The author has worked for several Indian organizations as a visiting expert since 1998. The subject of these studies was to produce iron powder from blue dust. Blue dust is a naturally very rich and pure fine haematite iron ore which can be easily beneficiated to remove silica down to 0.30%. So, it can be valuable source for high quality sponge iron powder production. But it has its disadvantages such as low apparent density and high porosity causing re-oxidation. Theory precedes practice, while experimental studies link theory and practice. But between laboratory scale experiments and industrial application is a scaling factor. So, semi-industrial experiments, called "frozen furnace" have also been conducted. Finally, an industrial scale pilot plant was built for the Indian company NMDC, Hyderabad, under the author's direct supervising. The first powder has been produced in tons with using of key-equipment, namely a gas-tight furnace. This paper summarizes 10 years of the author's experience in this field.
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