 Rourkela Plates, hot rolled, cold rolled
strips, galvanised plain sheets etc.
4 Bokaro Steel Ltd 4.61 Bokaro hot rolled, cold rolled strips,
galvanised plain sheets
5 The Indian Iron & Steel 2.5 Burnpur Billets, rails, bars, hot rolled steets,
Company (IISCO) galvansed sheets.
6 Alloy Steels Plant 0.50 Durgapur Bar, sheet, forged products
7 Salem Steel plant 0.18 Salem Cold rolled stainless steel sheets.
8 Visvesvaraya Iron and 0.20 Bhadravati, Bars, forged items
Steel Limited Karnataka
9 Rastriya Ispat Nigam Ltd. 7.3 Vizag Wire rods, billets and beams
Ministry of Steels Annual Report 2019-20
 List Of Few Major Private Sector Steel Companies in India
SI.No. Name of the plant Crude Steel Location Product
capacity, MTPA
(2019-20 AR)
1 Tata Steel Ltd 18.6 Consolidated India Rods, plates, Gs sheets, bearings,
hot and cold strips.
2 Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel 10 Hazira Iron ore pellets, HBI, cold and hot
India Ltd. (Essar Steel) rolled products, galvanised sheets.
3 JSW Ltd. 18 Vijayanagar in Karnataka, Hot Rolled, Cold Rolled, Electrical
Salem in Tamil Nadu and Steel, Galvanized, TMT bars, Wire
Dolvi, Vasind, Tarapur in Rods and Special Steel
Maharashtra.
4 Jindal Steel & Power Ltd 8.6 Raigarh, Angul, Oman Blooms, Billets, rods

5 Jindal Stainless Limited 0.8 Jajpur, Orissa Cold rolled stainless steel

6 Jindal Stainless (Hisar) Ltd. 0.78 Hisar, Haryana SS Strips for razor blades , slabs &
blooms, hot rolled coils, strips,
plates, coin blanks, precision strips,
and cold rolled coils.
 Raw Materials For Iron Making
• Raw materials for iron making
• Iron ore - lumps, Agglomerates (sinters, pellets)

• Coke

• Fluxes (Limestone, Dolomite, Quartz)

• Pulverized coal ( by tuyere)
• Air
• Raw material Chemistry
Iron Ore Coke
Fe : 61-62 % Carbon : ~87%
SiO2 : 2-3% Ash : 12-13%
Al2O3 : 2-3% S : 0.6%
Sinter Lime Stone
Fe : 51-53% CaO : 45-50%
SiO2 : 4.5-5.5% MgO : 2.5-3%
CaO : 10-12% SiO2 : 5-5.5%
MgO : ~2% Al2O3 : 1.5-2%
Al2O3 : 3-4%
Dolomite
Pellets CaO : 28-30%
Fe : 62-63% MgO : 19-20%
SiO2 : 3.5-4% SiO2 : 3-4%
CaO : ~1.2% Al2O3 : 0.5-1%
MgO : ~0.15% Quartz
Al2O3 : 2.5-3% SiO2 : 98%
 Iron minerals and its characteristics
Nature of Example Chemical Fe Color deposits Magnetic Specific Crystal
ore Formulae content behavior gravity structure

Oxide ore Hematite Fe2O3 70 % Brown to reddish CG,MP, KA, JH, Non-magnetic 4.9-5.3 Hexagonal
brown OD, MH, AP, RJ,
Magnetite Fe3O4 72 % TN, KL, Goa Strongly 5.2 Octahedron
Black magnetic
Hydroxide Limonite 2FeO3. 3H2O 60 % Yellowish brown, Gujarat, KA, RJ, Non-magnetic 3.6-4.0 Orthorhombic
Manipur,
Goethite Fe2O3. H2O >60 % Brownish to black Nagaland. Non-magnetic 4.0-4.4 Orthorhombic

Carbonates Siderites FeCO3 48 % Light to dark Haryana, M.P. OD, Non-magnetic 3.7-3.9 Rhombohedra
(spathose brown RJ, KA.
iron)
Sulphides Pyrite FeS2 64 % Bronze yellow to Assam, KA, RJ, AP, Non-magnetic 4.8-5.1 Cubic
pale brass yellow MP, MH, OD.

