In the iron production processes, sinters and pellets are mostly used as raw materials due to their consistency with respect to physical and chemical properties. However, natural iron ores, as mined, are rarely used directly as a feed material for iron processing. This is mainly due to the fact that they have small contents of iron and high concentration of impurities. Moreover, they swell and disintegrate during the descent in the furnace as well as due to low melting and softening temperatures. This work involves an investigation of the parameters that influence the use of natural iron ores as a direct feed material for iron production. Furthermore, it points out ways in which these can be mitigated so as to increase their direct use in iron production. Natural iron ore from Muko deposits in south-western Uganda was used in this study. Initially, characterisation of the physical and chemical properties was performed, to understand the natural composition of the ore. In addition, investigations were done to study the low temperature strength of the ore and its behaviour in the direct reduction zone. Also, simulations were performed with three models using the experimental data from the direct reduction experiments in order to determine the best model for predicting the direct reduction kinetics of natural iron ores. Chemical analyses showed that the Muko ore represents a high grade of hematite with an Fe content of 68% on average. The gangue content (SiO2+Al2O3) in 5 of the 6 investigated iron ore samples was &lt; 4%, which is within the tolerable limits for the dominant iron production processes. The S and P contents were 0001-0.006% and 0.02-0.05% respectively. These can be reduced in the furnace without presenting major processing difficulties. With respect to the mechanical properties, the Muko ore was found to have a Tumble Index value of 88-93 wt%, an Abrasion Index value of 0.5-3.8 wt% and a Shatter Index value of 0.6-2.0 wt%. Therefore, the ore holds its form during the handling and charging processes. Under low temperature investigations, new parameters were discovered that influence the low temperature strength of iron oxides. It was discovered that the positioning of the samples in the reduction furnace together with the original weight (W0) of the samples, have a big influence on the low temperature strength of iron oxide. Higher mechanical degradation (MD) values were obtained in the top furnace reaction zone samples (3-25% at 500oC and 10-21% at 600oC). These were the samples that had the first contact with the reducing gas, as it was flowing through the furnace from top to bottom. Then, the MD values decreased till 5-16% at a 500oC temperature and 6-20% at a 600oC temperature in the middle and bottom reaction zones samples. It was found that the obtained difference between the MD values in the top and other zones can be more than 2 times, particularly at 500oC temperature. Furthermore, the MD values for samples with W0 &lt; 5 g varied from 7-21% well as they decreased to 5-10% on average for samples with W0 ≥ 5 g. Moreover, the MD values for samples taken from the top reaction zone were larger than those from the middle and bottom zones. During direct reduction of the ores in a H2 and CO gas mixture with a ratio of 1.5 and a constant temperature, the reduction degree (RD) increased with a decreased flow rate until an optimum value was established. The RD also increased when the flow rate was kept constant and the temperature increased. An optimum range of 3-4g was found for natural iron ores, within which the highest RD values that are realised for all reduction conditions. In addition, the mechanical stability is greatly enhanced at RD values &gt; 0.7. In the case of microstructure, it was observed that the original microstructure of the samples had no significant impact on the final RD value (only 2-4%). However, it significantly influenced the reduction rate and time of the DR process. The thermo-gravimetric data obtained from the reduction experiments was used to calculate the solid conversion rate. Three models: the Grain Model (GM), the Volumetric Model (VM) and the Random Pore Model (RPM), were used to estimate the reduction kinetics of natural iron ores. The random pore model (RPM) provided the best agreement with the obtained experimental results (r2 = 0.993-0.998). Furthermore, it gave a better prediction of the natural iron oxide conversion and thereby the reduction kinetics. The RPM model was used for the estimation of the effect of original microstructure and porosity of iron ore lumps on the parameters of the reduction process. / <p>QC 20130531</p> / Sustainable Technology Development in the Lake Victoria Region

