Dephosphorization of high-phosphorus iron ore by direct reduction of hydrogen-rich gases and melting separation

This study developed a direct reduction route to smelt refractory high-phosphorus iron ores by using hydrogen rich gas.The effects of temperature,gas composition,and gangue on the reduction behavior of iron ore pellets were investigated.Additionally,the migration behavior of phosphorus throughout the reduction-smelting process was examined.The apparent activation energy of the reduction process increased from 64.2 to 194.2 kJ/mol.Increasing the basicity from 0.5 to 0.9 increased the metallization rate from 85.9%to 89.2%.During the reduction process,phosphorus remained in the gangue phase.Carbon deposition and phosphorus removal behaviors of the pellets were investigated and correlated with the gas composition,temperature,pressure,metallization rate,and basicity.Increasing the FeO and CaO contents led to an increase in the liquidus temperature.A high metallization rate of the pellets reduced the phosphorus removal rate but increased the carbon content of the final iron product.Increasing basicity restricted the migration of phosphorus and improved the rate of phosphorus removal.The optimum dephosphorization parameters were separation temperature of 1823 K,basicity of 2.0,and metallization rate of 82.3%.This study presents a high-efficiency and low carbon method for smelting high-phosphorus iron ores.

Selective depression effect in flotation separation of copper-molybdenum sulfides using 2,3-disulfanylbutanedioic acid

2,3-disulfanylbutanedioic acid（DMSA） was found to be a selective depressant in the flotation separation of coppermolybdenum sulfides.The flotation results suggest that a low dosage of DMSA has a strong depression effect on chalcopyrite in the p H range between 4 and 12.At p H 6,the recoveries of molybdenum are up to 85%,75%,and 80% while those of chalcopyrite are 15%,5%,and 20% respectively when flotation tests are carried out with single minerals,mixed minerals and molybdenum-bearing copper concentrates.Adsorption isotherms measurement indicates that DMSA adsorbs more strongly on chalcopyrite than on molybdenite.The frontier orbital calculation reveals that the two S atoms of DMSA molecule are active centers for the adsorption of the DMSA molecule on chalcopyrite surface.Fermi level calculation shows that chalcopyrite can obtain electrons from the DMSA molecule while molybdenite cannot.

Recovery of iron from high phosphorus oolitic iron ore using coal-based reduction followed by magnetic separation

Oolitic iron ore is one of the most important iron resources. This paper reports the recovery of iron from high phosphorus oolitic iron ore using coal-based reduction and magnetic separation. The influences of reduction temperature, reduction time, C/O mole ratio, and CaO content on the metallization degree and iron recovery were investigated in detail. Experimental results show that reduced products with the metallization degree of 95.82% could be produced under the optimal conditions （i.e., reduction temperature, 1250℃; reduction time, 50 min; C/O mole ratio, 2.0; and CaO content, 10wt%）. The magnetic concentrate containing 89.63wt% Fe with the iron recovery of 96.21% was obtained. According to the mineralogical and morphologic analysis, the iron minerals had been reduced and iron was mainly enriched into the metallic iron phase embedded in the slag matrix in the form of spherical particles. Apatite was also reduced to phosphorus, which partially migrated into the metallic iron phase.

Efficient enrichment of nickel and iron in laterite nickel ore by deep reduction and magnetic separation

The process of deep reduction and magnetic separation was proposed to enrich nickel and iron from laterite nickel ores.Results show that nickel-iron concentrates with nickel grade of 6.96%,nickel recovery of 94.06%,iron grade of 34.74%,and iron recovery of 80.44% could be obtained after magnetic separation under the conditions of reduction temperature of 1275℃,reduction time of 50 min,slag basicity of 1.0,carbon-containing coefficient of 2.5,and magnetic field strength of 72 kA/m.Reduction temperature and time affected the possibility of deep reduction and reaction progress.Slag basicity affected the composition of slag in burden and the spilling and enriching rate of nickel-iron from a matrix to form nickel-iron particles.Nickel-iron particles were generated,aggregated,and grew gradually in the reduction process.Nickel-iron particles can be effectively separated from gangue minerals by magnetic separation.

