Desheng Chen

A novel process for recovery of iron, titanium, and vanadium from titanomagnetite concentrates: NaOH molten salt roasting and water leaching processes

A novel process for recovering iron, titanium, and vanadium from titanomagnetite concentrates has been developed. In the present paper, the treatment of rich titanium-vanadium slag by NaOH molten salt roasting and water leaching processes is investigated. In the NaOH molten salt roasting process, the metallic iron is oxidized into ferriferous oxide, MgTi(2)O(5) is converted to NaCl-type structure of Na(2)TiO(3), and M(3)O(5) (M=Ti, Mg, Fe) is converted to α-NaFeO(2)-type structure of NaMO(2), respectively. Roasting temperature and NaOH-slag mass ratio played a considerable role in the conversion of titanium in the rich titanium-vanadium slag during the NaOH molten salt roasting process. Roasting at 500 °C for 60 min and a 1:1 NaOH-slag mass ratio produces 96.3% titanium conversion. In the water leaching process, the Na(+) was exchanged with H(+), Na(2)TiO(3) is converted to undefined structure of H(2)TiO(3), and NaMO(2) is converted to α-NaFeO(2)-type structure of HMO(2). Under the optimal conditions, 87.3% of the sodium, 42.3% of the silicon, 43.2% of the aluminum, 22.8% of the manganese, and 96.6% of the vanadium are leached out.

Desilication from titanium-vanadium slag by alkaline leaching

A hydrometallurgical process for the selective removal of silicon from titanium-vanadium slag by alkaline leaching was investigated. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and electron dispersive spectroscopy were used to characterize the samples. The results show that anosovite, pyroxene and metallic iron are the major components of the titanium-vanadium slag. Anosovite is presented in granular and plate shapes, and pyroxene is distributed in the anosovite crystals. Metallic iron is spheroidal and wrapped in anosovite. Silicon is mainly in the pyroxene, and titanium and vanadium are mainly in the anosovite. The effects of agitation speed, leaching temperature, leaching time, sodium hydroxide concentration and liquid-solid (L/S) mass ratio on the leaching behavior of silica from titanium-vanadium slag were investigated. The leaching temperature and L/S mass ratio played considerable role in the desilication process. Under the optimal conditions, 88.2% silicon, 66.3% aluminum, 27.3% manganese, and only 1.2% vanadium were leached out. The desilication kinetics of the titanium-vanadium slag was described by the chemical control model. The apparent activation energy of the desilication process was found to be 46.3 kJ/mol.

An extraction process to recover vanadium from low-grade vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite

An extraction process to recover vanadium from low-grade vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite was developed. In this study, a mixed solvent system of di(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (D2EHPA) and tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) diluted with kerosene was used for the selective extraction of vanadium from a hydrochloric acid leaching solution that contained low vanadium concentration with high concentrations of iron and impurities of Ca, Mg, and Al. In the extraction process, the initial solution pH and the phase ratio had considerable functions in the extraction of vanadium from the hydrochloric acid leaching solution. Under optimal extraction conditions (i.e., 30-40°C for 10min, 1:3 phase ratio (O/A), 20% D2EHPA concentration (v/v), and 0-0.8 initial solution pH), 99.4% vanadium and only 4.2% iron were extracted by the three-stage counter-current extraction process. In the stripping process with H2SO4 as the stripping agent and under optimal stripping conditions (i.e., 20% H2SO4 concentration, 5:1 phase ratio (O/A), 20min stripping time, and 40°C stripping temperature), 99.6% vanadium and only 5.4% iron were stripped by the three-stage counter-current stripping process. The stripping solution contained 40.16g/LV2O5,0.691g/L Fe, 0.007g/L TiO2, 0.006g/L SiO2 and 0.247g/L CaO. A V2O5 product with a purity of 99.12% V2O5 and only 0.026% Fe was obtained after the oxidation, precipitation, and calcination processes. The total vanadium recovered from the hydrochloric acid leaching solution was 85.5%.

Behaviors of vanadium and chromium in coal-based direct reduction of high-chromium vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite concentrates followed by magnetic separation

The reduction behaviors of FeO center dot V2O3 and FeO center dot Cr2O3 during coal-based direct reduction have a decisive impact on the efficient utilization of high-chromium vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite concentrates. The effects of molar ratio of C to Fe n(C)/n(Fe) and temperature on the behaviors of vanadium and chromium during direct reduction and magnetic separation were investigated. The reduced samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning election microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) techniques. Experimental results indicate that the recoveries of vanadium and chromium rapidly increase from 10.0% and 9.6% to 45.3% and 74.3%, respectively, as the n(C)/n(Fe) increases from 0.8 to 1.4. At n(C)/n(Fe) of 0.8, the recoveries of vanadium and chromium are always lower than 10.0% in the whole temperature range of 1100 1250 degrees C. However, at n(C)/n(Fe) of 1.2, the recoveries of vanadium and chromium considerably increase from 17.8% and 33.8% to 42.4% and 76.0%, respectively, as the temperature increases from 1100 degrees C to 1250 degrees C. At n(C)/n(Fe) lower than 0.8, most of the FeO center dot V2O3 and FeO center dot Cr2O3 are not reduced to carbides because of the lack of carbonaceous reductants, and the temperature has little effect on the reduction behaviors of FeO center dot V2O3 and FeO center dot Cr2O3, resulting in very low recoveries of vanadium and chromium during magnetic separation. However, at higher n(C)/n(Fe), the reduction rates of FeO center dot V2O3 and FeO center dot Cr2O3 increase significatly because of the excess amount of carbonaceous reductants. Moreover, higher temperatures largely induce the reduction of FeO center dot V2O3 and FeO center dot Cr2O3 to carbides. The newly formed carbides are then dissolved in the gamma(FCC) phase, and recovered accompanied with the metallic iron during magnetic separation.

