Assessing MgO/Al2O3 Effect on Limonitic Laterite Sintering Process

Sintering-blast furnace process is one of the most common methods for treating limonitic lateriteLimonitic laterite. To reduce the negative impact of high aluminum content on the viscosityViscosity of blast furnace slagBlast furnace slag, adjusting the MgO/Al2O3MgO/Al2O3 ratio of sinter is simple and effective. However, the effect of MgO/Al2O3MgO/Al2O3 on the sinteringSintering process of limonitic lateriteLimonitic laterite is still not clear. In this study, the effect of MgO/Al2O3MgO/Al2O3 ratio on the output and quality indexes, phase compositionsPhase composition, and liquid phase content of sinter was investigated detailly. The results indicated that within the range of MgO/Al2O3MgO/Al2O3 of 0.1–0.4, the output and quality indexes of the limonitic lateriteLimonitic laterite sinter showed minimal fluctuations. While the value exceeded 0.4, the liquid phase content in the sinter significantly decreased, leading to a reduction of sinter strength. The MgO contentMgO content in the liquid phase approached saturation after 0.4 MgO/Al2O3MgO/Al2O3, further increasing the ratio would cause MgO to accumulate in spinelSpinel.