In-flight iron ore reduction and nanoparticle formation in an atmospheric pressure hydrogen microwave plasma

Zichang Xiong, Sachin Kumar, Julian Held, Peter Bruggeman, Uwe Kortshagen

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Abstract

The in-flight reduction of iron ore particles using an atmospheric pressure hydrogen plasma is investigated. Iron ore particles with a size less than 75 µm are aerosolized and carried with an argon-hydrogen (90%-10%) gas mixture through an atmospheric pressure microwave plasma. After the treatment, the collected particles are observed to follow three distinct populations: (i) fully reduced nanoparticles, (ii) partially reduced spheres, larger than the feedstock, and (iii) partially melted, partly reduced agglomerates. A model is developed to explain the possible mechanism for the origin of the three populations. The nanoparticles (i) are found to be likely formed from the previously evaporated material whereas the particles (ii) and (iii) result from the partial/complete melting of the particles and agglomerates flowing through the reactor. The gas temperature is estimated to be more than 2000 K, which enables the rapid melting, evaporation, and reduction of these particles within residence times of only a few 10 ms.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number355201
JournalJournal of Physics D: Applied Physics
Volume57
Issue number35
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 6 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd.

Keywords

  • evaporation
  • hydrogen plasma
  • iron
  • iron ore reduction
  • microwave plasma
  • nanoparticles
  • plasma processing

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