Preparation of rutile TiO2 by hydrolysis of TiOCl2 solution: experiment and theory

Titanium slag with a perovskite phase (CaTiO3) is difficult to use in traditional titanium dioxide production. Herein, we demonstrate that HCl can decompose CaTiO3 with a high acidolysis ratio of >97 wt% to obtain a TiOCl2 solution. With subsequent hydrolysis and calcination, rutile TiO2 was synthesised in one step without crystalline-structure transformation. As hydrolysis of the TiOCl2 solution to prepare metatitanic acid (H2TiO3) is an essential step in the process, a simulated pure TiOCl2 solution (prepared from TiCl4 and H2O) was confirmed to have the same structure in water as HCl-treated CaTiO3 slag by Raman spectroscopy. The TiOCl2 solution was also concluded to have the Ti compound cluster of (Ti2O2)(H2O)4Cl4, based on DFT calculations from the Raman data and the curve fit for the hydrolysis ratio. By elucidating the relationship between the H2TiO3 particle size and the concentration of Ti4+ and HCl, we identified the nuclear energy as -19.46 kJ mol−1. Moreover, a complete scheme for the production of rutile TiO2, induced by TiOCl2 solution hydrolysis, was proposed. Periodic structures show the feasibility of the following transformation occurring through a simple structural rearrangement: (Ti2O2)(H2O)4Cl4 (in solution)–Ti(OH)(H2O)2Cl3 (with addition of HCl)–Ti(OH)2Cl2 (1-dimentional growth and removal of HCl)–rutile-type Ti(OH)2Cl2 (stack)–rutile TiO2 (with removal of HCl).

A novel process for the recovery of iron, titanium, and vanadium from vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite: sodium modification–direct reduction coupled process

A sodium modification–direct reduction coupled process was proposed for the simultaneous extraction of V and Fe from vanadium- bearing titanomagnetite. The sodium oxidation of vanadium oxides to water-soluble sodium vanadate and the transformation of iron oxides to metallic iron were accomplished in a single-step high-temperature process. The increase in roasting temperature favors the reduction of iron oxides but disfavors the oxidation of vanadium oxides. The recoveries of vanadium, iron, and titanium reached 84.52%, 89.37%, and 95.59%, respectively. Moreover, the acid decomposition efficiency of titanium slag reached 96.45%. Compared with traditional processes, the novel process provides several advantages, including a shorter flow, a lower energy consumption, and a higher utilization efficiency of vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite resources.

Leaching of vanadium, sodium, and silicon from molten V-Ti-bearing slag obtained from low-grade vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite

The water leaching process of vanadium, sodium, and silicon from molten vanadium-titanium-bearing (V-Ti-bearing) slag obtained from low-grade vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite was investigated systematically. The results show that calcium titanate, sodium aluminosilicate, sodium oxide, silicon dioxide and sodium vanadate are the major components of the molten V-Ti-bearing slag. The experimental results indicate that the liquid-solid (L/S) mass ratio significantly affects the leaching process because of the respective solubilities and diffusion rates of the components. A total of 83.8% of vanadium, 72.8% of sodium, and 16.1% of silicon can be leached out via a triple counter-current leaching process under the optimal conditions of a particle size below 0.074 mm, a temperature of 90°C, a leaching time of 20 min, an L/S mass ratio of 4:1, and a stirring speed of 300 r/min. The kinetics of vanadium leaching is well described by an internal diffusion-controlled model and the apparent activation energy is 11.1 kJ/mol. The leaching mechanism of vanadium was also analyzed.

A method for recovery of iron, titanium, and vanadium from vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite

An innovative method for recovering valuable elements from vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite is proposed. This method involves two procedures: low-temperature roasting of vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite and water leaching of roasting slag. During the roasting process, the reduction of iron oxides to metallic iron, the sodium oxidation of vanadium oxides to water-soluble sodium vanadate, and the smelting separation of metallic iron and slag were accomplished simultaneously. Optimal roasting conditions for iron/slag separation were achieved with a mixture thickness of 42.5 mm, a roasting temperature of 1200°C, a residence time of 2 h, a molar ratio of C/O of 1.7, and a sodium carbonate addition of 70wt%, as well as with the use of anthracite as a reductant. Under the optimal conditions, 93.67% iron from the raw ore was recovered in the form of iron nugget with 95.44% iron grade. After a water leaching process, 85.61% of the vanadium from the roasting slag was leached, confirming the sodium oxidation of most of the vanadium oxides to water-soluble sodium vanadate during the roasting process. The total recoveries of iron, vanadium, and titanium were 93.67%, 72.68%, and 99.72%, respectively.