As the world population has exceeded 7 billion in 2011, the global awareness of sustainability arises more than ever since we are facing unprecedented challenges in energy, water, material and climate change, in order to sustain our current and future generations on this planet. The Guardian has named the Iron Bridge opened in 1781 across the River Severn, Shropshire, UK as the cradle of the modern world, which is the world's first cast-iron bridge and remains as the enduring symbol of the Industrial Revolution (Guardian, 2009). Ever since, in the spanning of 250 years, iron and steel have been the cornerstone of modern industries from developed countries to developing ones especially for those which are still experiencing their major urbanization process. Nevertheless, iron and steel making are among the most raw material-dependent and energy intensive industries with large gaseous pollutants, CO2 and waste generations in the world. Therefore there is a pressing need to solve these resource and environmental problems associated with the iron and steel making. This work addresses a number of challenges stated above by focusing on the improvement of the overall sustainability of this highly energy-intensive industry via (1) utilizing inexpensive iron ore tailings to enhance the material sustainability, (2) CO2 reduction by mineral carbonation using its own solid waste stream, i.e., iron and steel slags, and (3) slag valorization through the use of carbonated slags as sustainable construction materials. This work begins with the study of an ironmaking plant using the direct reduced iron (DRI) process, which is a molten iron production method utilizing fluidized bed and melter-gasifier technologies. This technology allows the direct production of the molten iron using the inexpensive iron ore tailings and the non-coking coal, during a gas-solid reaction in the fluidized bed. Practically, a higher percentage of the fine particles (i.e., iron ore tailings) is favored to mix in the feedstock because it is cheaper than the traditionally used coarse particles (i.e., bulk and fine iron ores). The challenge of this novel technology is attributed to the entrainment of the fine particles during the gas-solid fluidization. Since the electrostatic phenomenon was significant during the particulate fluidization systems which might affect the particle entrainment, the electrostatic charge generation and accumulation were investigated for binary and quaternary particulate systems. Specifically, the effect of the addition of two different iron ore tailings (i.e., hematite and magnetite) in the fluidized bed was studied in terms of particle-particle interactions, electrostatics, and entrainment rates. The behaviors of different particulate systems were found to be highly dependent on the chemical and physical properties of the particles. The results suggested that the enhanced electrostatic forces between the fine and coarse particles due to the electrostatic charging during the fluidized bed operation retained the fines to some extent and the sintering of the fine particles could happen on the surface of the coarse particles during the iron ore reduction. Therefore, for this fluidized bed based DRI process, iron ore tailings are proved to be able to replace the coarse iron ores to the extent that fine particles will sinter but not be entrained and thus the overall cost of raw materials could decrease. In iron and steel making, limestone and dolomite are also mixed in the feedstock to remove the impurities of the iron ores, mostly silica, which forms slag as a silicate-based material in the downstream of this process. Slags of different types have been reused as cement clinker, aggregate, road base and fertilizer. Recently, iron and steel slags have also been deemed as alternatives for mineral sequestration because these slags are similar to natural Ca/Mg-bearing silicate minerals. The accelerated weathering of natural minerals or industrial wastes is an environmentally benign route to thermodynamically stabilize carbon. Thus, another study of this work is fixing the CO2, especially emitted from the iron and steel plant, into the slag, a solid waste generated from the same