Complex Ilmenite FeTiO3 35 % Black OD, AP, KL, TN Non-magnetic 4.5-5.0 Trigonal
ores
Ilmenite
 Iron deposits in India
• According to 2019 data, the top five iron ore producing countries are : Australia (930 million
tonnes), Brazil (480 Million tonnes); China (350 million tonnes) ; India (210 Million tonnes);
Russia (99 Million tonnes).
• India ranks 4th in terms of world iron ore production, having high grade iron ore deposits of
hematite variety.
• According to Ministry of Mines Annual report 2019-20, India's leading state that produces iron
ore is Odisha. It accounts for more than 55% of the total production followed by Chhattisgarh
producing almost 17% followed by Karnataka and Jharkhand producing 14% and 11%
respectively.
• Major Belts of Iron Ore in India:
• Odisha Jharkhand Belt: High grade of Hematite ore is found here in Badampahar mines in
Mayurbhanj and Kendujhar districts (Orissa). In Singhbhum district (Jharkhand) hematite
ore is mined in Gua and Noamundi.
• The important mining centres of Orissa regions are Bolani, Barsua, Tomka & Jharkhand
region are Barajamda, Kiribura. These ores occur as massive hematite of around 60 % Fe.
• Durg Bastar Chandrapur Belt: This lies in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. It has extremely
high grade hematite found in the Bailadila range (Chhattisgarh) of hills in Bastar region,
Dalli and Rajhara hills in Durg District.
• There are 14 deposits of high grade hematite ore in this region. Bailadila ores contain 65-
69 % Fe while those of Dalli- Rajhara 55 % Fe. Iron from Bailadila ores is exported to
Japan and Korea.
• Bellary Chitradurga Chikmagalur Tumkur belt: It is in Karnataka and has large reserves of
iron ore. The Kudremukh mines in (Chikkamagaluru district) are located in Western Ghats
of Karnataka contains 42 % Fe.
• The Kudremukh magnetite ore deposits are being mined and upgraded and considerable lot
is exported either in the form of concentrate or pellets.
• Maharashtra Goa belt: It includes Goa and Ratnagiri in Maharashtra contains 59-61 %
Fe. These are readily amenable to Pelletization and the ore and pellets are exported.

• In Andhra Pradesh rich hematite deposits have been found in various areas like Anantapur
district near Obalapuram, Siddapuram and Chalapuram in Rayadurg. A reserve of 1 Mt of
ore with 60% Fe is expected in this area.
• Chittoor District- Hematite ore associated near Sirasanambedu, Kovanur and Suramala in
Srikalahasti. A reserve of 0.65 Mt of iron ore with 38.43% to 63% Fe was estimated.
• Cuddapah District - Iron ore are found at Chabali, Pagadalapalle and Rajampet. Iron ore
at Chabali analyzed 54 to 65% Fe and that of Rajampet 58% to 60% Fe. A reserve of 20 Mt
was estimated in these areas.
• Guntur District- Low grade magnetite ore are available near Tummurukota in Palnad area.
A reserve of 85 Mt with 22.75% Fe was estimated.
• Krishna District - Good quality iron ore analyzing 62% to 65% Fe is reported from
Dachupalem. About 1.3 Mt of iron ore is expected in this area.
• Kurnool District- High-grade deposits of hematite occur in Veldurthi-Ramallakota area. A
total reserve of 3.7Mt of ore with 50% to 60% Fe is estimated.
• Prakasam District- Large deposits of low-grade iron ore, associated with hematite-
magnetite quartzite, occur in Ongole and at Addanki areas account for 292 Mt of ore with
30% to 37% Fe.
• Magnetite ore is found at various places, as titaniferous and vanadiferous magnetite in
Mayurbhanj district, as bounded magnetite-silica in Salem and Tiruchirappalli in Tamil-
nadu.
• Out of the total reserves of iron ores in India nearly 80 % is Hematite admixed with
Goethite. The rest is mainly magnetite.
• The Hematite generally contains more than 55 % Fe and good grade ores of Bailadila may
contains +68 % Fe.
 Valuation of iron ore
• The value of an iron ore deposit depends upon several factors. The factors affecting the
value of an iron ore deposit can be conveniently summarized under five categories:
• Richness
• Location
• Composition of the gangue
• Treatment and preparation needed before smelting
• End Use

 Richness: Richness means the percentage metallic iron in the ore.

