Characterization of Cold Briquetted Iron (CBI)By X-Ray Diffraction Technique

Abstract

This study focuses on the characterization of cold briquetted iron (CBI) using powder diffraction techniques. CBI is under-sized metallic fines produced during the direct reduction process (DR-process), which are made into briquettes when they are cold using sodium silicate and lime as binder and flux respectively. Powder sample of CBI was prepared by crushing and grinding some of the briquettes and sieved through 30-microns aperture. Thereafter, the constituent phases in the sample were identified using X-Ray Powder Diffraction (XRD) techniques and scanning electron microscopy. It was observed that CBI includes among others, 67% metallic iron, 23% cementite, 5% silica and 5% wustite. It was also noted that the concentrations of the constituent phases were not uniformly distributed. The spherical quartz particles were found to be concentrated along the crack lines, which were suspected to be initiator of these cracks and crevices that characterize CBI.

Structure and magnetic properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified with iron

“…The other distinctive characteristic of CNT is the peak at 2θ = 42.7°, which corresponds to the (100) reflection [9]. A peak at the angle of 2θ = 35.4° corresponds to the iron oxide (110) reflection [10]. The iron oxide (202) reflection at 42.6° is superimposed by a much stronger CNT (100) feature.…”

“…The iron oxide (202) reflection at 42.6° is superimposed by a much stronger CNT (100) feature. Another peak observed in the recorded patterns is the iron carbide peak, IC (103), at 2θ = = 44.8° [10,11]. This iron carbide phase is presumably a residue of CNT growth due to precipitation of carbon feed from catalyst/hydrocarbon drops [11].…”

“…This iron carbide phase is presumably a residue of CNT growth due to precipitation of carbon feed from catalyst/hydrocarbon drops [11]. Finally, the crystalline phase of α-Fe is represented by a strong (110) reflexion, which is represented by additional peak at 51.1° [10].…”

Response of cold briquetted iron (CBI) to high temperatures treatment

“…CBI among others consists of about 3.5 wt. % carbon (Table 1) [13,16] which can react with oxygen at this temperature to form products that depend on its availability.…”

“…As for DRI, a lot of works have been done on its high-temperature applications [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. For instance, many successes have been reported in the application of DRI in electric arc furnace [7,8], Blast furnace [9,10], BOF [11] and foundries [12 -13].…”