Effectiveness of sodium silicate as gangue depressants in iron ore slimes flotation

The recovery of iron from the screw classifier overflow slimes by direct flotation was studied. The relative effectiveness of sodium silicates with different silica-to-soda mole ratios as depressants for silica and silicate bearing minerals was investigated. Silica-to-soda mole ratio and silicate dosage were found to have significant effect on the separation efficiency. The results show that an increase of Fe content in the concentrate is observed with concomitant reduction in SiO₂ and Al₂O₃ levels when a particular type of sodium silicate at a proper dosage is used. The concentrate of 58.89wt% Fe, 4.68wt% SiO₂, and 5.28wt% Al₂O₃ with the weight recovery of 38.74% and the metal recovery of 41.13% can be obtained from the iron ore slimes with 54.44wt% Fe, 6.72wt% SiO₂, and 6.80wt% Al₂O₃, when Na₂SiO₃ with a silica-to-soda mole ratio of 2.19 is used as a depressant at a feed rate of 0.2 kg/t.     

高磷赤铁矿制备碳化铁的产物分离试验研究

利用高磷鲕状赤铁矿制备碳化铁,产物中含磷组分是影响碳化铁质量的关键因素。为了探究分离方式和添加剂对产物中含磷组分分离的影响,在1023K下分别用无添加、添加2%V2O5和添加5%Na2SO4的高磷鲕状赤铁矿制备碳化铁,将制得的产物球磨不同时间后采用磁选或离心+磁选的方式进行产物分离,最后分析产物中含磷组分的变化。结果表明,延长球磨时间可以提高产物的脱磷率,但球磨时间过长会降低产物的铁收得率,以球磨2h为宜;无添加剂时制备所得碳化铁试样球磨时间从1h延长至2h后,脱磷率从18.17%升至18.48%,再增加离心分离操作后,会进一步提升产物的脱磷率至23.04%;添加5%Na_2SO_4和2%V_2O_5均可破坏铁矿石的鲕状结构,有利于含Fe组分与脉石的分离,但添加Na_2SO_4会降低产物的碳化铁含量,而V_2O_5的添加则可同时促进碳化铁的生成以及提高产物的脱磷率,是一种较好的添加剂。     

Magnetic and flotation studies of banded hematite quartzite (BHQ) ore for the production of pellet grade concentrate

To identify and establish beneficiation techniques for banded hematite quartzite (BHQ) iron ore, a comprehensive research on BHQ ore treatment was carried out. The BHQ ore was assayed as 38.9wt% Fe, 42.5wt% SiO₂, and 1.0wt% Al₂O₃. In this ore, hematite and quartz are present as the major mineral phases where goethite, martite, and magnetite are present in small amounts. The liberation of hematite particles can be enhanced to about 82% by reducing the particle size to below 63 μm. The rejection of silica particles can be obtained by magnetic and flotation separation techniques. Overall, the BHQ ore can be enriched to 65.3wt% Fe at 61.9% iron recovery. A flowsheet has been suggested for the commercial exploitation of the BHQ ore.     

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.     

Feasibility of co-reduction roasting of a saprolitic laterite ore and waste red mud

Large scale utilization is still an urgent problem for waste red mud with a high content of alkaline metal component in the future. Laterite ores especially the saprolitic laterite ore are one refractory nickel resource, the nickel and iron of which can be effectively recovered by direct reduction and magnetic separation. Alkaline metal salts were usually added to enhance reduction of laterite ores. The feasibility of co-reduction roasting of a saprolitic laterite ore and red mud was investigated. Results show that the red mud addition promoted the reduction of the saprolitic laterite ore and the iron ores in the red mud were co-reduced and recovered. By adding 35wt% red mud, the nickel grade and recovery were 4.90wt% and 95.25wt%, and the corresponding iron grade and total recovery were 71.00wt% and 93.77wt%, respectively. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analysis results revealed that red mud addition was helpful to increase the liquid phase and ferronickel grain growth. The chemical compositions “CaO and Na₂O” in the red mud replaced FeO to react with SiO₂ and MgSiO₃ to form augite.     

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°C). Magnetic separation 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 consists of serpentine, hortonolite, and goethite. During the reduction process, the grade of nickel and iron in the products increases with increasing reduction temperature. Although a higher temperature is more favorable for reduction, the temperature exceeding 1000°C 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.     