Effect of desliming on the magnetic separation of low-grade ferruginous manganese ore

In the present investigation, magnetic separation studies using an induced roll magnetic separator were conducted to beneficiate low-grade ferruginous manganese ore. The feed ore was assayed to contain 22.4% Mn and 35.9% SiO2, with a manganese-to-iron mass ratio （Mn：Fe ratio） of 1.6. This ore was characterized in detail using different techniques, including quantitative evaluation of minerals by scan- ning electron microscopy, which revealed that the ore is extremely siliceous in nature and that the associated gangue minerals are more or less evenly distributed in almost all of the size fractions in major proportion. Magnetic separation studies were conducted on both the as-received ore fines and the classified fines to enrich their manganese content and Mn：Fe ratio. The results indicated that the efficiency of separation for deslimed fines was better than that for the treated unclassified bulk sample. On the basis of these results, we proposed a proc- ess flow sheet for the beneficiation of low-grade manganese ore fines using a Floatex density separator as a pre-concentrator followed by two-stage magnetic separation. The overall recovery of manganese in the final product from the proposed flow sheet is 44.7% with an assay value of 45.8% and the Mn：Fe ratio of 3.1.

Microwave-assisted reduction roasting–magnetic separation studies of two mineralogically different low-grade iron ores

The microwave-assisted reduction behaviours of two low-grade iron ores having a similar Fe content of 49wt%but distinctly different mineralogical and liberation characteristics were studied.Their performances in terms of the iron grade and recovery as obtained from statistically designed microwave(MW)roasting followed by low-intensity magnetic separation(LIMS)experiments were compared.At respective optimum conditions,the titano-magnetite ore(O1)could yield an iron concentrate of 62.57%Fe grade and 60.01%Fe recovery,while the goethitic ore(O2)could be upgraded to a concentrate of 64.4%Fe grade and 33.3%Fe recovery.Compared with the goethitic ore,the titanomagnetite ore responded better to MW heating.The characterization studies of the feed and roasted products obtained at different power and time conditions using X-ray diffraction,optical microscopy,vibrating-sample magnetometry,and electron-probe microanalysis explain the sequential reduction in the iron oxide phases.Finally,taking advantage of the MW absorbing character of the titano-magnetite ore,a blend of the same with the goethite-rich ore at a weight ratio of 60:40(O2:O1)was subjected to MW roasting that resulted in a concentrate of 61.57%Fe grade with a Fe recovery of 64.47%.

Triboelectric properties of ilmenite and quartz minerals and investigation of triboelectric separation of ilmenite ore

Triboelectric separation, as an entirely dry technology, is a prospective method to process fine minerals.The aim of this paper is to investigate the performance of triboelectric separation of ilmenite and quartz minerals in a lab unit and to get ready for the separation of ilmenite ore. A tribocharge measurement system was used to test the triboelectric properties of ilmenite and quartz particles with tribochargers respectively made of PVC, PPR, PMMA, Teflon, copper, stainless steel and quartz glass. The results show that the ilmenite particles charged positively while quartz charged negatively when tribocharged with PVC tribocharger. The mixture of 12% ilmenite and 88% quartz was prepared for the triboelectric separation. The recovery of ilmenite increases with the increase of airflow rate, decreases with the increasing feed rate, and grows up firstly and then decreases with the increasing voltage. A maximum ilmenite recovery of 51.71% with ilmenite content 32.72% was obtained at 40 m^3/h airflow rate, 6 g/s feed rate and 20 kV voltage. According to the optimal parameters of the separation of ilmenite and quartz mixture,fine ilmenite ore with 7.55% Ti content was beneficiated using the unit and the Ti content increased to 12.32% in concentrate product.

Recovering limonite from Australia iron ores by flocculation-high intensity magnetic separation

Successful recovery of limonite from iron fines was achieved by using flocculation-high intensity magnetic separation （FIMS） and adding hydrolyzed and causticized flocculants according to the characteristic of iron fines. The separation results of the three iron samples are as follows： iron grade 66.77%- 67.98% and the recovery of iron 69.26%-70.70% by the FIMS process with flocculants. The comparative results show that under the same separation conditions the F1MS process can effectively increase the recovery of iron by 10. 97%- 15.73%. The flowsheet results confirm the reliability of the process in a SHP high intensity magnetic separator. The concentrate product can he used as raw materials for direct reduction iron-smelting. The hydrolyzed and causticized flocculants can selectively flocculate fine feebly-magnetic iron mineral particles to increase their apparent separation sizes. The larger the separation size, the stronger the magnetic force. By comparing the separation results of the three samples it is found that among the three samples the higher the limonite content, the better the separation result. This means that the separation result relates closely to the flocculation process and the adding pattern of the flocculant.

