International Journal of Minerals, Metallurgy and Materials

Volume 19, Number 11, Nov 2012, Page 992

DOI: 10.1007/s12613-012-0660-9

Characterization of dolochar wastes generated by the sponge iron industry

Ranjan Kumar Dwari1), Danda Srinivas Rao1), Akhila Kumar Swar2), Palli Sita Ram Reddy1), and
Barada Kanta Mishra1)
1) CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
2) Odisha State Pollution Control Board, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
(Received: 24 November 2011; revised: 3 May 2012; accepted: 4 May 2012)

Abstract: Solid wastes generated by the metallurgical industry contribute significantly towards the enhancement of environmental pollution.
The handling, utilization, and safe disposal of these solid wastes are major concerns for the world. Dolochar is such a solid waste generated
by the sponge iron industry. Investigations were carried out on the physical, mineralogical, and chemical characteristics for the efficient
utilization of dolochar. The detailed studies on physico-chemical properties and petrography were carried out by optical microscopy, X-ray
diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Characterization studies revealed that the dolochar consists of quartz (free as
well as locked), free lime, Fe particles, and Ca or Mg and/or Ca+Mg+Fe oxide phases. The washability data of –300 µm dolochar samples
indicated that clean coal with 41wt% ash at 18% yield can be produced from dolochar with 78wt% ash. The studies further suggested that the
liberation of the dolochar is hard to achieve for clear separation. The dolochar is observed to have high ash fusion temperature and the un-
burned carbon can be best utilized for power generation.
Keywords: solid wastes; sponge iron; dolochar; characterization; mineralogy; trace elements

[This work was financially supported by the Odisha State Pollution Control Board, Bhubaneswar, India.]

consists of devolatilized dolomite and coal [14], which are

1. Introduction the ingredients for making sponge iron along with iron ore.
Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel resource in the Dolochar represents the non-magnetic fraction from the DRI
world and has played and will continue to play a vital role as process.
an essential commodity in the supply of energy to the indus- The principal raw materials required for sponge iron
tries. During pulverised coal combustion, the coal particles production are iron ore, non-coking coal, and dolomite. For
are rapidly pyrolyzed to yield char particles. Many investi- the production of 100 t sponge iron, there are 154 t (65wt%
gations have been focused on how to describe the different Fe) iron ore and 120 t (B grade) coal required. The solid
structural types of char particles and assign them into spe- waste generated during this process is around 45 t and out of
cific categories [1-13]. Dolochar is one such char produced which 25 t is char and widely known as dolochar. Because
as a by-product of direct reduction of iron (DRI) process for of the non-availability of good grade coal, the sponge iron
the production of sponge iron. Development of suitable industries are using poor quality (F grade) coal with more
processes for the recovery of carbon values from the dolo- than 40wt% ash content [15]. Therefore, the amount of raw
char is important for bulk utilisation, value addition, and/or materials required per tonne of product is higher than the
moving towards zero waste technology. The prospects of ideal values, which in turn generate more waste. It has been
using dolochar as an iron ore sinter feed blends were also estimated that there are 146 rotary kilns operating in Odisha,
investigated [14]. Dolochar is the name derived because it India. The total capacity of sponge iron production in these
Corresponding author: Ranjan Kumar Dwari E-mail: rkdwari@immt.res.in, ranjandwari@gmail.com
© University of Science and Technology Beijing and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012
R.K. Dwari et al., Characterization of dolochar wastes generated by the sponge iron industry 993

