Ferronickel Production Research Articles

A Review of Direct Reduction–Magnetic Separation Process for Ferronickel Production from Nickel Laterite

A Review of Direct Reduction–Magnetic Separation Process for Ferronickel Production from Nickel Laterite

Valorization of Solid Residue from the Lateritic Nickel Ore Leaching Process for Ferronickel Production

Valorization of Solid Residue from the Lateritic Nickel Ore Leaching Process for Ferronickel Production

Development of the technology of ferronickel production in Ukraine

Development of the technology of ferronickel production in Ukraine

Municipal Solid Waste as a Potential Reducing Agent for Substituting Coal in Ferronickel Production

Municipal Solid Waste as a Potential Reducing Agent for Substituting Coal in Ferronickel Production

Research of Reactions on Ferronickel Laterite by Rotary Kiln Furnace Process

Nickel is an important strategic metal, which is mainly used for the production of a wide range in the production of various anti-corrosion steels. Electric furnace, rotary kiln and smelting is currently the world-wide integration process for the production of ferronickel from nickel laterite ore, despite its high energy consumption. In this study, with the aim of providing some meaningful analysis for the production of ferronickel and reactions formed in the rotary kiln. The samples obtained were analyzed under conditions including reducing parameters (temperature and time) and smelting parameters (CaO, Al2O3 and MgO ratios). The metal content as well as the Ni, Fe, S and P content of ferronickel were taken into account. The results showed that Ni-containing ferronickel from a laterite with 0.88 wt. % Ni during the process in the rotating furnace is characterized by different reactions which have been verified by XRD diffraction.

Розвиток технології виробництва феронікелю в Україні

Розвиток технології виробництва феронікелю в Україні

Assessing the impact of climate change and water scarcity of ferronickel production in Indonesia: A life cycle assessment approach

In Indonesia, emissions from coal-fired steam power stations are the greatest environmental concern of the nickel industry. Prior researches have exclusively focused on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Meanwhile, this study includes CO2 fossil and CO2 biogenic emissions as well as CO2 absorption by plants into its assessment of the climate change consequences associated with ferronickel production in Indonesia. The objective of this study is to evaluate the potential impacts of climate change and water scarcity on the nickel industry in Indonesia by implementing various power facility scenarios. The methodology chosen for this study was Attributional Life Cycle Assessment (ALCA). The impact of climate change can be reduced by 38.9 %, or from 99,024.7 to 60,522.2 kg CO2 eq/t, if coal fuel is replaced with biomass fuel in steam power plants. By replacing steam power stations fuelled by coal with hydroelectric facilities, the impact of climate change can be reduced by 96 %, from 99,024.7 to 3,993.7 kg CO2 eq/t. This results in a 12.5 % decrease in water scarcity, from 100.3 to 89.1 m3 H2O eq/t. In the nickel industry, hydroelectric power plants are more effective at mitigating climate change than steam power plants powered by coal or biomass.

Collaborative separation of nickel and iron from nickel laterite ore and red mud

ABSTRACT In this study, we investigated a nickel laterite ore with Ni content of 1.56 wt% and a red mud with Fe content of 20.98 wt%, the main Ni-bearing mineral in the nickel laterite ore was nickel-lizardite, and the main Fe-bearing mineral in the red mud was hematite. A novel process of roasting and magnetic separation was purposed to extract nickel and iron from the nickel laterite ore and red mud. The nickel laterite ore, red mud, calcium chloride, and coke were mixed and put in a roaster for roasting, and the ferronickel concentrate was obtained from the roasted ore by magnetic separation. The results showed that a ferronickel concentrate with Ni content of 7.97 wt%, Fe content of 73.09 wt%, iron recovery of 76.87%, and nickel recovery of 90.28% was obtained under the optimal conditions: a mass ratio of m (nickel laterite ore): m (red mud) : m (coke) : m (calcium chloride) : of 0.6:0.4:0.2:0.1, a roasting temperature of 1373 K, a roasting time of 90 min, a grinding fineness of − 0.045 mm occupying 90%, and a magnetic field strength of 0.20 T. The main minerals in the ferronickel product were metallic Fe and FeNi.

EFFECT OF MIXING METHODS PRIOR THE DECOMPOSITION PROCESS ON THE DECOMPOSED FERRONICKEL SLAG

Ferronickel slag is a by-product that was obtained from ferronickel production and contains Si and Mg as the main elements. Decomposition process using alkali could decrease energy consumption to process ferronickel slag by decreasing its melting point. The mixing methods prior to the decomposition process could significantly affect interaction between reactants over the process, therefore it is essential to study. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of mixing methods of ferronickel slag and NaOH prior decomposition process on the chemical composition, phase, and microstructure of decomposed ferronickel slag. Two different mixing methods, physical mixing, and impregnation, followed by roasting process at 350 ℃ for 60 minutes were performed, characterized, and analyzed. Thermodynamic analysis was calculated and shows having a good agreement with the characterization results which formation of sodium silicate, magnesium hydroxide and iron oxide were identified. Distribution of product layer of RI can be determined, while spotty decomposition was clearly identified. The effectiveness of impregnation over physical mixing was investigated.