processing stream. In particular, the stainless steel slag has been a focus since its application in construction materials has been limited due to the high content of FeO and the environmental concern of heavy metals leaching (e.g., Cr). Along with the iron and steel making, the cement industry is also among the largest industrial CO2 emitters. Mixing carbonated slags as a filler material in the cement mortar while guaranteeing the overall quality of the cementitious material could reduce the usage of limestone and the carbon emissions from limestone calcination and reduce energy input during the cement production. In this study, the production of environmentally benign cementitious material was coupled with the direct carbonation of stainless steel slag. Compressive strength, exothermic behavior and leaching behavior of the mixed cement mortar were investigated. Particularly, mixing 10 wt% of the direct carbonated stainless steel slag sample prepared at 30 °C in a Portland cement did enhance the compressive strength of the cement mortar. Also, the mixing retarded the hydration and overall setting time. Finally, the Cr leaching of the cement mortar with the addition of the direct carbonated stainless steel slag was minimized. Thus, the iron and steel industry and cement industry should collaborate, to minimize their overall material input, energy usage and carbon emission jointly. During the direct carbonation, stainless steel slag and CO2 flows are introduced into the solvent simultaneously. Whereas for the two-step process, calcium ions are extracted from the solid matrix into an aqueous phase, and then the CO2 is bubbled through and reacts with the Ca. The two-step route allows optimizing the conditions for both the dissolution and the carbonation. Moreover, the precipitated end products (e.g., precipitated calcium carbonates, PCC) from the two-step process, normally with higher quality compared to direct carbonated slags, can be adapted for various industrial and construction applications. However, the overall reaction is constrained by the kinetics of the stainless steel slag dissolution. Thus several organic and inorganic chelating agents were applied in order to accelerate the dissolution. Some of these agents were found to be desirable for the dissolution of stainless steel slag at different pH via the differential bed study. Ligand concentration and temperature affected the extent of the extraction in the batch reactor. For the carbonation step, PCC from the modeled chemical solution and the dissolved stainless steel slag solution were non-identical, which was also affected by the reaction pH and temperature. The properties of the PCC prepared in the batch reactor and the bubble column reactor were also found to be dissimilar. Thus, for an iron and steel plant that adopts the two-step carbonation of slags for CO2 reduction, the end products could be engineered by tuning the reaction conditions to meet different end-user requirements. On the other hand, there have been significant efforts to reduce the cost of the two-step carbonation, including the utilization of value-added byproducts like iron oxide. In particular, silicate minerals or industrial waste often contain 5~20 wt% of Fe and by dissolving the iron into aqueous phase, a variety of Fe-based materials can be synthesized by precipitation. In this work, Fe-based catalysts were synthesized from serpentine and stainless steel slag (SSS) and applied to the biomass-to-hydrogen conversion via an alkaline thermal treatment pathway. The synthesized Fe-based materials were compared with the purchased hematite and magnetite and the reduced Fe-based catalyst derived from SSS was found to be catalytically active. This suggests an opportunity to produce inexpensive catalysts from the solid waste of the iron and steel making. Finally, a novel iron making scheme based on a fluidized bed DRI system was proposed by this study. It combined all the studies above that inexpensive iron ore tailings were used as a feedstock for the iron production, slags were utilized for sequestering CO2 and ended as filler materials for cement mortar. Preliminary economical and life cycle assessment was investigated based on the current scale of an existing industrial plant. An economically, environmentally and ecologically favored iron, steel and cement production system could be potentially achieved with improved overall material sustainability and carbon footprint.

