Xuewei Lu

Isothermal reduction of titanomagnetite concentrates containing coal

The isothermal reduction of the Panzhihua titanomagnetite concentrates (PTC) briquette containing coal under argon atmosphere was investigated by thermogravimetry in an electric resistance furnace within the temperature range of 1250–1350°C. The samples reduced in argon at 1350°C for different time were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Model-fitting and model-free methods were used to evaluate the apparent activation energy of the reduction reaction. It is found that the reduction rate is very fast at the early stage, and then, at a later stage, the reduction rate becomes slow and decreases gradually to the end of the reduction. It is also observed that the reduction of PTC by coal depends greatly on the temperature. At high temperatures, the reduction degree reaches high values faster and the final value achieved is higher than at low temperatures. The final phase composition of the reduced PTC-coal briquette consists in iron and ferrous-pseudobrookite (FeTi2O5), while Fe2.75Ti0.25O4, Fe2.5Ti0.5O4, Fe2.25Ti0.75O4, ilmenite (FeTiO3) and wustite (FeO) are intermediate products. The reaction rate is controlled by the phase boundary reaction for reduction degree less than 0.2 with an apparent activation energy of about 68 kJ·mol−1 and by three-dimensional diffusion for reduction degree greater than 0.75 with an apparent activation energy of about 134 kJ·mol−1. For the reduction degree in the range of 0.2–0.75, the reaction rate is under mixed control, and the activation energy increases with the increase of the reduction degree.

Effect of cooling rate on the crystallization behavior of perovskite in high titanium-bearing blast furnace slag

The effect of cooling rate on the crystallization of perovskite in high Ti-bearing blast furnace (BF) slag was studied using confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM). Results showed that perovskite was the primary phase formed during the cooling of slag. On the slag surface, the growth of perovskite proceeded via the successive production of quasi-particles along straight lines, which further extended in certain directions. The morphology and structure of perovskite was found to vary as a function of cooling rate. At cooling rates of 10 and 30 K/min, the dendritic arms of perovskite crossed obliquely, while they were orthogonal at a cooling rate of 20 K/min and hexagonal at cooling rates of 40 and 50 K/min. These three crystal morphologies thus obtained at different cooling rates respectively corresponded to the orthorhombic, cubic and hexagonal crystal structures of perovskite. The observed change in the structure of perovskite could probably be attributed to the deficiency of O2−, when Ti2O3 was involved in the formation of perovskite.

Isothermal reduction kinetics of Panzhihua ilmenite concentrate under 30vol% CO–70vol% N2 atmosphere

The reduction of ilmenite concentrate in 30vol% CO–70vol% N2 atmosphere was characterized by thermogravimetric and differential thermogravimetric (TG–DTG) analysis methods at temperatures from 1073 to 1223 K. The isothermal reduction results show that the reduction process comprised two stages; the corresponding apparent activation energy was obtained by the iso-conversional and model-fitting methods. For the first stage, the effect of temperature on the conversion degree was not obvious, the phase boundary chemical reaction was the controlling step, with an apparent activation energy of 15.55–40.71 kJ·mol–1. For the second stage, when the temperatures was greater than 1123 K, the reaction rate and the conversion degree increased sharply with increasing temperature, and random nucleation and subsequent growth were the controlling steps, with an apparent activation energy ranging from 182.33 to 195.95 kJ·mol–1. For the whole reduction process, the average activation energy and pre-exponential factor were 98.94–118.33 kJ·mol–1 and 1.820–1.816 min–1, respectively.

Preparation of ferronickel from nickel laterite via coal-based reduction followed by magnetic separation

The sticking phenomenon between molten slag and refractory is one of the crucial problems when preparing ferronickel from laterite ore using rotary hearth furnace or rotary kiln processes. This study aims to ameliorate sticking problems by using silicon dioxide (SiO2) to adjust the melting degree of the briquette during reduction roasting. Thermodynamic analysis indicates that the melting temperature of the slag gradually increases with an increase in the SiO2 proportion (SiO2/(SiO2 + Al2O3 + MgO) mass ratio). Experimental validations also prove that the briquette retains its original shape when the SiO2 proportion is greater than 75wt%, and sticking problems are avoided during reduction. A ferronickel product with 8.33wt% Ni and 84.71wt% Fe was prepared via reductive roasting at 1500°C for 90 min with a SiO2 proportion of 75wt% and a C/O molar ratio of 1.0 followed by dry magnetic separation; the corresponding recoveries of Ni and Fe reached 75.70% and 77.97%, respectively. The microstructure and phase transformation of reduced briquette reveals that the aggregation and growth of ferronickel particles were not significantly affected after adding SiO2 to the reduction process.