Acta Metallurgica Slovaca - Conference, Vol. 4, 2014, p. 23-30 Acta Metall. Slovaca Conf. 23 DOI 10.12776/amsc.v4.261 ISSN 1338-1660 THE STUDY OF SAW-DUST ADDITION ON IRON-ORE SINTERING PERFORMANCE Robert Findorák 1) *, Mária Fröhlichová 1) , Jaroslav Legemza 1) 1) Department of Ferrous Metallurgy and Foundry, Faculty of Metallurgy, Technical University of Košice, Park Komenského 14, 040 01 Košice, Slovakia Received: 12.10.2014 Accepted: 18.04.2014 *Corresponding author: e-mail: robert.findorak@tuke.sk Tel.: +421 055 602 3155, Department of Ferrous Metallurgy and Foundry, Faculty of Metallurgy, Technical University of Košice, Park Komenského 14, 040 01 Košice, Slovakia Abstract An investigation was carried out into the use of saw-dust form oak wood as a supplementary fuel in the iron ore sintering process. The primary fuel was coke breeze and total heat output of all the tested raw blends was the same and was calculated as 3.8 wt. % coke breeze. The coke substitution and energy requirement provided by saw-dust from oak wood (SDOW) was in the range of 8 - 44 %. Experimental tests were made by using a laboratory sinter pot (LSP) with charge capacity of around 70 – 90 kg per run. The main objective of the work reported here was to determine the effects of substituting coke with saw-dust from oak wood in the iron ore sintering process with respect to combustion efficiency and sinter quality. The use of SDOW fuel up to 20 % as a partial substitution of coke resulted in a decrease in the sintering time but on the other hand with the increasing of SDOW the bed temperatures were reduced. A substitution of coke with SDOW more than 20 % may lead to decrease in permeability of mixture and consequently it may lead to achieve low temperature profile of bed. Explain in more detail and interpretation of results is described in the paper. Keywords: saw-dust, coke breeze, biomass, sintering process, laboratory sinter-pot 1 Introduction Sintering process converts fine powdered iron ores and concentrates into agglomerate, which possesses the necessary strength and gas permeability for efficient high-productivity blast furnace operation [1]. Metallurgical grade coke breeze (under 3 mm) is generally recognised as being the best fuel for the iron ore sintering process. In recent years, biomass is becoming an attractive alternative source of energy to traditional fossil fuels. It is well known that within an integrated steelworks, iron ore sinter making is an energy intensive process and moreover this process contributes up to 10 % of the overall mass of carbon dioxide released from an integrated iron and steelworks [2]. At the present time, requirements for availability, process quality and productivity of sinter plants are continuously growing, and can only be met with designs suitable for the rugged iron and steel making environment. At the same time, a growing number of environmental regulations necessitate extensive investment. Especially a sinter plants with their high quantity of emissions have an important environmental impact. As a feasible solution it can be partial or entire replacement for coke breeze in the sintering process. It is attractive in case of biomass usage because it is considered to be carbon neutral since the fuel is derived from plant biomass, through photosynthesis and also for its lower costs