In order to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement, there is a need to significantly reduce emissions from energy-intensive industries, iron and steel included. One promising technology with the potential to reduce the emissions related to iron and steelmaking to basically none is direct reduction with fossil free hydrogen, which requires large amounts of fossil free electricity. This master thesis explores the conditions for this technology in a European context with an energy perspective as the main focus. Three primary steel producing countries in Europe are chosen as focus countries; Germany, France and Italy. The findings of the study conclude that neither of the focus countries is an optimal sociotechnical fit for hydrogen-based direct reduction for iron and steel production at present. France is the country with the best conditions from a solely energy perspective but lacks some important factors for an enabling environment for technology transfer. Germany on the other hand have the most promising characteristics for an enabling environment but still face large challenges when it comes to power sector decarbonisation. In order to overcome the barriers and create an enabling environment it is key that energy and industry transitions are aligned, that a policy framework that supports these transitions is in place and that key actors representing all aspects of the transition cooperate; from industry to research, academia, policymakers and others. The findings also show that the current locations of the primary steel plants are in many cases not where the most favourable conditions for renewable power generation are and given the renewable capacity and transmission limitations of today, merely switching to a hydrogenbased process is not likely viable. A future configuration could be decentralised value chains where the different processes are located where there are optimal conditions e.g. that either hydrogen or sponge iron is produced where there are favourable power conditions and then transported to steel plants for the remaining processes in the value chain. / För att nå målen uppsatta i Parisavtalet behöver energiintensiva industrier kraftigt minska sina utsläpp, däribland järn- och stålindustrin. Direktreduktion med fossilfri vätgas är en teknologi med potential att minska utsläppen från järn och ståltillverkning till praktiskt taget noll men kräver stora mängder fossilfri el. Detta examensarbete undersöker de energimässiga förutsättningarna för denna teknik i en europeisk kontext. Tre länder som producerar primärstål är utvalda som fokusländer i studien; Tyskland, Frankrike och Italien. Resultaten av studien visar att inget av de utvalda länderna i dagsläget har optimala sociotekniska förutsättningar för tekniken. Frankrike är det land med de bästa energimässiga förutsättningarna men saknar några viktiga faktorer för att vara en möjliggörande socioteknisk miljö. Tyskland å andra sidan har de mest lovande förutsättningarna för en lämplig socioteknisk miljö men står inför utmaningar när det kommer till energisystemet och tillgången på fossilfri el. För att skapa förutsättningar för denna teknik är det viktigt med koordinerade omställningar i energisektorn och industrin, policys som möjliggör dessa omställningar samt ett väl fungerande samarbete mellan industrin, akademin, beslutsfattare och andra viktiga aktörer. Studien visar också att de platser där nuvarande stålverk för primärstål finns inte har de bästa förutsättningar för förnybar elproduktion och att en vätgasbaserad process inte är optimal, baserat på den förnybara kapaciteten och de transmissionsbegränsningar som finns idag i elsystemet. Det finns istället möjlighet till decentraliserade värdekedjor, där varje process placeras där de mest lämpliga förhållandena finns. Detta kan exempelvis innebära att vätgas eller järnsvamp produceras där tillgången till fossilfri el är god, för att sedan transporteras till stålverken för de resterande processtegen.

