Kinetics of extracting magnesium from mixture of calcined magnesite and calcined dolomite by vacuum aluminothermic reduction

The vacuum aluminothermic reduction of the mixture of calcined magnesite and calcined dolomite was studied. An isothermal reduction method satisfying the vacuum aluminothermic reduction was proposed. The experiments were carried out at 4 Pa. The results indicate that the reduction rate is increased with increasing temperature, content of aluminum and pellet forming pressure. The XRD patterns of pellets at different reduction stages confirm that the reduction process can be roughly classified into three stages：the formation of MgAl2O4, and Ca12Al14O33 phases;the phase transformation from MgAl2O4 and C12A7 to CaAl2O4;the formation of CaAl4O7 phase. The experimental data were divided into three parts according to the kinetic models. The apparent activation energies of the three parts were determined to be 98.2, 133.0 and 223.3 kJ/mol, respectively.

Mechanism of extracting magenesium from mixture of calcined magnesite and calcined dolomite by vacuum aluminothermic reduction

The process of aluminothermic reduction of a mixture of calcined dolomite and calcined magnesite had been developed. The mechanism of the process was studied by SEM and EDS. The reduction process was divided into three stages:0≤ηt/ηf≤0.43±0.06, 0.43±0.06≤ηt/ηf≤0.9±0.02 and 0.9±0.02≤ηt/ηf<1, whereηt andηf are the reduction ratio at time t and the final reduction ratio obtained in the experiment at temperature T, respectively. The first stage included the direct reaction between calcined dolomite or calcined magnesite and Al with 12CaO·7Al2O3 and MgO·Al2O3 as products. The reaction rate depended on the chemical reaction. The CA phase was mainly produced in the second stage and the overall reaction rate was determined by both the diffusion of Ca2+ with molten Al and the chemical reaction. The CA2 phase was mainly produced in the third stage and the reaction process was controlled by the diffusion of Ca2+.

Effect of magnesium on the aluminothermic reduction rate of zinc oxide obtained from spent alkaline battery anodes for the preparation of Al–Zn–Mg alloys

The aluminothermic reduction of zinc oxide（ZnO） from alkaline battery anodes using molten Al may be a good option for the elaboration of secondary 7000-series alloys. This process is affected by the initial content of Mg within molten Al, which decreases the surface tension of the molten metal and conversely increases the wettability of ZnO particles. The effect of initial Mg concentration on the aluminothermic reduction rate of ZnO was analyzed at the following values： 0.90wt%, 1.20wt%, 4.00t%, 4.25wt%, and 4.40wt%. The ZnO particles were incorporated by mechanical agitation using a graphite paddle inside a bath of molten Al maintained at a constant temperature of 1123 K and at a constant agitation speed of 250 r/min, the treatment time was 240 min and the ZnO particle size was 450？500 mesh. The results show an increase in Zn concentration in the prepared alloys up to 5.43wt% for the highest initial concentration of Mg. The reaction products obtained were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, and the efficiency of the reaction was measured on the basis of the different concentrations of Mg studied.

Synthesis of substitutional hexaboride of lanthanum and cerium La_(1-x)Ce_(x)B_(6) via aluminothermic reduction

Rare-earth hexaborides(REB_(6))are vital raw materials for cathode materials and high temperature structural ceramics that are widely applied as high-frequency electron tubes and ceramics adaptive for extreme environment,respectively.In this work,single phase substitutional solid solution REB_(6)(LaB_(6),La_(0.75)Ce_(0.25)B_(6).La_(0.5)Ce_(0.5)B_(6),La_(0.25)Ce_(0.75)B_(6) and CeB_(6))powders were prepared with the raw materials of La_(2)O_(3),CeO_(2),B_(4)C and Al powders,after calcining at 1773 K for 4 h and the following alkaline leaching.All substitutional solid solution products have homogeneous distributions of La and Ce in particles.Through microscopic morphology analysis,it is discovered that the formation of solid solution is beneficial for reducing the particle size of product,relative to LaB_(6) and CeB_(6).Moreover,Al flux plays an important role in decarbonizing reaction,and C contents of all products are below 0.4 wt%.

Preparation of Al-Hf master alloy by aluminothermic reduction of HfO_(2)

The Al-Hf alloy was prepared by open aluminothermic reduction of HfO_(2) using CaF_(2) and Na F as the flux. The influence of the slag composition, the amount of aluminum, and the heat energizer was studied detailly to establish optimum conditions for the sufficient recovery of the alloy and the complete slag-alloy separation. The Al-Hf alloy with 40 wt% Hf was obtained by this method, and the maximum recovery was 70.7%. The microstructure of the alloy was observed by scanning electron microscope(SEM). Moreover, X-ray diffraction(XRD) analysis and energy-disperse spectrometry(EDS) were applied to characterize the formation of the phases. The results show that the alloy consists of Al and Al_(3)Hf phases and the oxygen content is about 0.2 wt%.

