Recovery of Iron From Red Mud by High-Temperature Reduction of Carbon - Bearing Briquettes
Recovery of Iron From Red Mud by High-Temperature Reduction of Carbon - Bearing Briquettes
Recovery of Iron From Red Mud by High-Temperature Reduction of Carbon - Bearing Briquettes
17159/2411-9717/2017/v117n4a7
361
Recovery of iron from red mud by high-temperature reduction
Table I
(6*4)2.7)3*%304543/73,716-7*+-7'5
Table II
(2067)3*%304543/73,7413/7*4/612.7'5
Briquetting where is the yield of metallic iron powder (wt%), Fe is the
total iron content of the powder (wt%), and Fe is the total
Drying iron content of the reduced briquettes (wt%). Each
experiment was carried out in duplicate under the same
Reduction roasting conditions, and the error bars were less than 1%. The
average of the two tests was used as the final result.
Wet grinding
60+.5072/-7-40)+0043/
Magnetic separation
Metallic iron powder Nonmagnetic residue Figure 2 shows the effect of sodium borate addition on the
quality of the metallic iron powder. The iron grade increased
"4!+167".3'70(66573,75(676%614*6/52.7%13)600
significantly from 80.04% to 90.43% as the sodium borate
dosage was increased from zero to 6%; however, the iron
Red mud, sodium borate, and coal fines were mixed in a recovery decreased from 92.58% to 81.70%. This can be
mixer (CH-10) with 8% water (dry basis) for 1 hour. attributed to the presence of Na2O during the reduction
Cylindrical briquettes 10 mm in diameter and 10 mm in roasting, which could promote the transformation of Fe3+ to
height were produced by pressing 2.5 g of the mixture in a Fe0, improving the reduction of iron oxides (Chun et al.,
cylindrical mould for 1 minute using a pressure of 8 MPa 2014). On the other hand, sodium borate also creates more
applied by a vertically loading piston. The briquettes were lattice defects in metallic iron, thus promoting recrystal-
oven-dried at 105C for 4 hours. lization of the metallic iron (Long et al., 2016), which leads
A graphite crucible 100 mm in diameter and 100 mm in to the growth and interconnection of metallic iron grains,
height, containing 50 g dried briquettes, was placed in the resulting in the high iron grade. However, the liquid phase
furnace. After the designated reaction time, nitrogen was content increased in the presence of the low-melting-point
introduced at a flow rate of 1 L/min. The reduced briquettes additive (sodium borate). Some metallic iron particles coated
were ground to 90% passing 0.074 mm in a cone ball mill by the liquid phase could not be recovered by magnetic
(model XMQ24090 from Wuhan Rock Crush & Grind separation, thus lowering the iron recovery.
Equipment Manufacture Co. Ltd). Magnetic separation was As shown in Table I, the main gangue minerals in the red
performed on the powdered briquettes using a Davis tube mud are Al2O3 and SiO2. Figure 3 shows the ternary phase
(model XCGS-73) at a magnetic intensity of 0.08 T (Long et
al., 2016).
The structures and elemental distribution of reduced
briquettes were analysed by scanning electron microscopy
(SEM). The chemical composition of the red mud was
analysed by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and the total iron
content and metallic iron content in the iron concentrate
(metallic iron powder) were determined by chemical method
according to the Chinese standard (GB/T6730.6-2016). The
degree of metallization was calculated using Equation [1]:
[1]
where is the degree of metallization (%), Fe is the total iron "4!+167&,,6)573,703-4+*7$3125672--4543/73/75(67+2.4546073,75(6
content of the metallic iron powder (wt%), and MFe is the *652..4)7413/7%3'-617$14+655607'45(7&7)32.7,4/607132056-7257
metallic iron content (wt%). ,317&7*4/+560
L
362
VOLUME 117
Recovery of iron from red mud by high-temperature reduction
roasting temperatures, a temperature of 1300C is
recommended.
The effect of reduction time on the qualities of the metallic
iron powder is presented in Figure 6. When reduction time
was extended from 20 to 30 minutes, the iron grade
increased from 86.37% to 90.78%, and then levelled off. The
iron recovery followed a similar trend. The optimal reduction
time is 30 minutes at 1300C.