kilns is 16000 tonnes per day (TPD) and the corresponding the suitable process for the recovery of carbon values from
dolochar generated is around 3.8 million tonnes per annum the dolochar and for its safe disposal.
(TPA). The problem of dolochar generation is exorbitantly
high due to the use of inferior quality of coal in the sponge 2. Experimental
iron manufacturing industry. Disposal of such a huge
2.1. Material
amount is a major concern [16]. After reduction in kiln, the
char and sponge iron produced are cooled and then sepa- Representative lump and fine dolochar samples of 50 kg
rated by a dry magnetic separator. The dolochar invariable each from two different operating sponge iron plants were
contains 15wt%-30wt% unburnt carbon. This implies that a obtained from Odisha, India for detailed characterisation
large proportion of carbon values are going to be wasted and studies.
its commercial recovery by any suitable physical process
2.2. Physical and chemical characterization
can give added advantage to the economy along with effi-
cient utilization of resources. The dolochar generated until Each dolochar sample was thoroughly mixed and a rep-
now is used for land-filling at the nearest site or dumped in resentative sample was prepared. The representative sample
neighbouring dump sites with little consideration of their was subjected to complete size analysis down to micron size
effect on the water and soil environment and in minor in- by standard sieving method using standard sieves. All the
stances as fuel in boilers, brick making industries, also as fractions were dried and weighed. The representative sample
domestic fuel [14]. The char generated may contain toxic from each size fraction was prepared for proximate analysis,
substances, which create serious environmental problem if washability and petrography studies by following the con-
leached. Consequently, these materials must either be recy- ventional procedures.
cled to use the carbon values or disposed properly without The chemical characterizations of both the dolochar sam-
creating any environmental problem. Das et al. [17] and ples were carried out by using standard wet chemical analy-
Panda et al. [18] investigated the recovery of carbon values sis and atomic absorption spectroscopy. The calorific value
present in dolochar through flotation and could not achieve was measured by using LECO Bomb Calorimeter. The
any significant recovery due to poor liberation and lack of proximate analysis of different size fractions was deter-
hydrophobicity of the carbon particle present in dolochar. mined by using thermogravimetric analysis (LECO TGA
Dolochar is highly heterogeneous in nature, and for this 601). The TGA was operated under N2 atmosphere for
reason, several analytical techniques are needed for its moisture and volatile matter analysis, whereas an oxygen
characterization. Conventional analysis such as proximate atmosphere was used for ash analysis. The approximately 10
analysis, ash analysis, and ash fusion temperatures indicate mg sample was used for ash analysis where the heating rate
dolochar as a homogeneous material and provide only bulk was maintained at 10°C/min, and the airflow rate was 6 L/min.
properties. Because of coal’s diversity in rank, variation in The ultimate analysis of representative bulk lump and bulk
composition and the complexity of the combustion process fine dolochar samples was carried out with LECO CHN
immensely influence the dolochar formation under rapid analyzer. The ash fusion temperature analysis of dolochar
pyrolysis process. These are mainly porous solids and have ash samples was carried out with heating microscopes and
optical dilatometer (Hesse Instruments, Germany).
diverse and complex mineralogical assemblages. In the
sponge iron making process, raw materials also undergo 2.3. Petrography study
chemical reactions and due to which gangue and the carbon
Petrological studies were carried out using Leitz petrolo-
particles may be present in the dolochar in synthetic phases.
gical and stereomicroscope. Some of the samples were also
Hence, characterization is one of the key factors that need studied under an electron probe microscope to confirm the
to be established before developing an appropriate benefici- microscopic findings. Bulk ash samples were subjected by
ation process. Therefore, a detailed investigation on phys- X-ray diffraction (XRD) to find out its mineralogical con-
ico-chemical and petrography analysis is essential for better tent. The mineral carbon inclusion in the dolochar was stud-
utilization of the waste. The present investigation aims to ied using SEM (Hitachi S-3400N) equipped with energy
characterise the dolochar and study its liberation characteris- dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis for elemental map-
tics. Optical and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) ping. In the present investigation SEM and EDS were used
studies were carried out in the present case such that infor- to characterise the morphology and mineral-carbon inclu-
mation and the findings can play a better role in selecting sion in the grinded dolochar sample. A representative sam-
994 Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., Vol.19, No.11, Nov 2012

