Recycling of steel plant mill scale via iron ore

sintering plant
T. Umadevi*, A. Brahmacharyulu, P. Karthik, P. C. Mahapatra, M. Prabhu and
M. Ranjan
During the processing of steel in steel mills, iron oxides will form on the surface of the metal. These
oxides, known as mill scale, occur during continuous casting, reheating and hot rolling operations.
Mill scale is a valuable metallurgical raw material since it contains 65–70% iron. JSW Steel Ltd is a
7 Mtpa integrated steel plant and generates 270 t of mill scale per day. Most of the materials of steel
plant wastes are recycled through sinter making in most of the countries. Because of its physical,
chemical and mineralogical properties, it can be used as a raw material in a process like sintering.
The mill scale contains high amounts of Fe and low amounts of silica and alumina. Thus, recycling it
through the sintering process helps in the saving of raw materials like iron ore and limestone. This
paper presents preliminary findings of a study that investigates the potential for recycling steel mill
scale in the sintering process. Experiments were conducted using the mill scale in sinter making from
0 to 70 kg/t of sinter. The total Fe and FeO contents of the sinter increased with the increase in mill
scale addition. The sinter productivity decreased with the increase in mill scale addition due to a
decrease in sinter bed permeability. The sinter strength and sinter mean size initially increased and
reaches a maximum at mill scale addition of 40–50 kg/t of sinter and afterwards declines with the
increase in mill scale addition. Sinter reduction degradation index and reducibility decreased with
the increase in mill scale addition due to the increase in FeO content. Except sinter productivity, other
desired sinter properties can be obtained with the use of 40–50 kg mill scale per tonne of sinter.
Keywords: Iron ore sinter, Mill scale, Microstructure, Sinter strength, Reduction degradation index and reducibility

Introduction sinter. Microscopic studies have been carried out using a

polarised microscope.
Integrated steel plants generate 2–4 t of wastes per tonne
of steel produced. The waste generation at JSW Steel
7 Mtpa integrated steel plant is shown in Table 1. Mill
Mill scale production
scale (iron oxide), which is mainly magnetite, is JSW Steel Ltd is a 7 Mtpa integrated steel plant, and the
produced during the casting and rolling processes. It production of mill scale at the steel plant and hot strip
represents y1?9% of steel produced.1 The use of mill mill is shown in Fig. 1.
scale in the sintering process is a prerequisite for
recycling/reuse in iron making units; however, use in Mill scale and its reactions during sinter making
sinter plant is very limited due to productivity reduction The chemical analysis of the mill scale is shown in
and deterioration in sinter quality.2 Table 1.
Currently, 168 t/day(525 kg/t of sinter) of the 270 t/ During induration, FeO is oxidised to form Fe2O3 as
day generated mill scale from the 7 Mtpa steel plant is follows3,4
being used in the sinter plant; however, before increasing 3FeOz1=2O2 ?Fe3 O4 (1)
its use, it is necessary to study the influence of mill scale
addition on sinter productivity and sinter properties.
Laboratory pot grate sintering studies have been 2Fe3 O4 z1=2O2 ?3Fe2 O3 {Q (2)
planned to determine the extent of mill scale usage in 21
Q5260 kJ mol
sinter plant on the properties of the sinter. The mill scale Both reactions are exothermic.
in the sinter mix was varied from 0 to 70 kg/t of the
Experimental
Experiments were conducted with mill scale at 0–70 kg/t
JSW Steel Ltd, Bellary, India of the sinter. The raw materials used for the preparation
*Corresponding author, email uma.devi@jsw.in of the sinter mix are iron ore, mill scale, limestone,

ß 2012 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining

Published by Maney on behalf of the Institute
Received 13 August 2011; accepted 3 October 2011
222 DOI 10.1179/1743281211Y.0000000063 Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2012 VOL 39 NO 3
 Umadevi et al. Recycling of steel plant mill scale via iron ore sintering plant