Since the total iron content of the red mud is 42.45% and the
"4!+16761/217%(2067-42!12*73,75(67
2&#.#& 0056*7+4
fixed carbon content of the coal fines is 78.99%, then
according to the reaction 2Fe2O3+3C4Fe+3CO2, the coal
fines addition required is 7.86% in the mixture of red mud
and coal fines. Figure 7 presents the effect of coal fines
addition on the qualities of the metallic iron powder. The coal
fines content of the briquettes is also an important factor
during high-temperature reduction. The greater the coal fines
content, the more reducing the atmosphere, which promotes
the reduction of iron oxides. With coal fines additions of less
than 7.86%, the iron oxides could not be reduced fully.
However, increasing the addition of coal fines increases the
cost. Therefore a coal fines addition of 12% is suggested.
"4!+1672)0)255616-774*2!6073,716-+)6-7$14+6556072 7'45(3+5
2/-7$ 7'45(72--4543/73,703-4+*7$31256
The final metallic iron powder, assaying 90.78% Fetotal
(representing a metallization degree of 91.26%) at 88.20%
diagram of the Na2O-Al2O3-SiO2 system. The melting point
iron recovery, was obtained with additions of 4% sodium
decreased when some Na2O was added in the briquettes.
borate and 12% coal fines, and reduction at 1300C for 30
During the reduction roasting, the Na2O decomposed from the
minutes. The chemical composition of final metallic iron
sodium borate promotes the formation of low-melting-point
powder obtained is shown in Table III.
minerals, such as Na2O.2SiO2 and Na2O.Al2O3. The liquid
phase promotes the transfer and migration of metallic iron
and the formation of large particles.
In order to illustrate the mechanisms by which sodium
borate improved the reduction of iron in red mud, SEM
images of reduced briquettes without and with additions of
sodium borate were investigated. Without additions of
sodium borate the metallic iron particles in the reduced
briquettes were dispersed, with an average particle size of
less than 50 m (Figure 4a). With the addition of 4% sodium
borate under the same roasting conditions, the metallic iron
particles agglomerated and formed larger particles of more
than 50 m (Figure 4b). Sodium borate addition also forms a
lower melting oxide phase, which promotes the growth of "4!+167,,6)573,716-+)543/756*%6125+1673/75(67+2.4546073,75(6
metallic iron particles. Larger particles are more easily *652..4)7413/7%3'-617$14+655607'45(7&7)32.7,4/6072/-7703-4+*
$312567132056-7,317&7*4/+560
liberated during milling, and thus are separated more
effectively during magnetic separation (Chun, Long, and Li,
2015).
363
Recovery of iron from red mud by high-temperature reduction
For the material requirement of the electric arc furnace Compared with iron ore, the red mud is very cheap. The
(EAF), the iron grade and the metallization degree must be raw material cost could be decreased by replacing some of the
higher than 88% and 90%, respectively, and the S and P each coal fines with blast furnace dust, which has a high carbon
less than 0.06%, respectively (Fang, 1994). The iron grade of content. Meanwhile, selection of an efficient reactor is also
iron concentrate was higher than 90% and the contents of important in keeping costs down. For example, the rotary
sulphur and phosphorus were low. The final product, after hearth furnace is superior to the rotary kiln and tunnel kiln.
briquetting, can be used as the feed for steelmaking by EAF, In industrial application, a good seal is an effective way to
replacing scrap steel. improve the reducing atmosphere, which will further decrease
the fuel cost. Although the treatment cost is high, the
3/).+043/0 utilization of red mud confers social and environmental
The iron in the red mud is mainly contained in limonite and benefits.
martite. High-temperature reduction in the presence of
sodium borate followed by magnetic separation is an effective )/3'.6-!6*6/57
way to recover the iron. During the reduction roasting, Na2O The authors are grateful to the projects of National Natural
decomposed from sodium borate promotes the reduction of Science Fund Anhui Province (1608085QE94), the Student
Fe3+ to Fe0 and the growth of metallic iron grains. Research Training Program (201510360117), the National
A final metallic iron powder, assaying 90.78% Fetotal and Natural Science Fund China (51504003), and the Key Project
representing a metallization degree of 91.26% at 88.20% iron of Natural Science Research of Anhui Universities
recovery, was obtained under the optimum conditions. The (KJ2015A028) for sponsoring the research work.
final product can be briquetted for use as feed to steelmaking
in an electric arc furnace to replace scrap. 6,616/)60
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