Innovative methodology for recovering titanium and chromium from a raw ilmenite concentrate by magnetic separation after modifying magnetic properties

Abstract

Raw ilmenite concentrate containing Cr can be either as a resource or as one kind of the most hazardous solid waste. In order to recover titanium and chromium from the raw concentrate which was separated from the Promenade deposit, Gaza province, Mozambique, an innovative technology using modification of magnetic property followed by magnetic separation was proposed. Magnetic property, phase and surface morphology of the sample before and after oxidizing roasting were firstly characterized by magnetism, chemistry, XRD and MLA analyses to interpret the mechanism of oxidizing roasting of the ilmenite. Then, these factors such as oxidizing roasting temperature, residence time and magnetic induction affecting on magnetic separation performance were examined and the optimum process parameters were determined. A commercial concentrate containing 47.94% TiO2 and 0.23% Cr2O3 was obtained and the recovery of TiO2 and Cr2O3 was 78.52% and 5.42%, respectively. The tailing obtained was preliminarily concentrated by a high-intensity magnetic separator and a rough chromite concentrate was gained. In order to further purify the rough one, reducing roasting was carried out to transform the minerals containing hematite into the minerals containing magnetite, followed by a low-intensity magnetic separation. The effects of these parameters such as temperature, carbon powder dosage, holding time and magnetic induction on magnetic separation performance were investigated and the optimal conditions were determined. A concentrate containing 28.65% Cr2O3 was obtained and the total recovery of Cr2O3 was 84.18%.