ple of dolochar particles was sprinkled onto the dou- sample contained 24.85wt% carbon, 0.48wt% hydrogen and
ble-sided carbon tape mounted on a SEM stub to determine 0.80wt% nitrogen. The trace element analysis carried out
the particle morphology, external surface structure, and ele- with atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) of bulk dolo-
mental distribution. char lump and fine samples are given in Table 3. The main
trace elements present in parts per million (ppm) level are
2.4. Washability study
Pb, Cr, Mn, Ni, Co, Cu, Zn, As, and Hg. The lump dolochar
The washability studies were carried out for each size sample has higher Pb and As contents (12.0 and 19.5 µg·g−1,
fraction of bulk lump and fine dolochar samples by sink and respectively) than the fine dolochar sample. The fine dolo-
float method by using a mixture of acetone and bromoform, char sample has higher Cr, Mn, Ni, and Zn contents (105.0,
a medium at different specific gravities ranging from 1.3 to 609.0, 41.0, and 53.0 µg·g−1, respectively) than the lump
2.2. The sink and float products were washed thoroughly by dolochar sample. Both lump and fine dolochar samples have
acetone, dried and analysed for ash by following standard relatively the same amount of Co, Cu, and Hg contents.
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
method. The washability data were computed from the re- Table 1. Proximate analysis of bulk lump and fine dolochar
samples
sults.
Sample Moisture / Volatile mat- Ash / F.C. / GCV /
3. Results and discussion details wt% ter / wt% wt% wt% (kJ·kg−1)
Dolochar
2.8 0.12 85.43 14.45 3898.75
3.1. Physical and chemical characterization lump
Dolochar
The bulk densities of lump and fine dolochar samples are 3.6 0.84 76.37 22.79 7031.31
fine
990 and 958 kg·m-3, respectively. The proximate analysis,
gross calorific value, and wet chemical analysis of the bulk Table 2. Wet chemical analysis of bulk lump and fine dolo-
lump and fine dolochar samples are presented in Tables 1 char samples wt%
and 2. The results indicate that both lump and fine samples Constituent Lump dolochar Fine dolochar
have very high ash content, i.e. 85.43wt% and 76.37wt%, Fe 6.7 4.8
respectively and low fixed carbon (FC) 14.45wt% and CaO 2.08 3.59
22.79wt%, respectively. The volatile matter (VM) in both MgO 1.22 1.67
the samples is less than 1wt% whereas the moisture content SiO2 43.65 48.39
of lump and fine dolochar samples are 2.8wt% and 3.6wt%,
Al2O3 20.67 15.97
respectively. The gross calorific value (GCV) of the lump
VM 0.12 0.84
and fine dolochar samples are 3898.75 and 7031.31 kJ/kg,
FC 14.45 22.79
which corroborate the carbon content correspondingly in the
sample. The wet chemical analysis of dolochar samples Table 3. Trace element analysis of bulk lump and fine dolo-
suggests that the major constituents of inorganic inert mate- char samples ppm
rial present in the char are Fe, SiO2, and Al2O3. The lump Elements Lump dolochar Fine dolochar
samples contain higher percentage of iron than the fine
Pb 12.0 4.0
samples. The content of SiO2 present in the lump dolochar
Cr 78.5 105.0
sample is 43.65wt%, whereas that in the fine dolochar sam-
Mn 352.0 609.0
ple is 48.39wt%. The content of Al2O3 present in the lump
Ni 27.5 41.0
and fine dolochar samples are 20.67wt% and 15.97wt%, re-
Co 14.0 14.0
spectively. The contents of CaO present in these samples are
more than 2wt%, which may result in high alkaline solutions. Cu 12.5 15.0
The overall constituents of dolochar depict the type of raw Zn 38.8 53.0
material used in the sponge iron production and also suggest As 19.5 6.25
that nearly 20wt% of carbon values are unutilized and re- Hg 5.5 6.6
ported in the char during sponge iron making. The carbon,
3.2. Size classification studies
hydrogen, nitrogen analysis result indicates that the lump
dolochar sample contained 15.69wt% carbon, 0.44wt% hy- The classification of lump dolochar samples was carried
drogen, and 0.59wt% nitrogen, whereas the fine dolochar out by dry sieving method using standard sieves, different
R.K. Dwari et al., Characterization of dolochar wastes generated by the sponge iron industry 995

