Metso Full portfolio NextGen Pelletizing
pelletizing plant

NextGen™ Pelletizing

Build the pellet plants of the future

This visionary concept considers all relevant factors for energy efficiency, plant production, and pellet quality to enable a holistic optimization of the performance of the pelletizing process. It follows a modular approach to minimize the sources of CO2 from the three carbon-intensive steps involved in pelletizing, and introduces further improved gas schemes, advanced combustion and burner technology (LowNOx, Hydrogen, and alternative fuels) as well as increased plant stability and performance by advanced process control.

Key highlights

  • Further energy reduction by 5 to 10%
  • CO2 emission reduction by 80 to 90%
  • Production and availability increase by 10 to 15%
  • Improved product homogeneity and quality to support the transition of the steel industry
  • Modular approach in green and brownfield
Traveling Grate Pelletizing
Traveling Grate Pelletizing

The traveling grate indurating process is responsible for two-thirds of the world’s installed pelletizing capacity.
Metso offers the industry’s leading induration technology for iron ore pellet processing, which is based
on over 60 years of experience and world-class R&D.

This process produces pellets with excellent physical and metallurgical properties for a wide range of plant capacities up to >9 Mtpa. It ensures high performance and quality, low investment and operating costs, as well as reduced energy consumption and emissions. Since 1961, Metso has delivered more than 75 plants all over the world for a wide range of ore types. This is a testament to our market leadership and proven expertise throughout the years.

Evolving to changing needs

Carbon-neutral steelmaking and reduced greenhouse gas emissions are at the forefront of conversation in the steel industry today. Evidently, the transition to carbon-neutral steelmaking cannot be achieved without pelletizing with the availability of DR-grade iron ore pellets playing a crucial role.

While productivity, energy efficiency and emission levels of the plants have been significantly improved during the past 60 decades, the global challenge of climate change requires more drastic modernizations in design and operations in order to reduce the carbon footprint of these plants. Because of this, we have evolved our existing processes and developed the next generation of pelletizing plants to become carbon neutral and fully autonomous.

sustainability

Technologically advanced pelletizing process

Raw material preparation and mixing

For optimum raw material preparation, Metso utilizes a century of experience and reliable equipment, namely all types of grinding mills, filtration or regrinding with HPGR. The importance of the mixing is often underestimated for product quality and plant performance. We can select the best-suited equipment and can offer our patented MixGuard system for online measurement of the mixing performance.

Green pelletizing

Metso plants are normally using pelletizing discs in bigger plants, followed by roller screens. The green pellet quality and size distribution is paramount for the gas permeability of the pellet bed in the furnace and thus for product quality, energy consumption and process stability. Our proven online VisioPellet system controls the pellet quality and adjusting disc inclination, rotation speed, feed rate or water addition.

Induration furnace

The even and smooth feeding of the sensitive green pellets to the furnace is done with our proprietary reciprocating head and wide belt conveyor and our roller screens with the option for bi-layer operation. The traveling grate can be considered as the core of our plants, and is distinguished by unique mechanical performance, longevity and maintainability. Our main focus is on the energy efficiency, which is why we are continuously improving the different integral heat recovery systems in the furnace.

Another focus is on the combustion technology to reduce fuel consumption and emissions, particularly NOx, and to use alternative fuels such as hydrogen or available process gases. The overall performance of the induration process is supported by our digital online process optimizer, Optimus™.

 

See our flowsheet below for a more detailed representation of the process.

pelletizing flowsheet
proprietary equipment
In-house proprietary equipment

Metso proprietary equipment is always included for the main process areas.

It relies on the decades of process engineering experience and high degree of modularization:

  • Pelletizing discs
  • Special conveyors at feed station
  • Roller screens
  • Indurating machine
  • Pallet Cars
  • Digital Solutions
  • Burners (Standard, LowNOx)
Using digital solutions to build fully autonomous, modular, flexible & sustainable pellet plants

The increasing quality of DR-grade pellets require more stable operations in a narrower operating window and thus, higher level process control where the need for human intervention is minimized. Here, advanced process control (APC) is of paramount importance. The already available Metso Optimus process advisor controls the processes in the induration furnace by means of pressure, temperature, and fan-speed control.

The final aim is to control the entire process based on online measurement of the quality (strength and metallurgical composition) of the burned pellets.

Learn more about our Digital Solutions for pellet plants here

advanced process control
compact
An economical offering even for smaller-sized pellet plants

Smaller capacity plants allow mining companies to expand their value chain and support decentralized steel-making concepts such as mini-mills. Metso Compact-sized Pellet Plant answers this need with a design based on a 3-meter wide indurating machine. It offers the same high performance and premium product quality as the larger size plants.

High level of standardization ensures optimized capital and operating costs, as well as the shortest production time. At the same time, the modular plant design allows flexibility for customization and future upgrades.

Learn more about our Compact-sized Pellet Plant here

Innovations that optimize investments as well as operating costs.

Our innovations focus on improving plant performance and reliability, while reducing capital
investment and lifetime operating costs. For this, we are continuously developing and improving the process set-up, the mechanical design and the automation of our technology.

Since the 1960, we have conducted our own R&D centers research and testing with a wide range
of raw materials and process parameters, for both blast furnace and direct reduction pellets. Our
pot-grate rig with movable pots is one of the only ones in the world, and is simulating the complete pelletizing process very close to the set-up of an industrial plant.

The key objective for our test work for customer projects is to optimize product quality, productivity
and energy consumption. For this, our R&D Center can perform pelletizing tests in conjunction with beneficiation testing. The results are forming a proven and reliable basis for our plant configuration
and design, as well as for performance guarantees for both greenfield projects and plant modernizations.

Learn more about our the Metso Innovation Center here

 

Facilities for pelletizing tests:

  • Horizontal and bowl-type mixers
  • Pelletizing disks
  • Movable pot grate pilot plant for pelletizing tests
  • All relevant quality and metallurgical testing

 

traveling grate
Watch our NextGen Webinar: Unleash the Future
Metso will host a free webinar on the topic on 12 October, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. and 16:00 p.m.
Click here

Downloads

{{field.label}}
{{item.Title}} {{item.FileSizeKb}} {{item.FileSizeMb}}
{{ item.Title }}
Size
{{ item.FileSizeKb }}

Contact local sales experts

Select your industry to open the form.
Mining
Metals refining
Your information is safe. Check our privacy notice for more details.
Thank you!
We will shortly contact you. You can send a new inquiry again after 15 minutes.