• Example: In order to produce 1 ton pig iron 1.5 ton of iron ore is required in Australia
(68 % Fe)
• Similarly, to produce 1 ton pig iron 2 ton of iron ore is required in India (55-60 % Fe)
• Also, to produce 1 ton pig iron 3 ton of iron ore is required in U.K. (30-35 % Fe)
• The fuel and flux required in all these three cases would be considerably different.
• For richer ores, since the gangue is less the fuel and flux consumption will be lesser than
that for leaner ores wherein gangue is more.
• The value of the ore is therefore decided not directly by its iron content alone but by its iron
content and other associated minerals together.

 Location: The location of an ore, both geographically and geologically, is a very

important factor in its evaluation.
• Geological location : It is related to whether the deposit is underground, or on the surface,
Where the ore can be obtained by quarrying or open cast mining.
• The cost of obtaining the ore at the ground level is much lower than that involved in under-
ground mining which requires expensive excavating machinery.
• Many important iron ore deposits, for example, some Indian and Australian deposits, are
located as hills and that allows the ore to be obtained at the ground level.

• Geographical location : It is related to the mode of transport required to bring the mined
ore to the smelter and which includes the capital expenditure on installation of railways,
ore carries etc.

 Composition of the gangue: The effect of associated gangue is related to its nature i.e.
whether it entirely stays with the slag, partially with the slag and reminder with the metal or
entirely joins the metal phase under the conditions of smelting.
• The entire amount of Phosphorus in the burden is reduced and joins the pig iron. The
presence of phosphorus is detrimental for steel. In general the phosphorus content of an ore
therefore reduces the value of that iron ore.
• The presence of oxides like alumina, lime, magnesia and alkalis entirely stay with the slag
during iron smelting.
• Alumina raises the melting point of slag and hence would require additional fuel to raise
the temperature in order to make the slag a free flowing liquid.
• The presence of lime and magnesia is however an asset since it can be mixed with siliceous
ores to obtain a self-fluxing blend. The total weight of an ore blend in such a case may in
fact be less than that (ore + external flux) otherwise required to produce a unit weight of
pig iron.
• On the whole therefore the value of an ore is drastically reduced by the presence of alumina
and is in fact enhanced by the presence of lime or magnesia.
The treatment and preparation: certain ores need elaborate ore dressing or agglomeration
treatments in order to obtain them in proper richness to be useful as a burden. All this adds
to the cost and thereby decreases the value of the ore deposits.
End Use: The end use of iron are also decided its value. There are only two broad ways of
using iron ore from iron production, i.e. production of iron in molten state using BF or SR
processes and solid state reduction of ore to produce DRI.
• The gangue constitutions play a major role in smelting operations producing molten iron.
The amount and mutual proportion of the gangue constituents, to a large extent, decide the
value of the ore for such operations.
• In the BF route the nature and proportion of gangue, that is mainly the content of Al2O3
and SiO2, decides the flux quantity required for the smelting operation.
• The Al2O3 also indirectly decides the volume of slag produced in the operation and thereby
the productivity as well. It also indicates the fuel requirements of the smelting operation.
• In DRI production the gangue does not take part in the reduction operation as such, but it is
to be removed subsequently during steelmaking operation by its assimilation in the slag.
It decides the nature and amount of flux required in steelmaking.
• It also decides the power consumption since more power is consumed for melting when
gangue is more. On the whole therefore gangue quality and quantity affects the subsequent
steelmaking operation in terms of its efficiency and economy.
 Metallurgical Coal
• Coal is formed when dead plant matter decays into peat and is converted into coal by the
heat and pressure of deep burial over millions of years.

