Binding Mechanism in Green Iron Ore Pellets with an Organic Binder

Abstract

Organic binders have been used as alternative to bentonite in the iron ore pelletizing process mainly because it burns without leaving residue in the pellet. There are two main types of organic binders, those based on cellulose and those based on polyacrylamide structures. The purpose of this investigation was to explore how an organic binder based on carboxymethyl cellulose structure improves the compressive strength of wet and dry pellets. Thus, the interaction between the binder Peridur® and the mineral surface and the content of goethite in two Brazilian pellet feed were investigated. This work has found that the same organic binder performs differently depending on the type of iron ore processed.