Recycling Blends Of HDPE And Coconut Shells As Reducing Agent For The Production Of Metallic Iron From Iron Oxide Fe2O3

Abstract Laboratory studies on the production of metallic iron from iron oxide using blends of coconut shells cocos nucifera and high density polyethylene HDPE as reducing agent have been performed through experiments conducted in a horizontal resistance heating tube furnace. Composite pellets were formed from mixtures of iron oxide and carbonaceous materials consisting of chars of coconut shells CNS HDPE and three blends of CNS-HDPE. The iron oxide-carbonaceous material composites were heated very rapidly in a laboratory scale horizontal tube furnace at 1500 C in a continuous stream of pure argon and the off gas was analysed continuously using an infrared IR gas analyser and a gas chromatographic GC analyser equipped with a thermal conductivity detector TCD. Elemental analyses of samples of the reduced metal were performed chemically for its carbon and oxygen contents using a LECO carbonsulphur and LECO oxygennitrogen analysers respectively. The extent of reduction after ten minutes and the level of carburisation were determined for each carbonaceous reductant. The results indicate that metallic iron can be produced effectively from iron oxides using CNS HDPE and blends of these carbonaceous materials as reductants. It was revealed that the extent of reduction improved significantly when CNS was blended with HDPE. The results also revealed that blending of the carbonaceous materials has a beneficial effect on the environment through decreasing carbon dioxide emissions.