• Progressive transformation of coal is depicted as:

Peat Lignite Bituminous Anthracite Graphite
• Peat: It is the first stage product in the formation of coal from wood under the action of
temperature, pressure and bacteria.
• Lignite: It is the second stage product in the formation of coal from wood.
• The process of conversion of lignite to anthracite is called coalification of coal.
• Peat is most immature coal and anthracite is the most matured coal. Rank of coal denotes
the degree of maturity.
• During this prolonged transformation, the carbon content has gradually increased.
• Natural coal is too dense and / or fragile to be used as a fuel in a modern blast furnace.
Neither the blast will be able to penetrate it quickly for burning nor it is strong enough to
stand nearly 25 m of burden lying over it inside the furnace.
• Certain coals when heated out of contact with air result in a carbonaceous nearly volatile
matter free, strong and porous mass with sufficient strength is called Coke.
• The coal which can be so converted into coke is called metallurgical coal or coking coal
and it is the raw material required for iron making.
• Chemically coke can only be as good as the coal from which it has been made. Hence the
coal itself should be uniformly low in ash and low in deleterious impurities like sulphur
and phosphorus and , high in fixed carbon.
• The coke should contain not more than 2 % V.M, not more than 10% ash and not less than
85 % F.C. The P content may vary from 0.018 – 0.04 % and S from 0.6- 1.5 %.
• Coke is the chief source of sulphur in the BF. A reduction of 0.1 % S in coke can reduce the
limestone consumption by 1.5-2% with a proportionate increase in productivity of the
furnace.
• Coals which can give coke of good physical properties are known as prime coking coals.
The others in the descending order are known as medium coking and low to weakly coking
coals.

Source: Provisional Coal Statistics 2019-20

• The coal deposits available are of 1.2 m or more in thickness
and up to a depth of 609 m from the surface.
• The below mentioned states comes under Gondawana region
which contributes 3,42,397 million tones of coal , where as, the
Tertiary region (north-east India) contributes 1,623Million
tones of coal.
• The overall coal deposits available are 3,44,021 million tones.
• Of the various Gondawana fields located in states like located in states like west Bengal,
Bihar, Orissa, M.P., U.P, A.P, Maharashtra and so on, the coking variety is confined few
fields only those are Raniganj of west Bengal , Jharia, Bokaro, Ramgarh and karanpura of
Jharkhand nearly accounts for 98 % of our metallurgical coals.
• Prime coking coal is found only in Jharia coal fields. Bokaro, Ramgarh, karanpura and
Raniganj contains medium coking coal.
• Taking into consideration the mining losses and further losses on washing of coal (almost
all metallurgical coals require washing to reduce ash content) only 40 % of the estimated
reserves of metallurgical coals would be available for actual use.
• For optimum utilization of the prime coking coal it is therefore blended with medium and
weakly coking coals to the tune of about 50 %.
• Nearly 75 % of the coal fed to the coke ovens is finally available as coke after
carbonization.
 Limestone and Dolomite as Flux
• A flux is a substance added during smelting to bring down the softening point of the gangue
materials by forming low melting compounds, to reduce the viscosity of the slag.
• The molten oxide product of smelting is known as slag which is formed by the combination
of gangue and the flux.
• The gangue (SiO2+Al2O3) arises in a blast furnace from the ore and the ash of the coke.
Apart from these flux also contains similar gangue oxides.
• The basic flux includes limestone, dolomite and in some cases basic steel making slag.
• A good flux must contain minimum amount of impurities (P, S, SiO2, Al2O3), so that its value
as a flux increases.
• Apart for crushing and screening no beneficiation is carried out on limestone used iron
making in India.
• The production of limestone in 2017-18 at 338.55 million tonnes. In India reserves of
CaCO3 suitable for blast furnace are limited and are situated mostly in M.P and Orissa.
• In Iron & Steel Industry, limestone is used both in blast furnace and steel melting shop as a
flux after calcining. It is also added as flux in self-fluxing iron ore sinters.
• For use in the bf, the CaCO3 content in limestone should not be usually less than 90 percent. The
combined SiO2 and Al2O3 should not exceed 6%, MgO should be within 4% and sulphur &
phosphorus as low as possible.
• Dolomite (CaCO3.MgCO3) theoretically contains CaCO3-54.35% and MgCO3-45.65% or CaO -
30.4%, MgO - 21.9% and CO2-47.7%. Total of 8,415 million tonnes of dolomite was available as
of 2015.
• Major share of about 88% resources is found distributed in eight States, namely, M.P (27%), A.P
(15%), Chhattisgarh (11%), Odisha (10%), Karnataka & Rajasthan (7% each), Gujarat (6%)
and Maharashtra (5%). The remaining 12% resources are distributed in Arunachal Pradesh,
Jharkhand, Haryana, Sikkim, TamilNadu, Telangana, Uttarakhand, U.P and W.B.
• Role of Raw materials as a burden
• Iron ore - lumps, Agglomerates (sinters, pellets)
• Source of iron in Blast furnace
• Coke
• coke acts as fuel, providing heat energy
• Provides C & generate reducing gases (CO) to reduce iron oxide to molten iron.
• provides physical support to the descending bed of raw materials and provides
passage to the flow of hot gasses and liquid
• Fluxes
• Added to bring down the softening point of the gangue materials, to reduce the
viscosity of the slag.
• Pulverized coal
• Use of pulverized coal, can lower the coke rate and thus the cost of hot metal.
• Air
• Air is used for combustion of coke at the tuyere.
 Problem of Indian’s Raw Materials
• The poor quality of raw materials is creating difficulties to achieve higher productivity.
Indian iron ores are mostly rich in iron (52.2–69.4%); generally, ores contain average more
than 60% Fe. But they have:
(i) a high alumina-to-silica ratio (1.8–2.5), resulting in: (a) higher coke rate (due to high M.P.
of Al2O3, 2050 °C), (b) higher alumina in slag, so viscosity of slag increases too much