Glass Ceramic with Improved Structure and Properties Made with Wastes from FeNi Production

Hazardous residues from ferronickel production are vitrified. The optimum thermal regime for the conversion of the resulting glass into glass-ceramics is estimated by rapid alternative methods: the nucleation step is valued by DTA, and the crystallization step by density measurements. The results show that a short and inexpensive thermal treatment can be used. The evolution of phase formation is highlighted by XRD, SEM–EDS, FESEM and TEM. Due to the presence of 1.5 wt % chromium oxides and high amounts of iron and magnesium oxides, the crystallization process is peculiar. It starts during the melt’s cooling with the precipitation of preliminary Fe-Mg-Cr spinel crystals, which then act as centers for growth of pyroxenes. Simultaneously, due to liquid–liquid immiscibility, the main amorphous phase forms a nonhomogeneous binodal structure, which becomes finer after the nucleation treatment. Subsequently, thus formed iron-rich drops are transformed into tiny secondary magnetite spinel, acting as nuclei for the main crystallization process. As a result, new pyroxenes with sizes of about 200 nm are formed and the total crystallinity reaches about 60%. Regardless of the large amounts of problematic wastes in the batch, the resulting glass shows good chemical durability, while the glass-ceramic is characterized by optimal mechanical characteristics.

A comprehensive kinetic investigation on sulfur deportment during nickel laterite calcination using model-free, model-fitting, and master plot approaches

The rotary kiln-electric furnace process is the most common method for ferronickel production from laterite ore. Since sulfur deteriorates the mechanical properties of ferronickel, it is essential to examine the routes through which sulfur is transferred to the nickel-containing product during the extraction process. Oxidation of fuel (e.g., coal) in the calcination kiln emits SO2, which results in sulfur transfer from the gas to the calcine. In this investigation, coal combustion atmosphere was mimicked by purging N2-CO-CO2-SO2 gas mixture in the tube furnace. A comprehensive kinetic analysis on the sulfurization of nickel laterite ore was conducted to obtain a fundamental understanding of the rate of the sulfurization reactions. The kinetic investigation was performed by three approaches: model-free, model-fitting, and master plot at various processing times, temperatures, and partial pressures of SO2. The XRD and ICP analyses were used to determine the phase composition and sulfur content of the calcine, respectively. Considering the activation energy values obtained by model-free approach, the process is divided into two steps, before and after 60 min of calcination. Contracting sphere and Avrami Erofeev are identified as the most suitable kinetic models for steps 1 and 2, respectively. Considering the small values of activation energy, 1.4–5.3 kJ/mol, the sulfurization reactions are identified as diffusion-controlled mechanism.

Pyrometallurgical processing of deactivated nickel catalysts on Al2O3 carrier

The paper considers the use of deactivated nickel-containing catalysts based on Al2O3 as a significant raw material resource of one of the most important metals. The research highlights the features of this secondary nickel source that determine the acceptable methods of processing such raw materials. The effect of fluxing additives on the properties of the melt containing catalysts prepared beforehand has been studied subject to limitations as to their list (lime, fluorspar) in order to implement a pyrometallurgical method of metal extraction featuring by a relatively small amount of additives themselves. Due to induction heating used in combination with a graphite crucible, adding the total amount of fluorspar and marble additives close in mass made it possible to obtain the melt at a temperature slightly higher than the nickel melting temperature. In this case, the level of metal losses was about 2 %, which indicates the applicability of this method in laboratory conditions to ensure correct incoming analysis. It was proposed to use the pyrometallurgical method on an industrial scale using closed arc heating. To confirm this conclusion, experiments were conducted with a representative (more than 100 kg) amount of catalyst using a tailored arc furnace. Graphite chips were used as a reducing agent. The necessity of electrical matching of the load with the power source resulted in some adjustment of the fluxing additive ratio towards a reduction of calcium oxide content. As a result of a series of experiments, nickel with an up to 5 % iron admixture, similar in composition to the metal formed in the graphite crucible, was obtained. The presence of iron was caused by the fundamentally distinctive capability of the pyrometallurgical technology to reduce unstable compounds. Therefore it was suggested to use this metal for ferronickel production. The use of scarce fluorspar is justified by the fact that the resulting slag can be in demand in the production of fluxes for the electroslag remelting process.

