鋼鐵冶煉主要以脫除鐵礦原料中的雜質，來生產高品質鐵水。主要過程是將鐵礦原料與助熔劑混合燒結成燒結礦，然後將其放入高爐加以高溫熔融成液態，在此過程中雜質會因比重之差異而與鐵水分離。煉鋼過程中所用之助熔劑包括了碳酸鈣系列與氧化鎂系列等礦物，其中以碳酸鈣會與鐵礦在燒結製程中形成鐵酸鈣為主的成分，且其化學成分與燒結相的存在會影響燒結礦之產率與強度。
　　本論文是針對不同地質作用所形成之變質岩相（台灣大理石及日本大理石）及沈積岩相（菲律賓石灰石）之碳酸鈣來對燒結礦相之影響做探討。在此研究中三種不同來源碳酸鈣的破碎粒徑分布、吸水性及造粒特性已被分析。為模擬鋼鐵冶煉之燒結製程試驗，碳酸鈣也分別與四種鐵礦原料按比例混合，以三組不同尺度之模擬燒結試驗：紅外線快速升溫爐（1.5 g）、燒結杯（3 kg）及燒結鍋（100 kg）。為了分析並比對起始原料與燒結礦的關係，光學顯微鏡及掃描式電子顯微鏡被用來觀察其燒結礦相與分析各燒結礦相之化學成分。
　　綜合實驗結果顯示，沈積岩相的菲律賓石灰石之破碎粒度分布適用於燒結場中，其吸水率又高，在燒結製程中之造粒情況較佳，易與鐵礦混合成均勻球粒。由於沈積岩相的菲律賓石灰石的結晶顆粒間壓密程度較變質岩相的台灣大理石與日本大理石鬆散，在燒結過程中，容易分解並與鐵礦反應，生成鐵酸鈣之燒結礦相比例較高，因而提升燒結礦之產率。本論文建議在為改善成本及節省能源之前提下，沈積岩相之石灰岩是最適合使用在鋼鐵冶煉過程。

The fluxes are used to remove the impurity from iron ore to produce high quality steel. Calcium/magnesium carbonate and/or magnesium silicates are commonly used as flux. During the sintering process, the calcium carbonate reacts with iron ore to from the calcium ferrite as a bonding matrix. The productivity and strength of sinter phase are mainly controlled by the volume and texture of calcium ferrite.
Three different calcium-carbonates were used in this study: Taiwan marble and Japan marble (metamorphic genesis) and Philippine reef (sedimentary genesis). This study is looking at the properties of calcium-carbonates affecting the strength and productivity of the sinter phase. The mineral characters of these calcium carbonates were analyzed. Three different scales of sintering experiment were performed to simulate sintering process as in commercial plant. In order to investigate the relationship between calcium carbonate and sinter phase, the polarized optical microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were employed to examine the texture of sinter phase.
Experimental results indicated that the crystalline density of reef-P is mush losers than marble-T and marble-J which means reef-P is easier to react with iron ores and form the bonding matrix to promote the strength of sinter phase. The analyses of size distribution and water absorption ability showed that sedimentary phase carbonates has the highest water absorption ability to form coarser pseudo-particle compared with metamorphous phase carbonates. Therefore, reef-P is easier to react with iron ore to calcium ferrite, resulting in higher productivity of sinter phase forming sintering process.
The analyses of this study suggest that the sedimentary genesis carbonates would be the best flux source in the sintering process under the considering of the cost and conservation of energy.

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