Abstract
Titanium-bearing magnetite ore is generically defined as magnetite with > 1% titanium dioxide (TiO2) and is usually vanadium-bearing. The iron and titanium occur as a mixture of magnetite (Fe3O4) and ilmenite (FeTiO3) with vanadium oxide usually occurring within the solid solution of the titanium-bearing magnetite phase. These ores are currently widely processed in blast furnaces via modified ironmaking processes. Typically, vanadium is recovered as a by-product from the ironmaking process, while the diluted titania slag is stockpiled. Fluxless smelting in a direct-current open-arc furnace is proposed as an opportunity to improve iron and vanadium recovery and potentially unlock the titanium as a slag product. Slags produced from a pilot study are compared to industrial slags produced from ilmenite. The findings from the pilot test show that slag produced under fluxless smelting conditions in an open-arc electric furnace is remarkably similar to industrial ilmenite slags. The test conditions were varied to evaluate the slag and metal composition, and furnace operation, under increasing reducing conditions. The study showed that the slag and metal product was remarkably similar to industrial slag produced from ilmenite.
Highlights
Fluxless smelting of ilmenite to produce furnace slag as feedstock for the pigment industry is a wellestablished industrial practice with extensive installed smelting capacity globally.[1,2,3,4] Commercial ilmenite smelters produce two products, namely titania-rich slag and a pig iron by-product
The main objective of the smelting test was to demonstrate the feasibility of producing slag from titaniferous magnetite via fluxless smelting
The results show that the slag has the same appearance as typical ilmenite furnace slag, especially the slags produced at the Sorel site
Summary
Fluxless smelting of ilmenite to produce furnace slag as feedstock for the pigment industry is a wellestablished industrial practice with extensive installed smelting capacity globally.[1,2,3,4] Commercial ilmenite smelters produce two products, namely titania-rich slag and a pig iron by-product. Smelting practices for titaniferous magnetite (or titanomagnetite) recover only iron and vanadium. Unlocking the full potential of this complex ore is of economic interest, especially in China and South Africa, as both regions have large endowments of titaniferous magnetite and a history of processing these deposits for iron and vanadium recovery.[10] To evaluate the potential of recovering titanium, it is Evaluation of Titania-Rich Slag Produced from Titaniferous Magnetite Under Fluxless Smelting Conditions crucial to evaluate the potential of titaniferous magnetite slag as a future feedstock for pigment production. This article presents the results from a pilot-scale direct current (DC) furnace smelting test during which titaniferous magnetite ore was processed, in the absence of fluxes, to produce a titania-rich slag. The chemical compositions and general appearance of the slags from the pilot study are compared to those of industrial ilmenite smelters as part of establishing the potential of the proposed approach
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