<p>  </p> <p>Direct reduction ironmaking has gained popularity as a low carbon alternative to the typical blast furnace ironmaking route. A popular method of producing direct reduced iron is through the reduction of iron ore pellets in a reduction shaft furnace. Critical to this process is the use of a reliable continuous pellet feed system to provide a steady flow of pellets to the furnace. Therefore, any disruption in pellet flow can have a significant negative impact on the production rate of iron. </p> <p><br></p> <p>An iron ore pellet feed system for a direct reduction ironmaking furnace is jamming during winter operation. The pellets are jamming in a hopper at the top of the feed system above the furnace, and a hot gas, that seals off the furnace flue gas, flows counter to the pellets. A computational model of the feed system is built utilizing the discrete element method and computational fluid dynamics, using Siemen’s commercial multiphysics software Star-CCM+, to study the conditions that cause the jam to occur. The study is divided into six parts: pellet bulk flow calibration, computational cost reduction, modeling of the baseline operation, modeling the effect of moisture, development of a thermal model, and investigation of the minimal amount of icy and wet material to jam the system. The findings show that the location of jamming during operation matches the area in the simulation where it is most likely to occur, and that moisture alone is unlikely to result in jamming. Results indicate that the system will jam when charged with a minimum of 15% icy pellets, and when charged with 10% icy together with 5% wet pellets. Experimental work is recommended to validate the findings and to calibrate the simulations accordingly.</p>

The topic of osmund iron is of great interest in both historical and metallurgical perspective. Between the 14th and the 17th century osmund iron was exported extensively from Sweden but it has been difficult to characterize and confirm what exactly osmund iron is. Further research should be conducted to improve the understanding of this kind of iron.   This work is primarily focused on medieval osmund iron. It is trying to determine what can be stated about their production methods and how to identify osmund pieces. A literature review was performed, to present an overview of iron production methods in medieval Europe. A metallurgical analysis was conducted on a number of osmund samples from the polish shipwreck ‘Miedsiowiec’, W5., together with samples from bar irons and iron billets from the same ship. Analysis was performed using LOM and SEM with EDS, analysing the crystallographic structure of the samples, and performing slag analysis using EDS to establish statistical trends. One of the aims was to evaluate a previously suggested hypothesis, namely that osmunds were shipped to Danzig from Stockholm, and then refined into iron bars and billets.  The studied iron bars and billets were purely ferritic with some slag inclusions. By looking at the shape of the slag inclusions, it can be stated that the bars and billets were forged differently from the osmund pieces. The osmunds were found to be made by indirect reduction as seen by the prevalence of cementite. It could not be confirmed if the bars and billets were forged by osmunds.  The osmunds showed different trace element compositions, than the iron bars and billets. The microstructure of all the osmunds varies greatly, which was to be expected. The osmunds had a higher carbon content and fewer slag inclusions. The hypothesis that osmunds were refined into iron bars and billets is not supported by the findings of this study. / Osmundjärn är av stort arkeometallurgiskt intresse, som en svensk exportvara som exporterades mellan 1300- och 1600-talet. Det är dock svårt att definitivt avgöra vad osmundjärn är för något. Det krävs därför ytterligare analyser och studier inom detta område för att förbättra vår förståelse av osmundjärn.   Denna studie behandlar upphittade medeltida osmundjärn och stångjärn i syfte att avgöra hur dessa har tillverkats. En litteraturstudie genomfördes som omfattande medeltida järntillverkningsprocesser, den existerande forskningen om osmundjärn samt relevanta forskningsmetoder. Järnproverna som erhölls kommer från den polska skeppsvraket ’Miedsiowiec’, W5. Mikrostrukturen av proverna analyserades med ljusmikroskop och en SEM-EDS analys utfördes. En föregående publicering om osmundar har föreslagit att osmundar exporterades från Stockholm till Gdansk, där de välldes och bearbetades till stångjärn. Osmundarna och stångjärnen som erhölls undersöktes också för att korrektheten i denna hypotes. Stångjärnens mikrostrukturer var ferritiska med ett flertal inneslutningar. Två av de så kallade iron billets hade anisotropiskt formad slagg, jämfört med de så kallade iron bars som hade isotropiskt format slagg. Det bedömdes att osmundarna var tillverkade i en masugn, på grund av perliten som hittades i mikrostrukturen i samtliga osmundar. Mikrostrukturen i alla osmundar varierade dock kraftigt, som väntat. Osmundarna hade också högre kolhalt, och färre slaggpartiklar. Hypotesen om att osmundar bearbetades till stångjärn stöds därför inte av resultaten som hittats i denna studie.

