Per: Lucas machado pereira (ufmg), Paula Maria Gomes Cunha Leão (ufmg), Maurício Covcevich Bagatini (ufmg)
Abstract:
The use of biomass in self-reducing briquettes for use in the steel industry has become an important alternative for reducing CO2 emissions, both in terms of the sector's sustainability and from an economic perspective. In this regard, the aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the pyrolysis temperature of sugarcane bagasse and the percentage of biomass present in the briquette on the mechanical strength and mass loss in the process of obtaining metallic iron. The raw material underwent thermal treatment at two different temperatures, 250 and 550°C, and briquettes were produced for each pyrolysis temperature in three biomass proportions (5, 10, 15%). To test the mechanical strength, compression strength and drop tests were conducted, and mass loss was assessed using high-temperature muffle furnace tests (1100°C). Thus, aiming for the use of these briquettes in blast furnaces, the composition with the best performance was identified as being 15% biomass with a pyrolysis temperature of 550°C, resulting in a mass loss of 93,54% and a cold mechanical strength of 542,26 N, with a slight decrease in hot mechanical strength to 346,47 N.