de-sulphurization would be difficult (i.e. high sulphur in hot metal), and (c) other related
operational problems in the blast furnace (i.e. (i) low productivity, (ii) the softness of ore,
which leads to the problems of generation of fines in the furnace).
• Due to high ash content in Indian coking coal, coke rate and slag volume are relatively high
in Indian blast furnace. Reserve of coking coals is not enough for long lasting time.
 Raw material Handling system
• Functions of RMHS Plant:
• Receive different raw materials from different sources by railway wagons and unloading
through wagon tipplers.
• Transport raw materials from wagon tipplers to different yards through conveying system
and store at different yards.
• Raw materials supplied to internal costumers through Reclaimers/ conveyors.

Wagon tippler
• Function Of Wagon Tippler:
• Wagon tippler has a platform where the loaded wagons are placed for the unloading and
after the wagon is emptied, the same is taken off from the platform.
• Working of wagon tippler: There are 4 steps
• Step 1. The loaded wagon is pulled by Side Arm Charger and placed on the tippler
platform. The weight of the loaded wagon is then registered.
• Step 2. the tippler top grips the top of the wagon, automatically locks to the end frame, thus
holding the wagon.
• Step 3. Thereafter, rotation commences. The rail platforms lifts from its supports and
rotated through approximately 155 degrees, the fully tipped position is reached, and the
tippler halts.
• Step 4. After a short pause to allow the contents of the wagon to be discharged on the
hopper, the tippler rotates in the opposite direction and returns to its original position. Then
the weight of empty wagon is registered, which gives us the actual weight of the material.
One after the other, the same process continues till all the wagons of a rake are emptied.
• Side Arm Charger : side arm charger is A marshalling device to position the loaded wagon
centrally on tippler platform one by one for unloading operation by wagon tippler. Side arm
charger is used to pull the loaded wagons along with the rake & push out the empty wagon
from the tippler platform after tippling.

• Type -Side Discharge Wagon Tippler

• Travel Drive –Rack & Pinion With Hyd.Drive
• Handling Capacity -110 Ton
• Angle of Tip/Rotation -155 Degree
• No of Tips/Hour -20wagons
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58ARvJ7m2R8

• Stacker:
• The stacker is used to stack raw materials in the stacking yard in piles form.
• Stacker cum Reclaimers:
• Stacker cum Reclaimers is used to both stacking and recover the raw materials from a
stockpile to provide an uninterrupted supply with proper blending of raw materials to the
bin of the process plant.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P_L9MGmdrY
• Reclaimer:
• Reclaimer is used to recover the raw materials from a stockpile to provide an uninterrupted
supply with proper blending of raw materials to the bin of the process plant.
• Yard Conveyor:
• Belt Conveyors are used to convey the material from one place to another. It is a rubber
product, which is run by a gear box and motor through different types of pulleys.