Energy saving Chemical Beneficiation Method of Improving Low Grade Nigeria Chromite Ore for Use in Steel Industries

Abstract

This study detailed how direct acid leaching can be used to extract high grade chromite from low grade chromite ore for utilization in the steel industry. The suggested method, which makes use of nitric acid, avoids using traditional pyrometallurgical processes because they use a lot of energy. The leaching procedure is adjusted in accordance with the circumstances that will maximize chromium recovery. In this context, the independent variables are the nitric acid concentration (0.5–4 M), temperature (28–80°C), liquid to solid ratio (L/S) (3–10 mL g–1), and leaching period (10–120 min). The three parameters that affect the leaching process most effectively are, in order, acid concentrations, temperature, and particle sizes. By doing this, 86.7% of the chromite in the lean chromite ore was recovered. Shirking core model examination of the kinetics of leaching reveals that internal diffusion reaction controls the rate of leaching, and the apparent activation energy calculated is 24.8 kJ.mol-1. This approach is successful and relatively inexpensive for chromite beneficiation. The gap is thus filled by the use of all-known inefficient acid dissolution procedures, which are less expensive and could serve as an alternate way of chromite beneficiation for use in iron and steel.