MMD JOURNAL / MINING.IN.UA Mining of Mineral Deposits Volume 16 (2022), Issue 2, 55-63 ________________________________ Received: 5 October 2021. Accepted: 3 May 2022. Available online: 30 June 2022 © 2022. L. Kieush et al. Mining of Mineral Deposits. ISSN 2415-3443 (Online) | ISSN 2415-3435 (Print) This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 55 https://doi.org/10.33271/mining16.02.055 Influence of biocoke on iron ore sintering performance and strength properties of sinter Lina Kieush 1,2* , Andrii Koveria 3 , Maksym Boyko 4 , Maksym Yaholnyk 4 , Andrii Hrubiak 5 , Lavr Molchanov 6 , Volodymyr Moklyak 5 1 National Metallurgical Academy of Ukraine, Dnipro, Ukraine 2 Montanuniversität Leoben, Leoben, Austria 3 Dnіpro University of Technology, Dnipro, Ukraine 4 Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies, Dnipro, Ukraine 5 G.V. Kurdyumov Institute for Metal Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine 6 Iron and Steel Institute of Z.I. Nekrasov of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Dnipro, Ukraine *Corresponding author: e-mail lina.kieush@stud.unileoben.ac.at Abstract Purpose. The research purpose is to substantiate the use of biocoke as a fuel in the iron ore sintering, as well as its influence on the performance and properties of the resulting sinter. To completely replace conventional coke breeze, biocoke is produced using 5 wt.% biomass wood pellets at different carbonization temperatures of 950 or 1100°C. Further, the influence of biocoke on the sintering process and the sinter quality is studied at a high proportion of biomass pellets of 10, 15, 30, 45 wt.% and a carbonization temperature of 950°C. Methods. Carbonization is performed in shaft-type electric furnaces to produce laboratory coke or biocoke. Afterward, the sintering of iron ores is conducted on a sinter plant. To assess the sintering process and the quality of the resulting sinter, the filtration rate is determined on a laboratory sinter plant using a vane anemometer designed to measure the directional flow average velocity under industrial conditions. The sinter reducibility is studied using a vertical heating furnace to assess the effect of coke and biocoke on the sinter’s physical-chemical properties. Findings. It has been determined that biocoke, carbonized at a temperature of 950°C, has good prospects and potential for a shift to a sustainable process of iron ore sintering. Originality. It has been proven that biocoke with a biomass pellet ratio of up to 15 wt.%, obtained at a temperature of 950°C, does not affect the parameters characterizing the sintering process. The sinter strength indicators correspond to the use of 100 wt.% conventional coke breeze. Biocoke used with a high proportion of biomass pellets of 30 and 45 wt.% causes a deterioration in the sinter quality. Practical implications. The results of using biocoke with the addition of 5-15 wt.% biomass pellets and at a temperature of 950°C are within the standard deviation, which makes it possible to use biocoke with 15 wt.% biomass pellets instead of indus- trial coke breeze. Keywords: biocoke, coke breeze, iron ore sinter, sintering process, sintering performance, strength, wood pellets 1. Introduction Iron ore sintering is an energy-intensive metallurgical process [1]. This complex metallurgical process remains the most widely used sintering process worldwide for preparing ferrous burden for the blast furnace (BF). As a result of the sintering process, a partially reduced and porous iron sinter is obtained, comparable to lump iron ore. This partially reduced ore mass can be 40–60% of the iron content in the blast fur- nace feedstock [2]. However, the iron ores sintering process also poses a significant environmental hazard. Among all the processes involved in steel production, sintering is the prima- ry source of emissions, accounting for approximately 45% of the total steel industry emissions [3], [4]. Additionally, coke breeze is used as a fuel for sintering, which is accompanied by pollutant emissions. Therefore, the use of raw biomass or biomass after carbonization to partially replace coal in the production of coke, which is then used as a fuel in sintering, can be advocated for mitigating the environmental burden. The use of renewable materials to produce biofuels [5]- [8] for various purposes [9]-[13] is relevant for solving global climate problems [14]-[16]. However, the peculiari- ties of technological processes using carbon materials are limiting factors. Therefore, obtaining biomaterials with properties no worse than conventional ones allows for ex- panding the possibilities of using renewable raw materials. In addition to knowing the biomass properties and the spe- cifics of the processes of its application [17]-[20], it is im- portant to use technological solutions that improve the