Synchronous enrichment of phosphorus and iron from a high-phosphorus oolitic hematite ore to prepare Fe-P alloy by direct reduction-magnetic separation process

In this study,direct reduction-magnetic separation process was applied to enrich phosphorus and iron to prepare Fe-P crude alloy from a high phosphorus oolitic hematite ore(HPOH).The results show that at lower temperatures and with absence of any of additives,Fe cannot be effectively recovered because of the oolitic structure is not destroyed.In contrast,under the conditions of 15%Na_(2)SO_(4)and reducing at 1050℃ for 120 min with a total C/Fe ratio(molar ratio)of 8.5,a final Fe-P alloy containing 92.40%Fe and 1.09%P can be obtained at an overall iron recovery of 95.43%and phosphorus recovery of 68.98%,respectively.This metallized Fe-P powder can be applied as the burden for production of weathering resistant steels.The developed process can provide an alternative for effective and green utilization of high phosphorus iron ore.

Effect of magnetic pulse pretreatment on grindability of a magnetite ore and its implication on magnetic separation

The pulsed power is a potential means for energy saving and presents an alternative to the conventional mechanical communication for minerals.The effect of magnetic pulse treatment on grindability of a magnetite ore was investigated by grindability tests.The results of the investigation show that the pulsed treatment has little effect on the particle size distribution of the magnetite ore.Significant micro-cracks or fractures are not found by SEM analysis in magnetic pulse treated sample.Magnetic separation of magnetic pulse treated and untreated magnetite ore indicates that iron recovery increases from 81.3% in the untreated sample to 87.7% in the magnetic pulse treated sample,and the corresponding iron grade increases from 42.1% to 44.4%.The results demonstrate that the magnetic pulse treatment does not significantly weaken the mineral grain boundaries or facilitate the liberation of minerals,but is beneficial to magnetic separation.

Ferronickel enrichment by fine particle reduction and magnetic separation from nickel laterite ore

Ferronickel enrichment and extraction from nickel laterite ore were studied through reduction and magnetic separation. Reduction experiments were performed using hydrogen and carbon monoxide as reductants at different temperatures （700-1000℃）. Magnetic separa- tion of the reduced products was conducted using a SLon-100 cycle pulsating magnetic separator （1.2 T）. Composition analysis indicates that the nickel laterite ore contains a total iron content of 22.50wt% and a total nickel content of 1.91wt%. Its mineral composition mainly con- sists of serpentine, hortonolite, and goethite. During the reduction process, the grade of nickel and iron in the products increases with in- creasing reduction temperature. Although a higher temperature is more favorable for reduction, the temperature exceeding 1000℃ results in sintering of the products, preventing magnetic separation. After magnetic separation, the maximum total nickel and iron concentrations are 5.43wt% and 56.86wt%, and the corresponding recovery rates are 84.38% and 53.76%, respectively.

Magnetic separation studies for a low grade siliceous iron ore sample

Investigations were carried out, on a low grade siliceous iron ore sample by magnetic separation, to establish its amenability for physical beneficiation. Mineralogical studies revealed that the sample consists of magnetite, hematite and goethite as major opaque oxide minerals where as silicates as well as carbonates form the gangue minerals in the sample. Processes involving combination of classification, dry magnetic separation and wet magnetic separation were carried out to upgrade the low grade siliceous iron ore sample to make it suitable as a marketable product. The sample was first ground and each closed size sieve fractions were subjected to dry magnetic separation and it was observed that limited upgradation is possible. The ground sample was subjected to different finer sizes and separated by wet low intensity magnetic separator. It was possible to obtain a magnetic concentrate of 67% Fe by recovering 90% of iron values at below 200 lm size.

