Measurement of reduction in packed bed of iron ore and carbon under one-dimensional heating

Abstract

An experimental configuration was developed to quantify the rate of heat transfer into an iron ore– carbon mixture during one-dimensional radiative heating. Repeatability and accuracy were evaluated by comparing the results of a radiation network calculation with a mass and energy balance, and by comparing predicted carbon contents after reaction with analysed carbon contents. For a sample consisting of prereduced ore and graphite, heat transfer is limited by both radiation to the sample surface and conduction into the sample; the off-gas analysis indicates that both the gaseous reduction reaction and carbon gasification are significantly away from equilibrium. The configuration is shown to yield reliable results for this complex combination of reaction steps.