Abstract:
Different ores of iron have responded differently when subjected to various technologies of iron ore reduction. The Pudo
iron ore in the Upper West Region of Ghana is known to exist in two forms; a low grade iron (in the form of Fe2O3) which
has desirable amounts of CaO and MgO and a high grade titaniferous-magnetiferous ore (Fe3O4). In this work, the low grade
iron oxide was reduced by using a locally available biomass (Groundnut Shells, GNS) and its blends with High Density
Polyethylene (HDPE) as reducing agent. The microwave technology was used for the reduction process. Composite pellets
composed of the iron ore, reducing agents of different blends and flour (binder) were formed and subjected to a 2400 MW,
50 Hz microwave for firing. Each pellet was fired for forty minutes. The results of this study indicate that the GNS as
reducing agent solely was able to reduce the ore to about 54 % in the reduction process. Blending of the biomass with HDPE
led to an improvement in the percent reduction with maximum percent reduction of about 80 %. The reduction process was
however accompanied with high undesirable amounts of slag and low amounts of metallic spheres of iron. The iron
produced was highly carburised since temperatures below the melting point of iron were recorded during the reduction
process (maximum of 1197 ºC). The residue produced in this study is mostly made up of titanium, silicon and other elements
in smaller quantities