Determination of chlorine in dusty waste in ferronickel production: Analysis and estimation of uncertainty

A key stage in ferronickel production is sulfate-chlorination roasting, after which and at subsequent stages (up to the final product) exhaust gases are formed in the system accompanied by dust and metal chloride vapors outlet in roasting furnace. Enrichment of wastes during their removal with condensed chlorides indicates a decrease in the efficiency of sulfate-chlorination roasting. Therefore, the control of mineral chlorine in filter sediments is important both from the standpoint of environmental monitoring and evaluation of the technological process efficiency. In order to determine mineral chlorine in dusty waste during the ferronickel production, a quantitative chemical analysis procedure based on the ionometric method was developed in the testing laboratory of the South Ural Nickel Plant. This paper proposes a procedure for estimating the results uncertainty in determining chlorine in the sample. It consists of the following steps: compiling a mathematical model to determine the chloride-ion mass fraction, estimating the input quantities in the mathematical model and their uncertainties, estimating the output quantities in the mathematical model and their uncertainties, budgeting for uncertainty, determining the expanded uncertainty and presenting the results. The paper considers the results of calculating the total expanded uncertainty in determining the chloride-ion mass fraction – U(XCl – ) = ±9.4 % (kp = 2, P = 95 %) – for the samples with chlorine mass fraction from 0.4 to 0.8 %. Application of the proposed methodology in calculating uncertainty ensures reliable results in determining chlorine in dusty wastes of ferronickel production, which has a positive effect on the technological process and environmental monitoring efficiency.

Determination of Chlorine in Dusty Waste in Ferronickel Production: Analysis and Estimation of Uncertainty

Determination of Chlorine in Dusty Waste in Ferronickel Production: Analysis and Estimation of Uncertainty

Large- and Particle-Scale energy assessment of reduction roasting of nickel laterite ore for Ferronickel production via the rotary Kiln-Electric furnace process

• Mineralogical composition and moisture content govern energy consumption. • Dehydroxylation and drying use around one-third of the energy input. • Energy and exergy efficiencies amount to 66.4% and 32.3%, respectively. • Dehydroxylation, drying, and size define intraparticle temperature gradient. Ferronickel is essential in manufacturing austenitic stainless steels, nickel alloy steels, batteries, electronics, and gas turbines, among other crucial products. The Rotary Kiln-Electric Furnace process is a widely recognized pyrometallurgical route for ferronickel production. This paper focuses on the rotary kiln furnace, an intermediate stage in which partially dried minerals convert into calcine, ready for smelting in an electric arc furnace. This paper uses a unique industrial database that contains operation variables and minerals composition of a 180 t h −1 rotary kiln furnace. As a distinguishing feature, this work incorporates the effects of dehydroxylation reactions and uses intraparticle energy analysis to gain further insights into the reduction roasting process. Goethite and serpentine dehydroxylation reactions consume around 18% of the energy input of the rotary kiln furnace. Flue gases and shell losses represent around 25% and 8% of the energy input, respectively, while the vaporization of free moisture consumes nearly 15% of the energy input. The rotary kiln furnace shows energy and exergy efficiencies of 66.4% and 32.3%, respectively, leaving room for waste heat recovery. Particles with surface-to-center distances lower than 5.0 mm could behave as isothermal, while coarser particles could present significant temperature gradients. These results can assist in optimizing operating conditions and provide insights into the thermal effects of the ore mineralogical composition.

Transient operation effects on the thermal and mechanical response of a large-scale rotary kiln

Rotary kilns are central equipment in material processing operations such as oxide ore reduction, clinker manufacturing, and hazardous waste incineration. This work focuses on an industrial-scale rotary kiln for Ferronickel production via the Rotary Kiln-Electric Furnace (RKEF) process. Rotary kilns are prone to mechanical failure exacerbated by thermal effects, mainly during transient operation, such as preheating and cooling. However, few studies have tackled the impact of the transient operation on the stress state in the rotary kiln wall. Therefore, we evaluate the thermal and mechanical behavior of the rotary kiln wall during preheating. Actual operation data and a thermal model enable to obtain the temperature distribution along the kiln length. This temperature distribution is the starting point for calculating the stress state of the shell and refractory. The maximal thermal gradient occurs at 10 m from the hot end, with temperatures at the outer and inner surfaces of 200 °C and 820 °C, respectively. The von Mises stress shows a maximum of 121 MPa at the wheel position in the hot region of the refractory and a range of 30–60 MPa in the shell. In addition, the compressive stress is higher than the ultimate compressive strength of the refractory. However, it does not necessarily represent refractory detachment due to the plastic deformation undergone by the refractory under high temperatures. This work paves the way towards developing a tool for accurately predicting rotary kiln mechanical failure, which can help optimize operating conditions and assist in programming maintenance.