size fractions viz. +15, –15+10, –10+6, –6+3, –3+2, –2+1, can be reduced from 83.67wt% to 77.32wt%.
and –1 mm were prepared, and their detail weight percent-
The classification of dolochar fine samples was carried
age and proximate analysis are given in Table 4. The size
out by wet sieving method, different size fractions viz. +3,
analysis suggests that in case of +15, and –15+10 mm size –3+2, –2+1, –1+0.850, –0.850+0.500, –0.500+0.300,
fractions the carbon content is less than 5wt% and most of –0.210+0.150, –0.150+0.100, –0.100+0.075, –0.075+0.045,
the carbon is accumulated in less than 1 mm size fractions. and –0.045 mm were prepared, and their weight percentage
The classification characteristic of –10 mm bulk dolochar and proximate analysis are given in Table 6. The results in-
lump sample is given in Table 5. The comparison of Tables dicate that all the size fractions have very high ash contents
4 and 5 suggests that by discarding +10 mm size particles and the carbon value is distributed uniformly in all the size
from lump samples the ash content of the remaining sample fractions of the sample.
Table 4. Size and proximate analysis of the bulk lump dolochar sample
Size / mm Weight / wt% Cumulative weight / wt% Moisture / wt% VM / wt% FC / wt% Ash / wt%
+15 14.16 14.16 0.41 1.19 1.47 97.34
–15+10 19.91 34.07 0.69 0.43 4.57 95.00
–10+6 26.72 60.79 1.96 0.50 13.86 85.64
–6+3 32.49 93.28 4.13 0.56 27.36 72.08
–3+2 5.77 99.04 5.16 1.25 30.35 68.40
–2+1 0.53 99.58 5.12 1.63 23.91 74.45
–1 0.42 100 3.92 1.58 18.88 79.54
Total 100.00 0.66 15.67 83.67

Table 5. Characterization of –10 mm bulk lump dolochar after discarding +10 mm fraction
Size / mm Weight / wt% VM / wt% FC / wt% Ash / wt%
–10+6 40.53 0.50 13.86 85.64
–6+3 49.27 0.56 27.36 72.08
–3+2 8.75 1.25 30.35 68.40
–2+1 0.81 1.63 23.91 74.45
–1 0.64 1.58 18.88 79.54
Total 100.00 0.61 22.07 77.32

Table 6. Size and proximate analysis of the bulk fine dolochar sample
Size / mm Weight / wt% Cumulative weight / wt% Moisture / wt% VM / wt% FC / wt% Ash / wt%
+3 11.71 11.71 4.03 1.20 26.21 72.60
–3+2 33.04 44.75 3.71 1.82 30.10 68.09
–2+1 17.04 61.79 3.74 1.62 27.61 70.77
–1+0.850 15.92 77.71 3.74 3.32 25.95 70.73
–0.850+0.500 10.88 88.59 3.87 3.21 25.27 71.52
–0.500+0.300 4.97 93.56 2.47 2.66 21.38 75.97
–0.300+0.210 3.50 97.06 2.33 2.43 19.67 77.91
–0.210+0.150 1.29 98.35 1.29 0.19 10.10 89.71
–0.150+0.100 0.68 99.04 1.69 0.18 8.40 91.41
–0.100+0.075 0.61 99.65 1.34 0.33 4.67 94.99
–0.075+0.045 0.20 99.85 1.42 0.12 4.75 95.13
–0.045 0.15 100 2.65 4.11 10.07 85.82
Total 100 2.11 26.59 71.28
996 Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., Vol.19, No.11, Nov 2012

