Tichang Sun

Study on Phosphorus Removal of High-Phosphorus Oolitic Hematite by Coal-Based Direct Reduction and Magnetic Separation

In this article, mineralogical phase changes and structural changes of iron oxides and phosphorus-bearing minerals during the direct reduction roasting process were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). It has been found that the reduction of hematite follows the following general pathway: Fe2O3 → Fe3O4 → FeO → Fe. The last step of the reduction process contains two side reactions: either FeO → Fe2SiO4 → Fe or FeO → FeAl2O4 → Fe depending on the micro mineralogical makeup of the ore. In the reduction process of FeO → Fe, oolitic structure was destroyed completely and fluorapatite was diffused into gangue while metallic phase is coarsening at temperatures below 1200°C. Therefore, the separation of phosphorus-bearing gangue and metallic iron can be achieved by wet grinding and magnetic separation, and low phosphorus content metallic iron powder can be obtained. However, when the temperature reached 1250°C and beyond, some of the fluorapatite was reduced to elemental P and diffused into the metallic iron phase, making the P content higher in the metallic iron powder.

Preparation of titanium dioxide from titania-rich slag by molten NaOH method

Preparing titanium dioxide from titania-rich slag (TiO2 73wt%) by molten NaOH method has been developed. The effects of temperature and reaction time on the titanium conversion were investigated. The results showed that temperature had significant influence on the titanium conversion as well as the structure of the product. About 92% of titanium in the titania-rich slag could be converted after reacting with NaOH at 500°C for 1 h. Metatitanic acid was formed through the steps of washing treatment, acid dissolution, and hydrolysis. Well-dispersed spherical titanium dioxide particles with an average size of 0.1–0.4 μm can be obtained by calcination of metatitanic acid. In addition, the content of titanium dioxide in the product is up to 98.6wt%, which can be used as pigments after further treatment of coating and crushing.

Thermodynamic analysis of the carbothermic reduction of a high-phosphorus oolitic iron ore by FactSage

A thermodynamic analysis of the carbothermic reduction of high-phosphorus oolitic iron ore (HPOIO) was conducted by the FactSage thermochemical software. The effects of temperature, C/O ratio, additive types, and dosages both on the reduction of fluorapatite and the formation of liquid slag were studied. The results show that the minimum thermodynamic reduction temperature of fluorapatite by carbon decreases to about 850°C, which is mainly ascribed to the presence of SiO2, Al2O3, and Fe. The reduction rate of fluorapatite increases and the amount of liquid slag decreases with the rise of C/O ratio. The reduction of fluorapatite is hindered by the addition of CaO and Na2CO3, thereby allowing the selective reduction of iron oxides upon controlled C/O ratio. The thermodynamic results obtain in the present work are in good agreement with the experimental results available in the literatures.

Generation process of FeS and its inhibition mechanism on iron mineral reduction in selective direct reduction of laterite nickel ore

Numerous studies have demonstrated that Na2SO4 can significantly inhibit the reduction of iron oxide in the selective reduction process of laterite nickel ore. FeS generated in the process plays an important role in selective reduction, but the generation process of FeS and its inhibition mechanism on iron reduction are not clear. To figure this out, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy analyses were conducted to study the roasted ore. The results show that when Na2SO4 is added in the roasting, the FeO content in the roasted ore increases accompanied by the emergence of FeS phase. Further analysis indicates that Na2S formed by the reaction of Na2SO4 with CO reacts with SiO2 at the FeO surface to generate FeS and Na2Si2O5. As a result, a thin film forms on the surface of FeO, hindering the contact between reducing gas and FeO. Therefore, the reduction of iron is depressed, and the FeO content in the roasted ore increases.

Study on the strength of cold-bonded high-phosphorus oolitic hematite-coal composite briquettes

Composite briquettes containing high-phosphorus oolitic hematite and coal were produced with a twin-roller briquette machine using sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, molasses, starch, sodium silicate, and bentonite as binders. The effect of these binders on the strength of the composite briquettes, including cold strength and high-temperature strength, was investigated by drop testing and compression testing. It was found the addition of Ca(OH)2 and Na2CO3 not only improved the reduction of iron oxides and promoted dephosphorization during the reduction-separation process but also provided strength to the composite briquettes during the briquetting process; a compressive strength of 152.8 N per briquette was obtained when no binders were used. On this basis, the addition of molasses, sodium silicate, starch, and bentonite improved the cold strength of the composite briquettes, and a maximum compressive strength of 404.6 N per briquette was obtained by using starch. When subjected to a thermal treatment at 1200°C, all of the composite briquettes suffered from a sharp decrease in compressive strength during the initial reduction process. This decrease in strength was related to an increase in porosity of the composite briquettes. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses showed that the decrease in strength of the composite briquettes could be caused by four factors: decomposition of bonding materials, gasification of coal, transportation of byproduct gases in the composite briquettes, and thermal stress.

