The physical and chemical properties such as particle size, montmorillonite content, swelling degree, water absorption, and blue absorption of A, B, and C bentonites were studied under laboratory conditions. The effects of adding different quality and different proportion of bentonite on falling strength, compression strength, and shock temperature of green pellet were investigated. The experimental results show that the montmorillonite content, water absorption, and methylene blue absorption of bentonite-B are the highest. And the quality of bentonite-B is the best, followed by bentonite-C and bentonite-A poor quality. When the amount of bentonite-B reduced from 1.5% to 1.0%, the strength of green pellets and the shock temperature both decrease. As the same proportion of A, B, and C bentonites, the green-ball strength and shock temperature are as follows: bentonite-A > bentonite-B > bentonite-C.

When the content of glass in blast furnace slag is over 95%, it can be used as a raw material in the manufacture of cement. The critical cooling rate required for the formation of glassy slag is one of the important characteristics for molten BF slag. The crystallisation behaviour of molten BF slag has been studied by in situ observation with the single hot thermocouple technique. The isothermal and non-isothermal experiments were performed to construct time–temperature-transformation and continuous-cooling-transformation diagrams. The effect of MgO, Al₂O₃ and binary basicity (CaO/SiO₂) on the critical cooling rate of the CaO–SiO₂–MgO–Al₂O₃ slags were studied under conditions of CaO/SiO₂ = 1.1–1.4, 6–12 mass% MgO and 10–16 mass% Al₂O₃. The following finding are reported in the present paper: (i) Higher MgO content increased the critical cooling rate; higher Al₂O₃ content decreased the critical cooling rate; higher CaO/SiO₂ increased the critical cooling rate. (ii) The crystallisation temperature of molten BF slag lowers as the cooling rate increases, the slag have larger critical cooling rate, higher crystallisation temperature. The results could be used to design proper cooling path of molten BF slag for the formation of glassy.

The combustion characteristics and kinetics of high- and low-reactivity metallurgical cokes in an air atmosphere were studied by thermogravimetric instrument. The Coats–Redfern, FWO, and Vyazovkin integral methods were used to analyze the kinetics of the cokes, and the kinetic parameters of high- and low-reactivity metallurgical cokes were compared. The results show that the heating rate affected the comprehensive combustion index and combustion reaction temperature range of the cokes. The ignition temperature, burnout temperature, combustion characteristics, and maximum weight-loss rate of low-reactivity coke (L-Coke) were better than high-reactivity coke (H-Coke). Low-reactivity coke had better thermal stability and combustion characteristics. At the same time, it was calculated via three kinetic analysis methods that the combustion activation energy gradually decreased with the progress of the reaction. The coke combustion activation energy calculated by the Coats–Redfern method was larger than the coke combustion activation energy calculated by the FWO and Vyazovkin methods, but the laws were consistent. The activation energy of L-Coke was about 4~8 kJ/mol more than that of H-Coke.

Through thermodynamic calculation and high-temperature simulation experiments, the coupling behavior between gasification of high- and low-reactivity cokes and reduction of sintering ore in CO-N₂-H₂ mixed gas with 25% H₂ volume fraction was studied, and the evolution of the coke carbon structure and the pore structure was analyzed. The results show that the reaction rate of the two cokes increases with the increase in temperature after the coupling reaction, and the strength after drumming decreases with the increase in temperature. The strength of low-reactivity coke after the reaction is higher than that of high-reactivity coke, and the reduction degree of sintering ore after the coupling reaction with low-reactivity coke is higher than that with high-reactivity coke. At high temperatures and high hydrogen-rich atmospheres with φ(H₂) of 25%, the strength of high-reactivity coke after drum rotation is greater than 60.4%. The graphitization degree and carbon structure order of low-reactivity coke are higher than those of high-reactivity coke.

The increasing usage of iron ores with high Al₂O₃ content significantly increases the amount of Al₂O₃ in blast furnace slag and consequently affects its performance. This work uses slag sampled on site to study the effects of changes in Al₂O₃ content on the fluidity of the CaO–SiO₂–Al₂O₃–MgO–TiO₂ slag system that is characterized by high Al₂O₃ and low TiO₂ contents, as well as on the phase transition law during the cooling process. Slag viscosity exhibits a rising trend with an increase in Al₂O₃ content, and Al₂O₃ in the tested slag is alkaline. The viscous flow activation energy of molten slag rises from 157 kJ/mol to 172 kJ/mol with an increase in Al₂O₃ content, and the viscous flow units in the slag become large and complicated. When slag is cooled, the main precipitated phase is melilitite. Spinel, perovskite, and olivine are also observed. The crystallization amount of the melilitite phase decreases constantly with an increase in Al₂O₃ content.

The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) sapphire analysis was used to measure the specific heat capacity of the BF (BF) slag and observe the CaO-SiO₂-MgO-Al₂O₃-TiO₂ 5-element slag system with the binary basicity fixed at 1.17. The specific heat capacity of the BF slag and the cooling heat distribution were obtained during the cooling process when the MgO content changing from 7% to 11%. The results showed that the heat released of BF slag was more than 1.2 GJ/ton during the cooling process from 1400 °C to 35 °C, of which the sensible heat was dominant. At MgO content of 9%, the latent heat of crystallization is maximum. The cooling and heat release law of BF slag is directly associated with the phase precipitated in slag cooling and micromorphology.