To assess the liberation characteristics of carbon present with Leitz petrological and stereomicroscope. The dolochar
in the dolochar sample, the lump and fine samples are mixed sample mostly consists of aggregates (individual particles
1:1 in mass ratio and a representative sample is ground for 5 clotted together) and individual particles. The individual
min. The size classification and proximate analysis is given particles are mostly black in colour but occasionally red
in Table 7. It can be observed from Table 7 that after grind- (mostly iron oxide phases), porous metallic phases giving
ing, 51wt% of material is below –0.045 mm size fraction, rise to spongy texture and white lime bearing phases. The
suggesting the brittleness of the dolochar sample. This may various minerals identified under microscope are quartz,
be due to exposure to high temperature in the kiln. The ash metallic iron particles, lime (Ca-Mg-silicate) bearing com-
analysis suggests that inert inorganic material present in all plex phases (Figs. 1 to 3). Microscopic studies indicate that
the size fractions are very high. The representative samples dolochar is highly heterogeneous in nature. Morphological
of each size fraction is also subjected to sink and float stud-
variations of the dolochar samples are clearly depicted from
ies to evaluate the liberation characteristics.
the electron microscopic findings (Figs. 4 and 5). Dolochar
Table 7. Size and proximate analysis of the –300 µm ground grains are fractured showing foliation (Figs. 5(a) and 5(b).
dolochar sample The silicate grains show wide variations in their morphology
Size / mm Weight / wt% Ash / wt% like oval, subrounded and irregular shape, scales, and veins
−0.300+0.210 4.10 74.94 laths.
−0.210+0.150 17.54 76.04 Electron microscopic studies also confirmed the micro-
−0.150+0.075 18.66 81.1 scopic finding that there are phases with instances of pure
−0.075+0.045 8.58 77.54 calcium, iron, and rarely magnesium (Figs. 6-8) consisting
−0.045 51.12 78.94 of unburnt coal particles, SiO2 phase, fused lime along with
Total 100.00 78.55 Al2O and Fe2O3. XRD studies on the ash indicated the pres-
ence of quartz (Fig. 9). The other phases were not depicted
3.3. Petrography study
in the XRD because the quantity may be less than the de-
Petrological characterization studies were carried out tectable amount.

Fig. 1. (a) Iron metallic particles (Fe) along with dolochar (black), +850 μm sieve classified sample; (b) coagulation of dolochar
material with iron particles, +300 μm sieve classified sample; (c) different shapes and sizes of quartz (shown by arrow) present in
dolochar, +300 μm sieve classified sample; (d) polished section of a dolochar lump showing iron metallic particles (shown by arrow),
reflected light microscopy.
R.K. Dwari et al., Characterization of dolochar wastes generated by the sponge iron industry 997

Fig. 2. (a) General view of the dolochar samples showing dolochar carbon bearing particles (black) along with the silicates and lime
particles, +500 μm sieve classified sample; (b, c) porous nature of the metallic iron (Fe) particles, +850 μm sieve classified sample; (d)
porous nature of the metallic particles attached with other silicates.

Fig. 3. (a) Presence of lime (white) within the dolochar sample; (b) presence of lime (white) and quartz within the dolochar sample;
(c) unliberated or enclosed lime (white) and silicates within the grains; (d) inter-banding of lime/silicate particles with the metallic
particles.
998 Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., Vol.19, No.11, Nov 2012

Fig. 4. (a, b) General view of the + 300 µm dolochar grains. Fig. 5. (a, b) General view of the +300 µm lump dolochar
They are flat/platy, massive, angular, and porous. grains. They are porous (a) and flat/platy (b).

Fig. 6. Electron microscopic photomicrographs for the ash sample of the dolochar lumps. The mapping shows the presence of
individual grains of Fe particles other than Ca, Mg, Fe complex phases.
R.K. Dwari et al., Characterization of dolochar wastes generated by the sponge iron industry 999

Fig. 7. Electron microscopic pho-

tomicrographs for the ash sample of
the dolochar lumps showing the
presence of individual silica rich
grains (that is quartz) and Ca, Mg,
Fe rich complex phases (+10mm ash
of dolochar).