Enrichment of Nb and Ti from carbonatite pyrochlore ore via calcining-slaking followed by gravity separation

In this work,a novel process consisting of calcining-slaking followed by gravity separation for the enrichment of niobium(Nb)and titanium(Ti)from carbonatite pyrochlore ore was proposed,validated and compared with the current mainstream flotation method.During calcining of the pyrochlore ore,within which the carbonates were transformed into lime.Subsequently,when the calcined ore was slaked,lime was transformed into hydroxide with fine particles which were amenable to gravity separation.After calcining at 900℃for 60 min,slaking at 90℃for 10 min with a liquid–solid ratio of 3:1(mL/g),approximately 40%of tailings can be removed by gravity separation,the recoveries of Nb and Ti were 94.7%and 91.0%,and the enrichment ratios of Nb and Ti were 1.61 and 1.43,respectively.The new approach exhibits high separation efficiency of carbonate gangue minerals and valuable minerals,satisfactory recoveries of niobium as well as titanium can be achieved.

Evaluation of VSK separation in the classification of two mineralogically different iron ore fines

With gradually diminishing Fe grade in tandem with the ever-increasing demand for high-grade iron ores,iron ore industries are now focusing on the beneficiation of low-grade iron ore fines,mainly considered waste.Besides,the scarcity of water at many of the mines’sites and the new water conservation policies of the governments have necessitated research on suitable dry beneficiation routes.In this context,an effort has been made to evaluate the efficacy of a dry classification unit,such as the VSK separator,in upgrading the iron values of two low-grade Indian iron ore fines,named Sample 1 and Sample 2.The mineralogical studies,involving scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction,suggest that Sample 1 is a low-grade blue dust sample(51.2wt%Fe)containing hematite and quartz as the major minerals,while Sample 2(53.3wt%Fe)shows the presence of goethite in addition to hematite and quartz.The experiments,carried out using Box-Benkhen statistical design,indicate that blower speed,followed by feed rate,is the most influencing operating parameter in obtaining a good product in the VSK separator.At optimum levels of the operating factors,a fines product with~55wt%Fe at a yield of~40%can be obtained from Sample 1,while Sample 2 can be upgraded to~56wt%Fe at a yield of~85%.The results suggest that the VSK separator can be employed as an efficient intermediate unit operation in a processing circuit to upgrade the iron contents of iron ore fines.

Removal of Silica and Alumina as Impurities from Low-Grade Iron Ore Using Wet High-Intensity Magnetic Separation and Reverse Flotation

This study investigates the removal of silica and alumina as impurities from hematite based low-grade iron ore containing 34.18 mass% iron, 31.10 mass% of silica and 7.65 mass% alumina. Wet high-intensity magnetic separation (WHIMS) and reverse flotation (RF) were investigated. In WHIMS process, 93.08% of iron was recovered with a grade of 53.22 mass% at an optimum magnetic density of 10,000 mT, and pulp density of 2% used the L-4 machine. In RF experiments, optimal results showed 95.95% of iron recovered with 51.64 mass% grade using 1 kg/t of 1% alkaline starch as iron depressant and 1:1 mixture ratio of 0.75 kg/t DAA and NaOL as silica and alumina collectors. The designed multi-stage process involving feeding the concentrate from WHIMS into RF process reduced silica to 2.02 mass%, alumina to 1.04 mass% whilst recovering 81.94% of the iron with 67.27 mass% grade. As a result of this research, a process to produce high quality iron concentrate from hematite based low-grade iron ore with high iron recovery rate was constructed.

New Technology “Flotation to Form Agglomerates and Magnetic Separation” Allows Great Breakthrough for World Low-Grade Light Rare Earth Ores

Rare earth resources are relatively scarce worldwide, but their global consumption is increasing year-by-year. At present, China has about 36% of the global rare earth reserves, but provides 90% of the world＇s supply, which has generally met world demand and promoted the development of the world economy. In order to continuously and stably supply rare earths to international markets, the Chinese Government has financially supported the Institute of Multipurpose Utilization of Mineral Resources within the China Geological Survey to study the utilization of low-grade rare earth ores. Following many years of experimental research, the project has developed a new technology entitled ＂Flotation to Form Agglomerates and then Magnetic Separation＂, which will bring a technological revolution to the world＇s light rare earth ore dressing.