Dolochar as a reductant in the reduction roasting of iron ore slimes

The present investigation examines the viability of dolochar, a sponge iron industry waste material, as a reductant in the reduction roasting of iron ore slimes, which are another waste generated by iron ore beneficiation plants. Under statistically determined optimum conditions, which include a temperature of 900℃, a reductant-to-feed mass ratio of 0.35, and a reduction time of 30-45 min, the roasted mass, after being subjected to low-intensity magnetic separation, yielded an iron ore concentrate of approximately 64wt% Fe at a mass recovery of approximately 71% from the feed iron ore slime assaying 56.2wt% Fe. X-ray diffraction analyses indicated that the magnetic products contain magnetite and hematite as the major phases, whereas the nonmagnetic fractions contain quartz and hematite.     

CaF2强化红土镍矿自还原过程中金属相聚集长大行为

针对高镁高硅型中低品位红土镍矿,采用煤基自还原-细磨-磁选工艺制备镍铁粉,研究了内配碳比对红土镍矿中铁、镍氧化物自还原的影响,CaF_2对红土镍矿自还原过程中氧化物的还原、金属相的析出及聚集长大的影响规律。研究表明在CaF_2作用下通过降低内配碳比可抑制氧化铁的还原,从而获得镍品位较高的镍铁粉,但相应牺牲镍的回收率;CaF_2能与红土镍矿中高熔点的硅酸盐脉石通过固相反应生成低熔点的透闪石(Ca_2Mg_5(Si_4O_(11))_2F_2),使硅酸盐矿物结构由岛状转变为链状,提高硅酸盐矿物反应活性,促进镍、铁氧化物的还原;通过降低红土镍矿脉石相的熔化性温度,CaF_2能明显强化红土镍矿自还原过程中金属相的析出、聚集和长大,促进镍铁与脉石的有效分离,从而大幅度提高镍铁粉中镍和铁的品位及金属元素的回收率。     

Thermodynamic analysis of the carbothermic reduction of a high-phosphorus oolitic iron ore by FactSage

A thermodynamic analysis of the carbothermic reduction of high-phosphorus oolitic iron ore (HPOIO) was conducted by the FactSage thermochemical software. The effects of temperature, C/O ratio, additive types, and dosages both on the reduction of fluorapatite and the formation of liquid slag were studied. The results show that the minimum thermodynamic reduction temperature of fluorapatite by carbon decreases to about 850°C, which is mainly ascribed to the presence of SiO₂, Al₂O₃, and Fe. The reduction rate of fluorapatite increases and the amount of liquid slag decreases with the rise of C/O ratio. The reduction of fluorapatite is hindered by the addition of CaO and Na₂CO₃, thereby allowing the selective reduction of iron oxides upon controlled C/O ratio. The thermodynamic results obtain in the present work are in good agreement with the experimental results available in the literatures.     

某高磷鲕状赤铁矿磷赋存状态及还原焙烧脱磷研究

采用浸出、电渗析等试验方法研究了尼日利亚高磷鲕状赤铁矿中磷的赋存状态并采用XRD和SEM分析添加脱磷剂Na2CO3直接还原焙烧产物的特性.结果表明,含磷矿物主要是呈微细粒包裹体嵌布在铁矿物鲕粒的裂隙或孔洞中的纤磷钙铝石(CaAl3(OH)6(HPO4)(PO4))、蓝磷铝铁矿(FeAl2(PO4)2OH·6H2O)以及均匀分散在铁矿物中的磷.通过添加脱磷剂Na2CO3的还原焙烧磁选可实现高效铁磷分离.磷通过两种方式去除:一部分含磷矿物与金属铁分离,存在于脉石矿物中,通过磨矿磁选可以有效去除,一部分含磷矿物与Na2CO3反应生成溶于水的磷矿物,最终使得还原铁产品中的磷含量降低.     

A novel process for Fe recovery and Zn,Pb removal from a low-grade pyrite cinder with high Zn and Pb contents

Comprehensive utilization of pyrite cinders is increasingly important because of their huge annual outputs and potential valuable metals recovery to cope with the gradual depletion of high-grade mineral resources. In this work, a new process, i.e., a high-temperature chlorination-magnetizing roasting-magnetic separation process, was proposed for recovering Fe and removing Zn, Pb from a low-grade pyrite cinder containing 49.90wt% Fe, 1.23wt% Zn, and 0.29wt% Pb. Various parameters, including the chlorinating conditions (dosage of CaCl₂, temperature, and time) and the magnetization roasting conditions (amount of coal, temperature, and time) were investigated. The results indicate that the proposed process is effective for Fe recovery and Zn, Pb removal from the pyrite cinder. Through this process, 97.06% Zn, 96.82% Pb, and approximately 90% S can be removed, and 89.74% Fe is recovered as magnetite into the final product under optimal conditions. A purified magnetite concentrate containing 63.07wt% Fe, 0.16wt% P, 0.26wt% S, and trace amounts of nonferrous metals (0.005wt% Cu, 0.013wt% Pb, and 0.051wt% Zn) was obtained. The concentrate can be potentially used as a high-quality feed material for producing oxidized pellets by blending with other high-grade iron ore concentrates.     