Fig. 8. Electron microscopic photomicrographs for the ash sample of the dolochar lumps showing the presence of individual Ca
(that is lime) and Fe rich grains other than Ca, Mg, Fe rich complex phases (+4 mm ash of dolochar).
1000 Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., Vol.19, No.11, Nov 2012

combustibles that can be recovered theoretically from bulk

dolochar lump and fine samples are 36wt% and 40wt%, re-
spectively. It can also be seen from Fig. 10 that clean coal
with 41wt% ash can be achieved with 18wt% yield from
78wt% ash dolochar after reducing the sample to below 300
μm size. In this case the total combustible recovered is
50wt%. This means that the rest of 82wt% dolochar waste
still contains 50wt% combustible material even after size
reduction. This clearly suggests that even after grinding to
finer sizes the combustibles are not in the liberated form. To
understand the mineral and carbon inclusion in the –300 µm
dolochar sample, SEM studies were carried out. A typical
SEM image of the –300 µm dolochar sample is shown in
Fig. 11. The morphology and texture of these images sug-
gest that the particles are either flaky or crystalline in nature
and individual particles are agglomerated and not liberated
even after grinding. The physical and chemical properties of
dolochar mainly depend on the type of coal, iron ore, dolo-
mite used, and the kinetics of reduction reaction taking place
in sponge iron making. During reduction reaction the inor-
ganic material may be changed into fluid, reacted with oxy-
gen and carbon shoots generated during the process fused
into the inorganic material. The crystalline particles present
in the char mass are generally tiny sponge iron particles
fused to the char and could not be separated in the magnetic
separator.

Fig. 9. XRD patterns of lump (a) and fine (b) dolochar ash (Q:
quartz).

3.4. Washability characteristics

The washability data for bulk dolochar lump samples
were determined and used to compute theoretical yield at
particular ash levels. The washability characteristic curve of
bulk dolochar lump, fine, and −0.300 mm samples of lump
dolochar is shown in Fig. 10. The graph indicates that clean
coal with 41wt% ash can be obtained at 13.5wt% yield from
lump dolochar whereas clean coal with 28wt% ash can be Fig. 10. Washability characteristic curves of bulk dolochar
achieved with 15wt% yield from fine dolochar. The total lump, fine and –0.300 mm samples.

Fig. 11. SEM images of –300 µm dolochar particles showing a variety of texture: (a) wide morphological variety; (b) porous ag-
gregate of particles; (c) flat/platy surface features of particles.
R.K. Dwari et al., Characterization of dolochar wastes generated by the sponge iron industry 1001

The SEM images and EDS mapping of –300 µm dolo- cate and quartz content are higher. The relatively weak sig-
char particles are shown in Figs. 12 and 13. The EDX spec- nal intensities suggest that the magnesium, calcium, potas-
trum shows that C, Si, Al, O, Ca, K and Fe are the major sium, and iron content are of lower concentration in the par-
elements present in the dolochar. The mapping suggests that ticle. These figures clearly suggest the inclusion of mineral
the minerals are aluminium silicate, quartz, and dolomite. and carbon within the particle and hence are posing major
The relative peak intensity suggests that the aluminium sili- problems for separation.

Fig. 12. SEM image (a), EDX spectrum (b),

and EDS mapping of C, O, K, Ca, Al, Si, and
Fe elemnets (c) for –300 µm dolochar particles.

Fig. 13. SEM image (a) and EDS map-

ping of C, O, Al, Si, K, and Fe elemnets
(b) for –300 µm dolochar particles.
1002 Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., Vol.19, No.11, Nov 2012

