Synthesis of Sulphur-Free Metallic Iron from Iron Oxide Using High-Sulphur Carbonaceous Materials as Reducing Agents

High sulphur carbonaceous materials like petroleum coke and rubber tyre are unsuitable as reductants in ironmaking because part of the sulphur is transferred to the reduced metal. Globally, while large amounts of petroleum coke are produced annually from the industrial processing of crude oil, billions of end-of-life rubber tyres are held in landfills and stockpiles. This work therefore investigates the potential feasibility of utilising these high sulphur carbonaceous materials as reductants in ironmaking without transferring the sulphur into the reduced metal. Composite pellets of iron oxide containing end-of-life rubber tyre (RT), petroleum coke and blends of RT/petroleum coke and petroleum coke/high density polyethylene (HDPE) were heated under argon atmosphere in a horizontal tube furnace. Reduced pellets were analysed after 10 minutes of reduction for their sulphur content. The results showed that sulphur-free metallic iron can be successfully synthesized using RT and petroleum coke as reductants. The level of desulphurisation depends on the nature of blending of the carbonaceous materials.