granulated sample was collected to measure moisture

1 Production of mill scale at steel plant and hot strip mill
dolomite, lime, coke breeze and sinter return fines. These
raw materials were collected from the sinter plant no. 1
stock yard. The raw material chemical analysis and mix
proportion are shown in Tables 2 and 3.
Sinter pot test
Pot grate sintering experiments were carried out at the
agglomeration laboratory to investigate the influence of
mill scale addition on sintering. A schematic of the pilot
scale sinter pot arrangement is shown in Fig. 2, and test
conditions are shown in Table 4. A small pile was
prepared by layering the iron ore fines, coke breeze,
limestone, dolomite, lime, return fines and mill scale on
a weight basis (Table 2) on the floor. All these
constituents were thoroughly mixed and then transferred
to the granulation drum for 2 min, then granulation
water was added followed by mixing for another 2 min
and granules were prepared for a further 3–4 min. The
Table 1 Waste generation at JSW Steel 7 Mtpa integrated
steel plant
Waste t/day Plants
content and bulk density.
The raw mixture having a weight of 70 kg was
granulated with 8% moisture. After granulation, the
material was transferred to a sinter pot having an inner
diameter of 300 mm and a height of 600 mm. The mix
was then ignited with natural gas at about 1150–1160uC
for 90 s with a suction of 1300 mm WG. Burnthrough
temperature was indicated by the peak in the waste gas
temperature. Completion of the sintering experiments
was determined by the burnthrough temperature. Cool-
ing of the sinter was performed by natural cooling. The
sintering conditions were kept constant for all the
experiments. The product sinter was taken for quality
analysis, as shown in Table 4.
Microstructural studies
Polished sections were prepared in a sample preparation
laboratory for microstructural studies using a polarised
microscope, and phase analysis was carried out by using
an image analyser.
Results and discussion
The sinter produced from pot tests was tested for
microstructure including phase analysis and physical
and metallurgical properties, including tumbler index
(TI), abrasion index, reduction degradation index (RDI)
and reducibility.

Coke breeze 370 Coke oven Microstructural properties

Nut coke 41 Coke oven Figure 3 shows the micrographs of sinter with mill scale
Coke dust/sludge 45 Coke oven
Ironmaking slag 4605 Blast furnace
from 0 to 70 kg/t of the sinter. The sinter with mill scale
Ironmaking sludge Blast furnace addition from 0 to 50 kg/t of sinter consists of haematite,
LD slag 3200 Steel melting shop magnetite, calcium ferrites, silicate phase and pore phase.
LD sludge 350 Steel melting shop We can observe needle-like calcium ferrites with mill scale
Lime fines Steel melting shop addition from 10 to 50 kg/t of sinter. The sinter with mill
Mill scale 270 Steel melting shop, mills scale addition from 60 to 70 kg/t of sinter consists only of
Fly ash 85 26130 MW power plant
magnetite and FeO phases. The influence of mill scale

Table 2 Raw material chemical analysis

Raw material Iron ore fines Limestone Dolomite Lime Mill scale Coke breeze BF return fines

Fe (T) 62.49 0.63 0.90 0.15 71.47 1.26 56.94

FeO 60.6 5.57
SiO2 4.87 1.40 2.87 1.19 1.65 14.96 5.51
Al2O3 2.28 0.30 0.57 0.20 0.63 7.74 4.42
CaO 0.49 51.00 30.22 82.77 1.42 0.50 6.86
MgO 0.02 3.38 19.82 2.19 0.31 0.26 2.13
C 0.49 74.74
Loss on ignition 2.45 42.79 44.48 12.81 7.00

Table 3 Raw material mix proportion

Mill scale, kg/t

Raw material 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Iron ore fines 56.36 55.84 55.01 54.24 53.51 52.73 52.00 51.14
Limestone 11.31 10.79 10.71 10.57 10.43 10.29 10.14 10.07
Dolomite 6.11 6.29 6.31 6.36 6.36 6.40 6.40 6.43
Mill scale 0.00 0.87 1.74 2.61 3.49 4.37 5.24 6.14
BF return fines 20.00 20.00 20.00 20.00 20.00 20.00 20.00 20.00
Lime 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Coke breeze 5.21 5.21 5.21 5.21 5.21 5.21 5.21 5.21

Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2012 VOL 39 NO 3 223

Umadevi et al. Recycling of steel plant mill scale via iron ore sintering plant

2 Facility of laboratory pot grate sinter machine at JSW Steel

addition on microstructural phase analysis is shown in

Fig. 4. With the increase in mill scale addition, the
magnetite and FeO phases increased (Fig. 3g and h), and
haematite, calcium ferrites, slag and pore phase
decreased. In the sinter with mill scale from 60 to 70 kg/
t of sinter, we can observe a fused sinter structure. The
sinter with mill scale addition from 60 to 70 kg/t of sinter
consists of wüstite phase (Fig. 3g, h1 and h2).

