Analysis of Commercial Activated Carbon Controlling Ultra-fined Particulate Emissions from Iron Ore Sintering Process

Abstract

This study investigated the characteristics of activated carbon removing ultra-fined particulates PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 from sintering flue gas, and discussed the potential mechanism. Experimental results show that activated carbon (AC) exhibited greater removal efficiency to PM₁₀ than PM_2.5, and increasing the thickness of AC or reducing AC grain size facilitated the removal of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5. The removal ratio of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 achieved 67.3% and 58.7% when AC bed thickness and grain size were 200 mm and 3–5 mm, respectively. Bigger particles in PM₁₀ was susceptible to inertial effect, making their easier removal and higher removal ratio. AC bed thickness and bulk porosity (negatively relatively to AC grain size) presented positive relationship with the removal efficiency of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5, which therefore exhibited higher removal ratio with the bed thickness increased and grain size reduced. The research findings benefit the effective control of ultra-fined particulates in practical sintering plants.