Formation Mechanism of Titanium Carbide in Titanium-bearing Blast Furnace Slag

Abstract

The formation of titanium carbide (TiC) may result in slag thickening, slag foaming and difficulty in separation between hot metal and slag etc during the blast furnace smelting process with Vanadic Titanomagnetite. Therefore, it is very important to understand and manage the formation of titanium carbide. The formation mechanism of titanium carbide during the reduction process of blast furnace slag - bearing titanium was studied with theoretical calculations and experiments. In the experiment, blast furnace slag - bearing titanium was subjected to 6 hours’ isothermal treatment at temperature range of I300°C-I550°Cin graphite crucible with Ar flow rate of 2L/min (1 atm). The reduced slag was characterized by mineralogical microscope and SEM-EDS detection methods. As a result, the formation of titanium carbide started at a temperature higher than I400°C.