Research of Ferronickel Manufacturing Process by Selective Reduction of Poor Iron-Chromium-Nickel Ores

In metallurgy production nickel is an important alloying element used in the production of stainless, heat-resistant, acid-resistant grades of steel. For the development of ferronickel production in the Russian Federation, it is proposed to involve in processing complex poor iron-chromium-nickel ores of the Khalilovskoye deposit, which are not used at the present time. In the frame of this work the dependences of the elements reduction degrees of iron-chromium-nickel ore on the iron extraction degree were studied. These dependencies are necessary for the choice of the composition and development of ferronickel production technology. Burned ore raw materials were subjected to a selective carbothermal reduction in the laboratory electric arc furnace. In the obtained ferroalloy the nickel content decreased from 65 to 3%, phosphorus - from 0.68 to 0.38%, sulfur - from 0.19 to 0.10% with an increase in the reducing agent consumption. With the reduction of 1% iron, the recovery of nickel was only 50%, with 5% - 65–75%, with 20% - 95%. The content of iron oxides in the partially reduced melt with an increase in coke consumption decreased from 61 to 53%, and nickel oxide - from 0.192 to 0.010%. The analysis of the dependences allows us to make a conclusion that it is inappropriate to recover less than 5% of iron due to the low degree of nickel recovery (less than 70%). The rational degree of iron reduction from ore raw materials is 5-10%, which corresponds to the nickel content in the ferroalloy 10-20%, phosphorus - 0.3-0.5%, sulfur - 0.08-0.09%. Obviously, the resulting crude ferronickel needs refining, first of all dephosphorization.

Effect of modified basicity in selective reduction process of limonitic nickel ore

Basicity is an important parameter in the smelting of nickel laterite to obtain low-temperature melting point and low-liquidus slag viscosity, resulting in less energy consumption and a more effective smelting process ferronickel production. Nevertheless, it is still less studied in selective reduction of nickel laterite. In this work, the effect of binary, ternary, and quaternary basicity limonitic nickel ore had been investigated clearly to reveal the appropriate basicity in the selective reduction process. The basicity was modified with the addition of CaO, MgO, SiO2, and Al2O3 in nickel laterite. The reduction process was conducted in a muffle furnace at 1150 °C for 60 min. It was continued with the magnetic separation process to separate concentrate and tailing. The appropriate basicity type in selective reduction of limonitic ore was 0.3 of ternary basicity (BT1) and 0.2 of quaternary basicity (BQ1), which had a similar nickel grade and recovery, i.e., 6.08% and 88.33%, respectively. At low basicity, the addition of CaO and SiO2 could suppress the metallization of iron through troilite and fayalite formation, respectively. Nevertheless, more CaO addition at high basicity could inhibit the ferronickel agglomeration due to the formation of high melting point structures, i.e., melilite. Modifying basicity with the addition of MgO and Al2O3 resulted in a negative effect in selective reduction due to the formation of a complex structure of forsterite and magnesioferrite (with an aluminum substitute), which was more difficult to reduce than magnetite.

Temperature Prediction Using Multivariate Time Series Deep Learning in the Lining of an Electric Arc Furnace for Ferronickel Production.

The analysis of data from sensors in structures subjected to extreme conditions such as the ones used in smelting processes is a great decision tool that allows knowing the behavior of the structure under different operational conditions. In this industry, the furnaces and the different elements are fully instrumented, including sensors to measure variables such as temperature, pressure, level, flow, power, electrode positions, among others. From the point of view of engineering and data analytics, this quantity of data presents an opportunity to understand the operation of the system under normal conditions or to explore new ways of operation by using information from models provided by using deep learning approaches. Although some approaches have been developed with application to this industry, it is still an open research area. As a contribution, this paper presents an applied deep learning temperature prediction model for a 75 MW electric arc furnace, which is used for ferronickel production. In general, the methodology proposed considers two steps: first, a data cleaning process to increase the quality of the data, eliminating both redundant information as well as atypical and unusual data, and second, a multivariate time series deep learning model to predict the temperatures in the furnace lining. The developed deep learning model is a sequential one based on GRU (gated recurrent unit) layer plus a dense layer. The GRU + Dense model achieved an average root mean square error (RMSE) of 1.19 °C in the test set of 16 different thermocouples radially distributed on the furnace.

Application of robust parameter design in the development of a quantitative chemical analysis procedures in metallurgy

The paper presents the results of experimental research for the quantitative chemical analysis procedures using the robust parameter design methodology. There is an example of the parameter design in development of the measurement procedure for the mass fraction of chlorine in dusty waste in the ferronickel production. Results of experiment analysis has provided an information about the optimal conditions for sample preparation procedure.