Effects of embedding direct reduction followed by magnetic separation on recovering titanium and iron of beach titanomagnetite concentrate

Embedding direct reduction followed by magnetic separation was conducted to fully recover iron and titanium separately from beach titanomagnetite (TTM). The influences of reduction conditions, such as molar ratio of C to Fe, reduction time, and reduction temperature, were studied. The results showed that the TTM concentrate was reduced to iron and iron-titanium oxides, depending on the reduction time, and the reduction sequence at 1200 °C was suggested as follows: Fe2.75Ti0.25O4→Fe2TiO4→FeTiO3→FeTi2O5. The reduction temperature played a considerable role in the reduction of TTM concentrates. Increasing temperature from 1100 to 1200 °C was beneficial to recovering titanium and iron, whereas the results deteriorated as temperature increased further. The results of X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy analyses showed that low temperature (⩽1100 °C) was unfavorable for the gasification of reductant, resulting in insufficient reducing atmosphere in the reduction process. The molten phase was formed at high temperatures of 1250–1300 °C, which accelerated the migration rate of metallic particles and suppressed the diffusion of reduction gas, resulting in poor reduction. The optimum conditions for reducing TTM concentrate are as follows: molar ratio of C to Fe of 1.68, reduction time of 150 min, and reduction temperature of 1200 °C. Under these conditions, direct reduction iron powder, assaying 90.28 mass% TFe and 1.73 mass% TiO2 with iron recovery of 90.85%, and titanium concentrate, assaying 46.24 mass% TiO2 with TiO2 recovery of 91.15%, were obtained.

Effect of Sodium Sulfate on Direct Reduction of Beach Titanomagnetite for Separation of Iron and Titanium

The effect of sodium sulfate on direct reduction of beach titanomagnetite, followed by magnetic separation, to separate iron and titanium was investigated. Direct reduced iron (DRI) with a high Fe content, low TiO2 content and low iron recovery was obtained after adding sodium sulfate. When the sodium sulfate dosage was increased from 0 to 10 mass%, the Fe content of the DRI increased from 90.00 mass% to 93.55 mass% and the TiO2 content decreased from 1.27 mass% to 0.70 mass%. The reduction mechanism of sodium sulfate was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). Results revealed that the metallic iron grains in the reduced ore with sodium sulfate were larger than those in the ore without sodium sulfate. Sodium sulfate promoted the migration of iron as well as the accumulation and growth of metallic iron grains by low-melting-point carnegieite and troilite formed in the redox system. Low-melting-point carnegieite decreased the melting point of the system and then promoted liquefaction. Troilite could decrease the surface tension and melting point of metallic iron grains.

Effects of Na2SO4 on iron and nickel reduction in a high-iron and low-nickel laterite ore

This study investigates the reactions of Na2SO4 and its effects on iron and nickel reduction in the roasting of a high-iron and low-nickel laterite ore through gas composition, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscope analyses. Results showed that a reduction reaction of Na2SO4 to SO2 was performed with roasting up to 600°C. However, no clear influence on iron and nickel reductions appeared, because only a small amount of Na2SO4 reacted to produce SO2. Na2SO4 reacted completely at 1000°C, mainly producing troilite and nepheline, which remarkably improves selective reduction of nickel. Furthermore, the production of low-melting-point minerals, including troilite and nepheline, accelerated nickel reduction and delayed iron reduction, which is attributed to the concurrent production of magnesium magnetite, whose structure is more stable than the structure of magnetite. Reduction reactions of Na2SO4 resulted in weakening of the reduction atmosphere, and the main product of Na2SO4 changed and delayed the reduction of iron. Eventually, iron metallization was effectively controlled during laterite ore reduction roasting, leading to iron mainly being found in wustite and high iron-containing olivine.

Feasibility of co-reduction roasting of a saprolitic laterite ore and waste red mud

Large scale utilization is still an urgent problem for waste red mud with a high content of alkaline metal component in the future. Laterite ores especially the saprolitic laterite ore are one refractory nickel resource, the nickel and iron of which can be effectively recovered by direct reduction and magnetic separation. Alkaline metal salts were usually added to enhance reduction of laterite ores. The feasibility of co-reduction roasting of a saprolitic laterite ore and red mud was investigated. Results show that the red mud addition promoted the reduction of the saprolitic laterite ore and the iron ores in the red mud were co-reduced and recovered. By adding 35wt% red mud, the nickel grade and recovery were 4.90wt% and 95.25wt%, and the corresponding iron grade and total recovery were 71.00wt% and 93.77wt%, respectively. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analysis results revealed that red mud addition was helpful to increase the liquid phase and ferronickel grain growth. The chemical compositions “CaO and Na2O” in the red mud replaced FeO to react with SiO2 and MgSiO3 to form augite.

Effect of Na2CO3 and CaCO3 on coreduction roasting of blast furnace dust and high-phosphorus oolitic hematite

Iron was recovered from blast furnace dust and high-phosphorus oolitic hematite in the presence of Na2CO3 and CaCO3 additives. The functions of Na2CO3 and CaCO3 during the coreduction roasting process were investigated by XRD and SEM-EDS analyses. Results indicate that these additives not only hinder the reduction of fluorapatite, CaCO3 also decreases the P content of direct reduced iron (DRI) by increasing the reduction alkalinity. P remains as fluorapatite in the slag, which can be removed by grinding and magnetic separation under optimal conditions. The Na2CO3 promotes hematite reduction and improves the iron recovery (εFe) by replacing the FeO from fayalite, which results in quick growth and aggregation of metallic iron and improvement of εFe in DRI. A DRI with 91.88 mass% Fe, and 0.065 mass% P can be achieved at a recovery of 87.86 mass% under the optimal condition.