Influence of TiO2 and basicity on viscosity of Ti bearing slag

Abstract

The viscosities of CaO–SiO2–7MgO–TiO2–12Al2O3 (wt-%) slags (CaO/SiO2 = 0·5–0·9, wt-% TiO2 = 15–30) were investigated to promote understanding of the effect of TiO2 and basicity (CaO/SiO2) on the viscous behaviour of slags containing TiO2. In practice, these experimental results are significant for the blast furnace (BF) processing of vanadium–titanium magnetite ore and for controlling the selective crystallisation of Ti bearing BF slags. The slag viscosity was found to decrease with increasing TiO2 content at a fixed basicity. The degree of viscosity decrease with increasing TiO2 content diminishes in the slag with higher basicity or higher TiO2 content. An increase in the basicity lowers the viscosity of slags. The apparent activation energy of viscous flow of slags decreased with additions of TiO2 and increasing basicity. The Urbain model was empirically modified based on the present experimental data, which can be used to predict not only quinary Ti bearing slags but also quaternary and low Ti bearing slags.