Search

ABSTRACTUtilisation of by-products of an integrated steel plant improves productivity with diverse mix of raw materials used for iron making. The strength of a briquette made with Blast furnace flue dust and iron oxide with fly ash as a binder depends upon the briquetting pressure, particle size of fly ash, fly ash quantity, and curing temperature. In this study, the effect of process variables on the strength was investigated with ANOVA. The correlation between the process parameters and the strength was examined experimentally and RSM-based optimisation was performed during the preparation of briquettes. The RSM provided optimisation with a confidence level of 95% using the CCD design. This paper demonstrates the correlation between applied pressure, particle size, fly ash quantity, and curing temperature. The developed mathematical model would help in predicting the variation in the compressive strength with the change in the level of different parameters. This model can be useful for setting the optimum value of the parameters for achieving the target compressive strength.

Blast furnace flue dust and thermal plant generated fly ash are major solid wastes coming from the two important industrial sectors. Flue dust mainly contains iron oxide and carbon. The fly ash contains mostly silica, alumina and iron oxide with small amount of lime. These materials are commonly used in making of bricks and tiles. Little amount of flue dust is used in charge material preparation for iron extraction. In this present study, fixed quantities of blast furnace flue dust (30 wt %) and pure iron oxide fines (65 wt %) are mixed with different binders such as bentonite, lime, sodium silicate, fly ash, starch, molasses, pitch and dextrin. The strength of composite briquettes was determined at green, dry and cured conditions. Moreover, the effect of the variation of fly ash quantity, fly ash particle size, briquetting pressure and curing temperature on the compressive strength of composite briquettes were also investigated. The optimized fly ash quantity of 5 wt%, fly ash particle size of 75 µm (200 mesh), briquetting pressure of 95 MPa and curing temperature of 300 °C provide maximum strength to the briquettes. The phase analysis through XRD and morphology analysis through FESEM-EDS of fly ash added cured composite briquettes were performed.

Products developed through the powder metallurgy route have significantly contributed to structural application, automotive, and aircraft industry in the last decades. Several research works are available on the use of pure metal powder for the development of useful products through the powder metallurgy process. The study on the physical and mechanical properties of compacted reduced composite fines produced after crushing of reduced composite briquette containing Blast furnace flue dust, iron oxide, graphite powder, and fly ash is limited. The physical property such as density of green briquettes made with reduced composite fines, and 0.5% sodium silicate has been measured as a function of compaction pressures (75, 90, and 100 MPa). The maximum density of 5341.6 kg/m3was achieved at 100 MPa pressure. The samples possessing maximum density has been sintered at different temperatures of 1100 °C, 1150 °C, and 1200 °C for 60 min, 90 min, and 120 min respectively. The density, compressive strength, and hardness were measured after sintering of the samples. The samples were sintered at 1150 °C for 120 min achieve maximum density of 6111.4 kg/m3, compressive strength of 238.72 MPa, and hardness of 109.34 VHN.

In this study, the extrusion of reduced blast furnace composite fines at elevated temperatures allows manufacturing final products with distinctive microstructure and mechanical properties. The experimental results of extrusion of the composite powder under different laboratory conditions are presented and analysed. The main objective of the study is to demonstrate that blast furnace flue dust fines can be consolidated to highly dense products through extrusion. Reduced blast furnace flue dust and iron oxide fines were compacted at 100 MPa pressure to produce 20 mm and 40 mm diameter and height, respectively, and these compacted materials were subjected to different thermal treatment temperature, namely 1100 °C and 1200 °C, respectively. The product after heat treatment was extruded by direct extrusion process at different pressures such as 175 MPa and 240 MPa, respectively, at both the temperatures. The mechanical properties such as density, compressive strength, hardness and microstructure of the final product have been reported. Quantitative and qualitative metallography has been applied within the extruded product to match with the values of the mechanical properties. The product achieves maximum density of 7.55 gm/cc after extrusion with 240 MPa extrusion pressure at 1200 °C. Furthermore, the maximum compressive strength and hardness values are 336.67 MPa and 117.42HV20, respectively, when the extrusion pressure was maintained at 240 MPa and heat treated at 1200 °C.

Cancer is characterized by abnormal gene function and aberrant patterns of gene expression. A growing body of data suggests that acquired epigenetic aberrations work in concert with genetic changes to generate this deregulation. According to a WHO research, India saw 1.16 million new cancer cases in 2018, with one out of every ten Indians developing cancer at some point in their life and one out of every 15 dying from it. According to the study, tobacco-related head and neck cancers are frequent in India, especially oral cancer in males and cervical cancer in women, and both cancer types are linked to lower socioeconomic position. Conclusion: Tobacco use is becoming a leading cause of cancer in the North East, and it is estimated that tobacco use is responsible for 22% of cancer deaths worldwide. A comprehensive cancer control program is the need of the hour to prevent this vibrant region from becoming the cancer capital of the nation.

Several letters to the editor are presented including one regarding the previous cover story on stem cells, one on the graphical presentation of factual information by the magazine "4Ps B&M," and one on the "Big Idea" and "Brand Quiz" sections of the magazine.