Feasibility study on use of Arabic gum as alternative to corn starch in bonding self-reducing briquettes made by integrated cycle by-products (Open Access)--颗粒学报PARTICUOLOGY

Scolari, S., Mombelli, D., Dall’Osto, G., & Mapelli, C. (2026). Feasibility study on use of Arabic gum as alternative to corn starch in bonding self-reducing briquettes made by integrated cycle by-products. Particuology, 110, 96-108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2026.01.008

Feasibility study on use of Arabic gum as alternative to corn starch in bonding self-reducing briquettes made by integrated cycle by-products (Open Access)

Sara Scolari^*, Davide Mombelli, Gianluca Dall’Osto, Carlo Mapelli

Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Meccanica, Via La Masa 1, 20156, Milano, Italy

10.1016/j.partic.2026.01.008

Volume 110, March 2026, Pages 96-108

Received 23 October 2025, Revised 19 December 2025, Accepted 10 January 2026, Available online 16 January 2026, Version of Record 22 January 2026.

E-mail: sara.scolari@polimi.it

Highlights

• Arabic gum improves fine-particle briquette strength via better densification.

• Coarse-particle briquettes lose impact resistance when bonded with Arabic gum.

• Fine BFS with Arabic gum shows higher reduction degree due to better contact.

• Recycled Arabic gum solution matches natural binder in briquette performance.

Abstract

The selection of a suitable binder is crucial to ensure efficient powder agglomeration and high mechanical stability of briquettes. In ironmaking and steelmaking, binders must have low silica, low ash, high environmental sustainability, and compatibility with furnace lining and slag. Gelatinized corn starch has shown good performance with several residues (e.g., jarosite, red mud, mill scale), but it has not provided consistent results when used with integrated steel-plant by-products. This study investigated the possibility of replacing corn starch with Arabic gum, analyzing briquettes produced from basic oxygen furnace dust combined with two reducing agents: blast furnace sludge (BFS) and secondary dust (SD). Arabic gum improved impact resistance index of BFS-containing agglomerates reaching IRI of 1000 (125 with starch), due to better particle arrangement and densification. The resulting lower porosity (34.3 % Vs 39.3 %) enhanced contact between carbon and iron oxides, raising the reduction degree to 90 % (86 % with starch). Moreover, the denser microstructure limited the swelling phenomenon observed in starch-bound briquettes during thermal treatment. In contrast, the use of SD as the reducing agent resulted in a coarser particle size, leading to a heterogeneous distribution during the mixing process with Arabic gum. This corresponded to a decrease in mechanical stability, with the briquettes surviving 5 drops compared to 10 with starch. Despite this drawback, the degree of reduction remained largely unaffected at 1200 °C.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Agglomeration; Arabic gum; Starch; Integrated steel plant; By-product

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