Ram Pravesh Bhagat (born October 1954 has 36 years of research experience in the iron ore beneficiation & agglomeration areas while serving premier R&D establishments, SAIL-RDCIS and CSIR-NML. He has worked with Soviet Experts to implement R&D Projects at SAIL plants aimed to improve the productivity of sinter and its quality. In the 1990’s, the author research projects in collaboration with IIT Kharagpur, RAS Russia and with support from Private Industries. His subsequent research career in CSIR-NML (2000--2014) had been concentrated to the agglomeration area with support from the Ministry of Steel (Govt, of India), Private/ PSU Organisations, As a faculty member of AcSIR-CSIR and IIT (ISM), the author has developed courses in agglomeration technology and delivered invited lectures. He has supervised two Ph.D. scholars (IIT Kharagpur) and four M. Tech students (ISM). At ISM he initiated research in the field of agglomeration. He has contributed three book chapters including "Agglomeration" in the Encyclopedia of Iron, Steel, and Their Alloys (CRC Press). He has also published over a hundred research papers in journals and conference proceeding volumes. He is life fellow and member of several professional bodies. He is also recipient of various awards and fellowship including CSIR-DAAD.

• Introduction. Preamble. Agglomerates in Iron Making. Raw Materials. Sintering. Preamble. The Process of Sintering. Sintering Fundamentals. Sinter Productivity. Sinter Mineralogy. Sinter Morphology/ Porosity. Quality Parameters. Plant Practices and Process Parameters. Newer Processes. Pollution Control in Sintering Operation. Mathematical Modeling and Simulation of Sintering Operation. Performance Evaluation of Sintering Plant Operation. Process Control. Pelletization. Preamble. The Process of Pelletization. Pelletizing Fundamentals. Induration of Pellets. Mineralogical and Morphological Characteristics of Pellets. Properties of Indurated Pellets. Pelletisation of High LOI (Goethite) Ore. Plant Practices and Process Parameters. Miscellaneous. Test of Quality Parameters of Sinter and Pellets. Behavior of Sinter and Pellets during Reduction. Effect of Sinter/ Pellets and their Quality Parameters in Iron Making. Advantages and Disadvantages of Pellets vis-à-vis Sinter in BF Iron Making. Annexure : Transport Properties of Sinter and Pellets.

Agglomeration of Iron Ores covers in considerable detail both the sintering and pelletising of iron ore fines and concentrates that are generated along with lump ore in iron ore mines around the world, either naturally or after upgrading in a beneficiation process. The book is devoted to a detailed treatise of the sintering and pelletising of the raw materials in separate chapters, including the fundamentals, mineralogy, reactions, process and operating variables, quality and productivity of sintering and pelletising. In summary, this book is a masterful coverage of the subject, and is recommended reading for metallurgical students, teachers, researchers, and practicing professionals in the iron and steel industry.--Ralph J Holmes, CSIRO Mineral Resources, Clayton, VIC, Australia, Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy, April 2020