[pt] As jazidas mundiais de minérios de ferro tendem ao empobrecimento dos teores de ferro, aumento das gangas (sílica, alumina, fósforo, etc.) e maiores ocorrências de minérios hidratados. Esta mudança vem gerando um esforço no sentido de aprimorar as técnicas de extração e beneficiamento. O fósforo é um contaminante que em certos teores provoca a fragilização dos aços, sendo, portanto, restritivo ao aproveitamento de importantes jazidas minerais, principalmente as ricas em minérios de origens intempéricas ou supergênicas. Vários trabalhos foram e estão sendo conduzidos visando desenvolver tecnologias capazes de reduzir o teor de P durante o processo de beneficiamento. Porém, até o momento não têm mostrado viabilidade econômica, face à escala de produção e a efeitos danosos ao ambiente. No caso da Samarco, os minérios foram gerados principalmente por processos de enriquecimento supergênico, nos quais é comum a presença de considerável goethita, que é apontada como principal mineral portador do fósforo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi, de forma original, a formulação de uma pelota para redução direta de forma que o fósforo se encontrasse fluxado em fases escorificadas. Essas fases, produzidas através de um adequado ciclo térmico de endurecimento e com composição química otimizada, resultaria em pelotas onde este elemento se mantivesse estável, tanto na produção do DRI quanto na fusão e refino oxidante deste no FEA. Para tanto foram realizados, além de uma ampla revisão bibliográfica, concebido um procedimento analítico original para quantificação apenas do fósforo liberado; planejado experimentos para: a avaliação cinética da migração deste fósforo em pellet feed, nas pelotas e no DRI quando submetido a diferentes aportes térmicos e auto-fluxagens; analise da influência das variáveis do processo de endurecimento sobre a liberação do fósforo e sua escorificação; e comprovação da estabilidade das fases escorificadas durante a redução, em escala de laboratório, e durante a fusão e refino conduzido em um FEA semi-industrial. Os resultados obtidos mostraram ser viável a produção de pelotas para redução direta com o fósforo auto-fluxado em fases estáveis. / [en] Actually the iron ore deposits in the world have the tendency to decrease the iron content, increasing the gangue (silica, alumina, phosphorus, etc.) and to further occurrence of hydrated ores. This change demands improvements in concentration processing techniques for feasible mining operations. The phosphorus is a contaminant that, in some contents, causes the embrittlement of steels, been, wherefore, a limitative to the use of important ore deposits, mostly regarding the weathered iron ores or supergene origins. Several studies were and have been conducted aiming to develop technologies capable of decreasing the P content during the beneficiation process. However, until now, the economic viability of such studies has not been feasible, considering the production scale and the harmful effects to the environment. In Samarco’s case, the mine geological formation is mostly supergene, which is responsible for the presence of the goethite ores, pointed as the main phosphorus carrier. The main point of this work was, with an innovating approach, formulate a new type of pellet addressed to direct reduction processes in a manner that the P could be fluxed into the slag phases. These phases, produced through an adequate thermal cycle of induration and with an optimized chemical composition, resulted in pellets with stable slags containing, as well as in the produced DRI and in the melted bath generated during the primary refining performed in the EAF. For this purpose, it was done, further to a wide bibliographic review, an original analytical procedure to quantify the released phosphorus and a series of planned experiments, such as: the kinetic evaluation of the phosphorus migration from the mineral phases of the pellet feed when subjected to different thermal treatments; analysis of the induration process variables which could affect the phosphorus release and its fluxing into the slag ; Finally, the stability of the fluxing phases during the reduction in a laboratory scale and the melting and refining process in a semi-industrial EAF, were performed. The obtained results showed the feasibility of this new approach produce DR pellets with self-fluxed phosphorus trapped in stable phases.

Du fait de problèmes de santé publique, l’industrie agroalimentaire doit réduire la quantité de sel et de matière grasse dans les aliments, et donc dans les charcuteries. Lors de la fabrication des saucissons secs, une diminution combinée des taux de sel et de matière grasse animale peut se traduire par des problèmes de stabilité microbiologique, des défauts d’arôme et de texture dus à des modifications physicochimiques et biochimiques. Dans ce contexte, les objectifs de cette thèse étaient : (1) d’étudier l’impact d’une réduction directe des teneurs en sel et en matière grasse animale sur les évolutions physicochimiques et biochimiques au sein des produits, (2) d’identifier les composés aromatiques responsables de l’arôme du saucisson sec, ainsi que leurs origines, (3) de développer de nouvelles