Influence of mill scale addition on sinter

chemistry and productivity
Figure 5 shows the influence of mill scale addition on
sinter FeO and total Fe content of the sinter. The FeO
and total Fe content of the sinter increased with the
increase in mill scale addition. Mill scale consists
primarily of magnetite (y61%FeO). During sintering,
the mill scale produces a lot of heat due to exothermic
reactions (equations (1) and (2)) and increases the
overall FeO content of the sinter product. Figure 6
shows the influence of mill scale addition on burn-
a nil; b 10 kg/t of sinter; c 20 kg/t of sinter; d 30 kg/t of
through temperature (wind box gas temperature). The sinter; e 40 kg/t of sinter; f 50 kg/t of sinter; g 60 kg/t of
total Fe content of the sinter increased due to the sinter; h1 70 kg/t of sinter; h2 70 kg/t of sinter
increase in FeO content. 3 Micrographs of sinter with different level mill scales
Table 4 Sinter test condition
Granulation Figure 7 shows the influence of mill scale addition on
Dry mixing of materialsz 2z2 min flame front speed. This decreased with the increase in
water addition mill scale addition. Sinter yield may be defined as the
Granulation time 3z1 min weight percentage of z5 mm fraction generated. The
Moisture 7.5–8.0% sinter yield was calculated by the net weight of over
Raw material size
z5 mm sinter divided by the total sinter cake weight.
Limestone and dolomite (23 mm) .90%
Coke breeze (23 mm) .90% More return fines in the sinter product mean a lower
Sintering yield. The sinter yield, productivity and sintering time
Hearth layer 5 kg (220z10 mm) with different level mill scale additions are shown in
Bed height 600 mm Figs. 8 and 9. The yield and sinter productivity
Ignition suction 600–700 mm H2O decreased with the increase in mill scale addition. The
Sintering suction 1200–1300 mm H2O
Heat input for ignition 1150–1160uC
yield decreased due to the increase in 25 mm fine
Sinter sizing generation. Mill scale addition increased the sintering
Screen size 50, 40, 20, 16, time due to loss in bed permeability.
10 and 5 mm Sinter bed permeability plays a vital role in controlling
Sintering performance the sinter properties and productivity. The loss in bed
Basicity (CaO/SiO2) 2.00
permeability was due to the generation of an additional
MgO, % 2.40
Coke breeze rate, kg/t 70 kg/t of sinter melt at higher temperature (Fig. 6) and which in turn
Productivity, t m22/day z5 mm size affected the heat front speed (Fig. 7) as well as the
Sinter yield z5 mm, % sintering reaction at the lower part of the sinter bed, and
Tumbler index (z6.3 mm), % ISO 3271:1995 it results in the production of lower strength sinter with
Reduction degradation ISO 4696-1 more fines. As the sintering temperature increases, the
index (23.15 mm), %
time required to cool down the sinter also increases.

