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Achieve uniform sinter quality at low operational costs

Sinter is the primary feed material for making iron in a blast furnace. The production of high-quality sinter is crucial for assuring consistent, stable furnace productivity with a low consumption of reductants. Sinter quality begins with the proper selection and mixing of the raw materials. Inhomogeneous raw mix can affect permeability and cause an increase in fuel consumption.

Thermo Fisher Scientific offers advanced systems and equipment for all aspects of iron and steel manufacturing, particularly for measuring and controlling sintering process fluctuations, inhomogeneous mixtures, and other parameters that affect productivity, physical and metallurgical quality, and raw material consumption and costs.

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Products used in sintering and iron and steel manufacturing

Achieve consistent stockpile control and material sorting and blending. The Thermo Scientific CB Omni Agile provides real-time online elemental analysis of an entire raw material process stream using a choice of Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA) or Pulsed Fast Thermal Neutron Activation (PFTNA) technology.

Optimize a diverse range of hot metal production processes, from the blast furnace to the galvanizing line. The Thermo Scientific Prima PRO Process Mass Spectrometer provides fast, accurate, comprehensive gas analysis, enabling integrated steel mills and mini-mills to efficiently monitor primary and secondary conversion methods.


Featured video for iron ore sintering products

Why sinter feed composition control matters
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Sinter is the primary feed material for making iron in a blast furnace. Sinter is created by mixing iron ore concentrate with several additives such as limestone and silica to control the chemistry and then igniting it at 1200°C in a continuous belt-fed furnace.

Sinter feed composition control is important because the various sinter feed materials are not perfectly characterized and their chemical makeup varies within a batch and between batches. 

As the raw feed material chemistry changes, the additive feed rates should be adjusted to smooth out these variations in the sinter strand feed chemistry.

The basicity of sinter feed material is an important parameter in the efficient operation of the sintering and iron making process. Basicity is a calculated chemical parameter composed of the ratio of two or more elements that are known to affect the alkalinity of the material. Stabilization of the basicity of the sinter product delivers benefits not only to the sinter operations but to the downstream iron making process.

The CB Omni Online Elemental Analyzer can help control the sinter feed basicity and provide a more consistent feed to the sinter strand. The benefits of real-time chemical analysis data provided by the CB Omni analyzer include:

  • More consistent sinter product—improves sinter quality and stabilizes feed to the blast furnace
  • Increased sinter strand and blast furnace throughput due to reduced sinter product variability
  • Decreased return fines lowers material handling costs
  • Reduced load on laboratory, allowing capacity to be used elsewhere without incurring additional costs
  • Net reduction in cost per ton of sinter production

To learn more, read the application note Application of On-line Elemental Analysis for Control of Sinter Feed Basicity

Download steel, mining, and coal apps

This app illustrates the application of Thermo Fisher Scientific solutions across the Integrated Steel plant workflow, from raw material handling to coke plant, sinter plant, blast furnace, hot rolling, cold rolling, coil coating, and lab equipment. Find out how you can leverage these solutions to optimize your steel plant operations.

Explore the app

This app illustrates the application of Thermo Fisher Scientific solutions across the Integrated Steel plant workflow, from raw material handling to coke plant, sinter plant, blast furnace, hot rolling, cold rolling, coil coating, and lab equipment. Find out how you can leverage these solutions to optimize your steel plant operations.

Explore the app

Related categories for sintering and iron and steel manufacturing

A belt scale system can monitor production output and inventory, or control product loadout, while providing vital management and operational information.

Flow measurement systems provide continuous, real-time flow measurement of free-falling materials or dense phase, pneumatically conveyed bulk solids.

High-precision weigh feeders help maintain blend consistency and product quality in low, mid-range, and heavy-duty applications.

Continuous level measurement devices penetrate dust, steam, vapors, and other harsh environmental obstacles to provide precise, reliable readings. 


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PGNAA/PFTNA Technology

The CB Omni analyzer uses Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA) or Pulsed Fast Thermal Neutron Activation (PFTNA) to determine elemental concentration in bulk materials. The method is deeply penetrative and measures through many centimeters of material, making it an ideal technology for real-time analysis of bulk materials on conveyor belts.

To learn more about PGNAA (prompt gamma neutron activation analysis) and PFTNA (pulsed fast thermal neutron activation), visit the PGNAA and PFTNA Technology page.