The Effect of Air Flow Rate on Sinter Yield, Sinter Strength and Ni Content in Sintering Laterite Nickel Ore

Abstract

The depletion of nickel sulphide ore supplies which are usually used to produce nickel metal encourages the use of laterite nickel ore due to the presence of more laterite in nature. Because laterite has a low strength and high water content, a process is needed so that it is used for Mini Blast Furnace, that is sintering. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of airflow rate on strength, sintering gain and Ni content on sintering laterite nickel ore. The variation of the air flow rate used are 5.45, 8.22, and 10.59 m 3 /min. To know the Ni content, EDX is tested on laterite and sintered. The strength of the sintered produced can be known by drop test. The phases that exist on laterite and sintered are known by XRD testing. The highest sinter yields were found at a flow rate of 10.59 m 3 /min with the acquisition of 12.079 kg of sinter. The highest sinter strength was achieved when using air flow rate of 10.59 m 3 /min with the shatter index of 65.24%. The highest Ni content was obtained when using air flow rate of 10.59 m 3 /min with Ni content of 3.8367%. The major phase of sinter are Pyroxene (CaFeSi 2 O 4 ) and Olivine ((Fe,Mg) 2 SiO 4 ). The best sintered results were obtained in the sintering process with an air flow rate of 10.59 m 3 /min.