Effectiveness of Gravity Separation of Low Grade Nigerian Gold Ore Using Shaking Table

The response of Imogbara (Nigeria) gold ore to shaking tabling gravity separation methods was investigated in this research work. Gold concentration in run-off mines is usually as low as 0.005 ppm and must be upgraded in order to reduce the recovery process extraction costs. Gravity separation method (the focus of this work) is one of the readily affordable beneficiation methods. Shaking table is a developed separation equipment of gravity method that has been adopted to increase concentrate based on difference of specific gravity. The output result of the concentration process using shaking table is basically influenced by a number of variables, such as rotational shaking speed, particle size and deck slope. In this research, the range of rotational speed shaking was between 100 rpm and 200 rpm, the particle size was between (−300 μm > X −75 μm) and deck slope was between 10°and 30°. EDXRF was used to measure gold concentration in the concentrate as well as the tailings. The result shows that the optimum condition is obtained at a shaking speed of 100 rpm, with a slope of 10°and particle size less than 75 μm.

Metalizing reduction and magnetic separation of vanadium titano-magnetite based on hot briquetting

To achieve high efficiency utilization of Panzhihua vanadium titano-magnetite, a new process of metalizing reduction and magnetic separation based on hot briquetting is proposed, and factors that affect the cold strength of the hot-briquetting products and the efficiency of reduction and magnetic separation are successively investigated through laboratory experiments. The relevant mechanisms are elucidated on the basis of microstructural observations. Experimental results show that the optimal process parameters for hot briquetting include a hot briquetting temperature of 475°C, a carbon ratio of 1.2, ore and coal particle sizes of less than 74 μm. Additionally, with respect to metalizing reduction and magnetic separation, the rational parameters include a magnetic field intensity of 50 mT, a reduction temperature of 1350°C, a reduction time of 60 min, and a carbon ratio of 1.2. Under these above conditions, the crushing strength of the hot-briquetting agglomerates is 1480 N, and the recovery ratios of iron, vanadium, and titanium are as high as 91.19%, 61.82%, and 85.31%, respectively. The new process of metalizing reduction and magnetic separation based on hot briquetting demonstrates the evident technological advantages of high efficiency separation of iron from other valuable elements in the vanadium titano-magnetite.

Depressing behaviors and mechanism of disodium bis(carboxymethyl) trithiocarbonate on separation of chalcopyrite and molybdenite

This work focuses on the organic depressant,disodium bis(carboxymethyl)trithiocarbonate(DBT),as a selectivedepressant in copper?molybdenum sulfide flotation separation.Micro-flotation,Zeta potential,FTIR and XPS measurements werecarried out to investigate the selective depression mechanism of DBT on chalcopyrite.Zeta potential and FTIR measurementsrevealed that DBT had higher affinity for chalcopyrite than molybdenite and the XPS results of chalcopyrite before and aftertreatment with DBT further proved that DBT adsorbed on chalcopyrite surface.The investigation indicates that the mechanism ofDBT adsorbing on chalcopyrite is mainly physical adsorption.Locked circuit experiments were carried out and the results showedthat DBT could be considered as a cleaner option in commercial Cu?Mo flotation separation circuits.

Carbothermic reduction characteristics of ludwigite and boron–iron magnetic separation

Ludwigite is a kind of complex iron ore containing boron, iron, and magnesium, and it is the most promising boron resource in China. Selective reduction of iron oxide is the key step for the comprehensive utilization of ludwigite. In the present work, the reduction mechanism of ludwigite was investigated. The thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry analysis and isothermal reduction of ludwigite/coal composite pellet were performed. Ludwigite yielded a lower reduction starting temperature and a higher final reduction degree compared with the traditional iron concentrates. Higher specific surface area and more fine cracks might be the main reasons for the better reducibility of ludwigite. Reducing temperature highly affected the reaction fraction and microstructure of the reduced pellets, which are closely related to the separation degree of boron and iron. Increasing reducing temperature benefited the boron and iron magnetic separation. Optimum magnetic separation results could be obtained when the pellet was reduced at 1300°C. The separated boron-rich non-magnetic concentrate presented poor crystalline structure, and its extraction efficiency for boron reached 64.3%. The obtained experimental results can provide reference for the determination of the comprehensive utilization flow sheet of ludwigite.