Low temperature reactivity in agglomerates containing iron oxide

In this study, we have attempted to explain the complex reactions that occur during the dehydration of Ca(OH)₂, in the presence of solid carbon and Fe₂O₃, in order to clarify their role as eventual precursors to the reduction and high temperature strength characteristics in feedstock agglomerates of iron and steelmaking by-products. A series of simultaneous thermo-gravimetric (TG), differential thermal analytic (DTA), and mass spectrometric (MS) tests were performed on agglomerated sample mixes of Ca(OH)₂, C, and Fe₂O₃ to test the influence of heating rate and particle size on the transformations occurring below 1,073 K in inert atmosphere. The overall transformation begins with calcium hydroxide dehydration. Nucleation and growth of CaO grains during dehydration, as well as subsequent gasification of solid carbon, are highly dependent on the governing interstitial particle porosity and mildly dependent on the heating rate in and around agglomerates. The reduction of hematite in current agglomerates is, by association to preceding reactions, partly dependent on porosity and heating rate, but the mechanism of reduction was also found to be highly dependent on the particle size of iron oxides. Furthermore, in areas of intimate contact between CaO and iron oxide, a calcium ferrite phase appears in the form of angular and calcium-rich particles.