224 Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2012 VOL 39 NO 3


4 Influence of mill scale addition on phase analysis
5 Influence of mill scale addition on sinter chemistry
The decrease in productivity was mainly due to the
deterioration in bed permeability and the decrease in
sinter yield. Manoj Kumar and Nandy also found that
the movement of flame front along the sinter bed is one
of the key process parameters that affects the formation
and stabilisation of phases in the sinter.3
Influence of mill scale addition on sinter
strength
The cold crushing strength of the sinter determines to
what extent the sinter will maintain its size during
different handling operations from the sinter plant to the
6 Influence of mill scale addition on burnthrough tem-
perature
Umadevi et al. Recycling of steel plant mill scale via iron ore sintering plant
blast furnace. The TI of the sinter is determined
according to the ISO 3271:1995 test procedure.
The influence of mill scale addition on sinter strength
is shown in Fig. 10. Experimental results show that the
sinter strength initially increased and reaches a max-
imum at mill scale addition of 40–50 kg/t of sinter and
afterwards declines with the increase in mill scale
addition. With the addition of mill scale at 60–70 kg/t
of the sinter, the thermal efficiency of the sinter bed was
not uniform due to the decrease in sinter bed perme-
ability.
During sintering, the mill scale releases extra heat due
to exothermic reactions, and some of the sinter bed is
excessively melted. This causes some unsintered parts
below it by blocking the airflow and by reducing the
flame front speed, resulting in poor sinter strength. On
the other hand, the binding structure of fused (over
sintered) parts is weakened, and this leads to a
deterioration of sinter strength (Fig. 3g, h1 and h2).
The silicoferrite of calcium and aluminium (SFCA)
phase decreased and the FeO phase increased with the
increase in mill scale addition. Kasai et al.,4 Inazumi and
Kasama5 and Nakano et al.6 also found that the
excessive melted part causes blocking of the air flowrate,
resulting in a heterogeneous sinter cake. The required
desired TI of the sinter is >68?0% (laboratory scale).
Figure 11 shows the effect of mill scale addition on
sinter mean size. The mean size of the sinter depends on
7 Influence of mill scale addition on flame front speed
Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2012 VOL 39 NO 3 225
Umadevi et al. Recycling of steel plant mill scale via iron ore sintering plant
8 Influence of mill scale addition on sinter yield
9 Influence of mill scale addition on sinter productivity
and sintering time
the strength of the sinter. A poor quality sinter yields
smaller a size sinter. The addition of mill scale above
50 kg/t of the sinter yields a poor quality sinter with
more fines, resulting in a decrease in mean particle size.
Influence of mill scale addition on sinter RDI
The RDI is defined as a quantitative measure of the
degree of disintegration, which could occur in the sinter
in the upper part of the blast furnace after some
reduction. The RDI of the iron ore sinter is determined
by the ISO 4696-1 test procedure.
Figure 12 shows the influence of mill scale addition on
the RDI of the sinter. The sinter RDI (23?15 mm)
10 Influence of mill scale addition on sinter strength
226 Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2012 VOL 39 NO
11 Influence of mill scale addition on sinter mean size
decreased with the increase in mill scale addition. Mill
scale addition in the sinter increased magnetite as well as
wüstite phase in the sinter and decreased the haematite
and SFCA phase. The presence of magnetite and wüstite
greatly influences the sinter RDI. The weakening and
degradation of sinter are associated with volume
increase due to the phase transformation of haematite
to magnetite present in the sinter. The RDI of the sinter
is directly related to the porosity of the sinter. The
porosity of the sinter decreased with the increase in mill
scale addition. The RDI of the sinter is controlled by the
amount of MgO, magnetite and pore phase.7 The RDI
of the sinter reduced from 26?5 to 22?0% with the
addition of mill scale from 0 to 70 kg/t of the sinter. The
required desired RDI (23?15 mm) of the sinter is
(28?0%.
Influence of mill scale addition on sinter
reducibility
Figure 13 shows the influence of mill scale addition on
iron ore sinter reducibility. The sinter reducibility
decreased with the increase in mill scale addition. The
reducibility of the sinter mainly depends on the
microstructural phases present in the sinter. Reduction
of haematite is faster than magnetite and wüstite phases.
With the increase in mill scale, the magnetite and wüstite
phases increase, and haematite, SFCA and pore phase
decrease. Because of the decrease in porosity due to
fused structure, the formation of magnetite and wüstite
phase reducibility of the sinter decreased (Fig. 4). It has
12 Influence of mill scale addition on sinter RDI
3

13 Influence of mill scale addition on sinter reducibility
also been established that the physical and metallurgical
sinter properties are strongly related to the mineralogy,
microscopic and macroscopic structure.8 The formation
of the fused type microstructure as well as a reduction in
micropores increases the gas diffusion resistance, leading
to the deterioration of Reducibility index (RI).9 The
required desired reducibility of the sinter is >60?0%.
Conclusions
1. The total Fe content of the sinter increased with
the increase in mill scale addition due to the overall
increase in FeO content of the sinter.
2. The sinter productivity decreased with the increase
in mill scale addition due to the decrease in sinter bed
permeability, sinter yield and increase in 25 mm sinter
fines.
3. The haematite, calcium ferrite, silicate and pore
phases decreased; however, the wüstite and magnetite
phases increased with the increase in mill scale addition.
4. The sinter strength initially increased, reached a
maximum at mill scale addition of 40–50 kg/t of sinter
and afterwards declined with the increase in mill scale
Umadevi et al. Recycling of steel plant mill scale via iron ore sintering plant
addition. The sinter with higher mill scale blocked the
air flowrate in the sinter bed with excessive melted part
and produced an unsintered product, resulting in a poor
sinter.
5. The sinter mean size initially increased and reached
a maximum at mill scale addition of 40–50 kg/t of sinter
and afterwards declined with the increase in mill scale
addition. The addition of mill scale above 50 kg/t of
sinter yields a poor quality sinter with more fines
resulting in a decrease in mean particle size.
6. The sinter RDI decreased with the increase in mill
scale addition due to the increase in overall FeO content.
7. The sinter reducibility decreased with the increase
in mill scale addition due to decreases in haematite and
SFCA phases.
8. Sinter yield and plant productivity decrease as the
mill scale quantity increases.
9. A maximum 40–50 kg mill scale can be used per
tonne of sinter to get the desired properties of the sinter.
This means that all the generated mill scale could be
used in the sinter plant.
References
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