formulations de saucissons secs à teneurs réduites en sodium et en acides gras saturés, et (4) d’étudier les transferts d’eau et sel et de développer une isotherme de sorption spécifique pour le saucisson sec. L’étude de l’effet d’une réduction directe combinée a mis en évidence la difficulté de fabriquer des saucissons secs à teneurs réduites en sel et en matière grasse animale, sans modifier les évolutions physicochimiques et biochimiques. Une identification des composés volatils odorants de saucissons secs de haut de gamme a permis de montrer que l’aromatisation par l’ail et le poivre noir pouvait être un levier technologique permettant d’améliorer la qualité aromatique des saucissons secs allégés en sel et en matière grasse animale. L’impact de l’aromatisation et d’une substitution partielle combinée du sel par le chlorure de potassium et du gras de bardière de porc par l’huile de tournesol oléique sur les propriétés physicochimiques, les réactions biochimiques et les attributs sensoriels de saucissons secs, a été étudié. Cette étude a montré le rôle important de l’aromatisation qui agit en introduisant des molécules aromatiques qui rehaussent l’acceptabilité des produits par les consommateurs, en tant qu’exhausteur de la perception du goût salé et aussi, sur les processus fermentaires qui vont conditionner l’aspect et la texture finale du produit. La substitution partielle combinée est une solution efficace pour conserver au mieux la qualité organoleptique des saucissons, en permettant, d’une part, d’éviter les défauts texturaux et sensoriels liés aux modifications physicochimiques, protéolytiques et lipolytiques générés par une réduction directe combinée, et d’autre part, d’améliorer l’arôme du produit en rehaussant les niveaux d’oxydations lipidique et protéique. L’étude des transferts d’eau et de sel a mis en évidence une migration du sel vers le cœur du saucisson, et a permis de déterminer des valeurs de diffusivité apparente de l’eau en surface de ces produits. Il a été montré qu’une forte réduction en matière grasse réduisait la diffusivité de l’eau à la surface du saucisson. Une isotherme de sorption spécifique permettant de prédire l’aw en fonction des teneurs en eau, en lipides et en sel a été construite en adaptant un modèle de Ross établi pour la gélatine salée et grasse. / Because of public health problems, the food industry must lower sodium and animal fat contents in all food products, therefore in cured meat products. During dry-fermented sausage manufacture, a combined reduction both in salt and animal fat contents may induce microbial safety problems and textural and aroma defects due to physical-chemical and biochemical changes. On account of that, this work of thesis aims (1) to investigate the impact of a direct reduction on the salt and animal fat contents on the physical-chemical and biochemical evolutions in the products, (2) to identify the aromatic compounds responsible for the aroma of dry-fermented sausage, and their origins, (3) to develop new nutritionally-improved formulations of dry-fermented sausages with less sodium and saturated fatty acids, and (4) to study the impact of lipid and sodium chloride contents on water transfers in dry-fermented sausages and to build a specific sorption isotherm curve for dry sausages. The study of the effect of a combined direct reduction highlighted the difficulty of manufacturing sodium-reduced fat-reduced dry sausages, without affecting the physical-chemical and biochemical evolutions. Identification of odorous volatile compounds of high quality dry sausages showed that flavouring, especially garlic and black pepper, could be a good solution for improving the aromatic quality of salt-reduced fat-reduced dry-fermented sausages. The impact of flavouring and of a combined salt and animal fat replacement by potassium chloride and oleic sunflower oil, respectively, on physical-chemical properties, biochemical reactions and sensory attributes of dry-fermented sausages was then studied. This specific study showed the crucial role played by flavouring which introduces aromatic molecules that enhance the product acceptability by consumers, which acts as an enhancer of the saltiness perception and which improves the product appearance and texture by boosting the fermentation process. Consequently, the combined partial substitution is an efficient solution to preserve at best the organoleptic quality of the products, allowing, on one hand, avoiding the textural and sensory defects related to physical-chemical, proteolytic and lipolytic modifications induced by a combined direct reduction, and on the other hand, enhancing the product aroma by increasing the levels of lipid and protein oxidations. The study on water and salt transfers highlighted a salt diffusion towards the dry sausage core, and made it possible to determine values of apparent water diffusivity at the sausage surface. We demonstrated that a strong reduction in animal fat content significantly lowered the water diffusivity value at the product surface. A specific sorption isotherm curve based on a modified Ross model was built, allowing dry-fermented sausages water activity to be calculated as a function of water, fat and salt contents.