Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Fuel journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/fuel Full Length Article Partial substitution of coke breeze with biomass and charcoal in metallurgical sintering Gaurav Jha a, ⁎ , Shatrughan Soren a , Kapil Deo Mehta b a Department of Fuel Minerals and Metallurgical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad 826004, India b Mineral Processing Division, CSIR – National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur 831007, India ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Biofuel Carbon-neutral Clean and green energy GHG emissions Metallurgical sintering ABSTRACT This study investigates the sintering behavior of iron ore and its modification regarding the conventional and alternative fuel delivery systems. The modification aims to find an established alternative source of fuel for sintering which would be greener and cleaner. In the process, it will additionally facilitate the development of sustainable technology for cleaner production. The novel strategy mentioned here depends on biomass for heating and reduction purposes. Even though biomass is yet to be validated as a fuel source, there have been widespread research activities across the globe on its usage and efficacy as an alternate fuel source. Previously, several experiments failed in developing the desired quality of sinter by complete substitution with biomass. In the present study, sintering was carried out with variable proportions of biomass and coke to seek out the optimum quantity of biomass that could effectively replace coke. It succeeded in replacing coke by 10% of sawdust, 30% of wood charcoal, and 30% by a combination of sawdust and charcoal. The temperature-time profile indicated the potential of charcoal to generate the maximum temperature in the shortest interval. An opposite response was recorded in the case of sawdust. Coke was found to generate a relatively lower tem- perature in a relatively long period as compared to charcoal. Sinter reducibility and strength properties were also examined during the present study to determine the technical feasibility of the suggested method. 1. Introduction Metallurgical sintering is an energy-intensive and complex process that has great importance for the iron and steel industry [1-3]. Sintering produces partially reduced and porous mass of ore, which is compar- able to lump iron ore. This partially reduced mass of ore can make up 40–60% of the blast furnace iron-bearing feed. Sintering gained popu- larity as a result of the steady depletion of iron ore resources and de- terioration of the ore quality. This sintering practice basically involves the method of incipient fusion in which the fusion takes place within the mass itself [3-5]. The energy required for heating and the reduction in metallurgical operations has been traditionally provided by coke. Coke is a carbonized product of coal (fossil fuels) prepared through coking. Coke is significantly being used for heating and reducing ap- plications in metallurgical operations for decades. In recent years, various policies and regulations made by the environmental protection agencies, have restricted unchecked usage of coal/coke in the sintering process [6,7]. Excessive usage of coal/coke severely affects the en- vironment by generating a huge amount of GHG emissions [8-10]. These emissions, including NOx, SOx, dioxins, contribute to 50% of the total emissions generated from the steel industry [11,12]. In 2014, 0.6 million tonnes of NOx were emitted in China from sintering which contributed up to 16.71% of the total emissions (NOx, SOx, PM 2.5 , and PM 10 ) [13]. The reduction of NOx emission has become an important agenda around the globe due to its widespread industrial ramification. The complex behavior of NOx during the combustion process is another factor of concern. The reduction of its emission depends on the com- bustion rate and physical properties of coke, which vary significantly [14]. SOx emissions from steel plants have also reached a staggering Fig. 1. According to the study by Qie et al. [15], published in 2014, in China alone 18.59 million tonnes of SOx were emitted yearly. SOx emissions were reached approximately 41.11% of the total emissions released from sintering in 2014 [13]. Considering the severe environ- mental damage caused by these emissions and also because of the di- minishing supply of conventional energy sources, there is a massive requirement for an alternative source of fuel, which would ensure fu- ture energy security [16-18]. The objective of the present study is to try finding a cleaner energy source for heating and reduction purposes in sintering process. Biomass is one of a kind and thus introduced here as a fuel source for sintering. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2020.118350 Received 2 March 2020; Received in revised form 27 May 2020; Accepted 8 June 2020 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: gjha29311@gmail.com (G. Jha). Fuel 278 (2020) 118350 0016-2361/ © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. T