Quick Fact
Vaswani Industries Limited is the largest producer of Sponge Iron in Central India.
Sponge Iron
Sponge iron is also known as Direct Reduced Iron (DRI), is the product of reducing iron oxide in the form of iron ore into metallic iron, below the melting point of iron and typically in the range of 800–1200 °C. Sponge iron is used in the iron and steel industry as a substitute for scrap in induction and electrical arc furnaces.
Process
Sponge iron making is a process in which iron ore lumps (5mm-18mm size) are tumbled with a 'select' grade of coal & dolomite inside an inclined rotary kiln and control combusted in the presence of air for about 12 hours before the products are air cooled, magnetically separated, screened and size wise in finished product bunkers prior to dispatch. The process entails a direct reduction of the iron ore (i.e. removal of oxygen from the ore) in solid state to metalize the ore at a 'critical' temperature to make this possible.
The basic reduction reactions in a coal based DRI process is as follows:-
We are manufacturing DRI in following Specifications:
| Parameters/Material | DR Clo | Pellet |
|---|---|---|
| Fe(m) | 82(+-) 1 | 80 (+-) 1 |
| Carbon | 0.15 | 0.15 |
| Sulfur | 0.035 | 0.035 |
| Size | 0-20 mm | 3-20 mm |
| -1(mm) | <20% | - |