In situ formation of Zr_2Al_3C_4/Al_2O_3 composites by combustion synthesis with PTFE and thermal activations

Preparation of Zr2Al3C4-Al2O3 in situ composites was investigated by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis(SHS)involving both aluminothermic reduction of ZrO2 and chemical activation of PTFE(Teflon).The starting materials included ZrO2,Al,carbon black and PTFE.In addition to the conventional SHS method,the experiments were conducted by a chemical-oven SHS(COSHS)route to thermally assist the synthesis reaction.The threshold amount of 2%(mass fraction)PTFE was required to induce self-sustaining combustion.When the conventional SHS scheme was utilized,due to low combustion temperatures between 1152 and 1272°C and insufficient reaction time,the dominant carbide forming in the composite was ZrC instead of Zr2Al3C4.On the other hand,the COSHS technique increased the combustion temperature of the reactant compact to about 1576°C,lengthened the high-temperature duration for the reaction,and prevented Al vapor from escaping away.As a consequence,Zr2Al3C4-Al2O3 composites with a small amount of Zr3Al3C5 were obtained.The microstructure of the COSHS-derived product showed that plate-like Zr2Al3C4 grains were about 2μm in thickness and 10-30μm in length,and most of them were closely stacked into a laminated configuration.

The Role of Preliminary Mechanical Activation in the Process of Obtaining Pow-der-Like Ferrosilicium from Metallurgical Slags

Powder iron monosilicide with certain structure exhibits magnetic properties and can be used as an alloying additive in the production of electrical steels and silicon alloys with special physical and chemical properties. From this point of view, development of the energy-saving technology for receiving such a valuable alloying agent with the disposal of secondary waste is an urgent task. For this purpose, the method of joint aluminothermic reduction of preliminary mechanically activated metallurgical waste is offered. Recently, a method for combining the self-propagating high-temperature synthesis and preliminary mechanical activation for obtaining metal powders with certain phase composition and structure is considered as one of the efficient ones. As the initial materials for obtaining iron monosilicide, the waste (or converter) slags of the Alaverdi copper-smelting plant and molybdenum slags of the Yerevan Pure Iron Plant are used. Besides the mentioned slags, NaNO3 and CaO are added. Properties and structure of the received silicide depend on the contents, quantity of components, and the mass relation of two wastes in the burden. Therefore, the processes of structure formation of the iron monosilicide received from metallurgical waste are investigated. Studies have shown that the best results are obtained in case of waste and molybdenum slag relation of 4:1, when the 60-minute grinding in the vibromill leads to a significant increase in the mechanical activation of the burden. At this relation of FeO and SiO2, a condition is created for receiving iron monosilicide showing magnetic properties. On the whole, those transformations lead to a decrease in the reaction activation power of the interacting substances, an increase of the reactivity capacities, as well as to a new original course of reactions and new modified materials.

Spatial phase structure and oxidation process of Al-W alloy powder with high sphericity

In this study,Al-30W(wt.%)alloy powder was prepared by Aluminothermic reduction and hightemperature gas atomization.We then studied the phase composition,surface morphology,spatial phase structure,and thermal oxidation process using XRD,SEM/EDS,TEM,DSC,and DTA/TG analysis.The results showed that the Al-30W alloy powder exhibited high sphericity,and the interior presented a special spatial phase structure in which the Al/W amorphous alloy phase and the metastable Al/W intermetallic compound phase were distributed in the pure Al matrix.When the Al-30W alloy powder was stabilized in a vacuum tube furnace,the spatial phase structure of the alloy powder changed,and a small amount of pure Al was embedded in the Al_(12)W matrix.The resulting Al-30W alloy powder products,treated in air at different temperatures,were collected in situ and characterized.The results presented that with an increase in temperature,the types and morphologies of the Al/W intermetallic compounds in the Al-30W alloy powder changed.Furthermore,the Al-30W alloy powder began to undergo intense oxidation reactions at about 900℃,accompanied by a concentrated energy release and rapid weight gain.The volatilization of WO_(3)produced in the oxidation process promoted the complete oxidation of the Al-30W alloy powder,and the Al-30W alloy powder was completely oxidized at 1300℃.At this stage,all W atoms were transformed into gaseous WO_(3),and only a large number of small Al_(2)O_(3)fragments remained in the oxidation product.Thus,the Al-30W alloy powder exhibited excellent thermal reactivity and oxidation integrity,and may offer excellent application prospects in the field of energetic materials.