3.5. Ash fusion temperature ratio of the bulk dolochar sample is 2.11. The observed high
The deformation images of dolochar ash samples are hemispherical and flow temperature is corroborating well
shown in Fig. 14. Ash fusion studies carried out on the low with the S/A ratio. Similar results were also reported by
temperature ash samples of the dolochar indicated that the other researchers for the same type of S/A ratio [19]. Song
deformation temperature starts at 1337 till 1420°C. The et al. observed that the ash fusion temperature of coal ash is
sphere temperature was observed at 1374°C whereas the high at low concentration of CaO, Fe2O3, and MgO, de-
hemispherical temperature at 1420°C. The flow temperature creases with increasing concentration, and then reaches a
was observed at 1442°C. The high deformation temperature minimum, before increasing once more. The low concentra-
of dolochar ash samples was because of high SiO2/Al2O3 tions of Ca+Mg+Fe oxide phases present in the dolochar
S/A ratio present in dolochar. The S/A ratio is an important also substantiate the observed high deformation temperature.
parameter that affects the ash fusion temperature. The Because of the high ash fusion temperature nature, the un-
ash fusion temperature of coal ash increases with an increase burned carbon present in the dolochar could be best utilized
in S/A ratio. It can be observed from Table 2 that the S/A for power generation.

Fig. 14. Images of deformation dolochar ash at different tem-

peratures.

characterization and amenability to beneficiation studies.

4. Conclusions
(1) The detailed characterization of dolochar waste gen-
The following conclusions can be drawn from detailed erated in sponge iron industries has been carried out to study
R.K. Dwari et al., Characterization of dolochar wastes generated by the sponge iron industry 1003

its physical and chemical properties and to assess the libera- [5] D. Alvarez, A.G. Borrego, and R. Menéndez, Unbiased
tion behaviour of carbon values present in it. methods for the morphological description of char structures,
Fuel, 76(1997), p.1241.
(2) Integrated instrumental (optical microscope, XRD, [6] P. Lightman and P.M. Street, Microscopical examination of
SEM) characterization studies reveal that the dolochar sam- heat treated pulverized coal particles, Fuel, 47 (1968), p.7.
ples consist of quartz (free as well as locked), free lime, [7] P.J. Street, R.P. Weight, and P. Lightman, Further investiga-
aluminium silicate, Fe particles, and Ca or Mg and/or tion of structural changes occurring in pulverized coal parti-
Ca+Mg+Fe oxide phases. cles during rapid heating, Fuel, 48(1969), p.343.
[8] M. Shibaoka, Microscopic investigation of unburnt char fly
(3) Proximate analysis indicates that the dolochar fine ash, Fuel, 64(1985), p.263.
samples contain more fixed carbon than the dolochar lump [9] The Combustion Working Group, Atlas of Char Occurrences,
samples. The concentration of heavy metals is also more in The International Committee for Coal and Organic Petrology
case of fine samples than the lump samples. The Fe content (ICCP), CD-ROM, 2000.
[10] O. Levenspiel, Chemical Reaction Engineering, 3rd Ed.,
is invariably the same in both lump and fine dolochar sam-
Wiley, New York, 1999.
ples. [11] R.H. Hurt and R.E. Mitchell, Unified high-temperature char
(4) Size classification and the proximate analysis of re- combustion kinetics for a suite of coals of various rank, Symp.
spective size fractions indicate that the fixed carbon content Int. Combust., 24(1992), p.1243.
[12] R.H. Hurt, J.K. Sun, and M. Lunden, A kinetic model of car-
is assimilated uniformly in all the size fractions. The washa-
bon burnout in pulverized coal combustion, Combust. Flame,
bility data of the –300 µm dolochar sample suggest that 113(1998), p.181.
clean coal with 41wt% ash can be produced at 18% yield [13] M. Cloke, T. Wu, R. Barranco, and E. Leste, Char charac-
from dolochar with 78wt% ash. This clearly suggest that the terisation and its application in a coal burnout model, Fuel,
dolochar sample has a very difficult liberation characteristic. 82(2003), p.1989.
However, different dry beneficiation methods viz. electro- [14] P.A. Botha, Iron ore sinter produced from a mix containing
static and air classifiers may be used to apply to achieve the waste materials, J. South Afr. Inst. Min. Metall., 93(1993),
theoretical carbon recovery and yield. No.1, p.13.
[15] A. Chatterjee, A critical appraisal of sponge iron production
(5) Because dolochar possesses very high ash fusion technologies, [in] Proceedings of National Seminar on Po-
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