Effect of reverse flotation on magnetic separation concentrates

Reverse flotation studies on magnetite samples have revealed that the use of starch as a depressant of Fe-oxides has a hydrophilic effect on the surface of Fe-bearing silicates and significantly decreases Fe in the silica-rich stream when used in combination with an amine (Lilaflot D817M). In this study, the effect of reverse flotation on the optimization of products obtained from magnetic separation was investigated. Two different magnetic samples, zones 1 and 2, were milled to <75 μm and then subjected to low intensity magnetic separation (LIMS). The LIMS test conducted on the <75 μm shown an upgrade of 46.40wt% Fe, 28.40wt% SiO₂ and 2.61wt% MnO for zone 1 and 47.60wt% Fe, 29.17wt% SiO₂ and 0.50wt% MnO for zone 2. Further milling of the ore to <25 μm resulted in a higher magnetic-rich product after magnetic separation. Reverse flotation tests were conducted on the agitated magnetic concentrate feed, and the result shows a significant upgrade of Fe compared to that obtained from the non-agitated feed. Iron concentrations greater than 69%, and SiO₂ concentrations less than 2% with overall magnetite recoveries greater than 67% and 71% were obtained for zones 1 and 2, respectively.     

组合脱磷剂对高磷铁矿还原焙烧-磁选的影响

针对高磷铁矿还原焙烧降磷过程中脱磷剂成本高、用量大等难题，为更好地开发利用高磷铁矿，采用还原焙烧-磁选工艺，研究了组合脱磷剂对高磷铁矿提铁降磷的影响.通过X射线衍射(XRD)和扫描电子显微镜-能谱仪(SEM-EDS)揭示提铁降磷机理.结果表明:加入13%碳酸钙和2%碳酸钠作为组合脱磷剂能代替传统脱磷剂，并获得了良好的脱磷效果.当原矿铁品位55.58%，含磷0.57%时，在推荐的试验条件下，可获得铁品位93.25%，铁回收率90.75%、磷质量分数0.09%以及磷的去除率高达91.46%的粉状还原铁.加入的组合脱磷剂不仅促使铁氧化物中的磷组元向磷酸钙发生转变，使金属铁颗粒与磷酸钙界限明显，而且还能防止难以还原的铝尖晶石和铁橄榄石的生成，最终实现了磷的深度脱除和铁的有效回收.     

碳酸钠在高磷鲕状赤铁矿直接还原中的作用

为了研究碳酸钠对尼日利亚某高磷鲕状赤铁矿直接还原焙烧-磁选脱磷效果的影响,采用X射线衍射(XRD)和扫描电镜(SEM)研究了添加碳酸钠后直接还原焙烧的产物.结果表明,还原焙烧过程中添加碳酸钠后可以实现脱磷:碳酸钠的加入抑制了铁橄榄石的生成,阻断了磷进入金属铁的过程;使得鲕粒结构破坏,促进金属铁颗粒的聚集长大,有利于金属铁颗粒与脉石的解离;原矿中含磷矿物在焙烧过程中与碳酸钠反应生成可溶性的Na3PO4,在磨矿磁选过程中溶于水,使直接还原铁中磷的含量降低.     

Recovery of alkali and alumina from Bayer red mud by the calcification–carbonation method

Red mud produced in the Bayer process is a hazardous solid waste because of its high alkalinity; however, it is rich in valuable components such as titanium, iron, and aluminum. In this study, a novel calcification–carbonation method was developed to recover alkali and alumina from Bayer red mud under mild reaction conditions. Batch experiments were performed to evaluate the potential effects of important parameters such as temperature, amount of CaO added, and CO₂ partial pressure on the recovery of alkali and alumina. The results showed that 95.2% alkali and 75.0% alumina were recovered from red mud with decreases in the mass ratios of Na₂O to Fe₂O₃ and of Al₂O₃ to Fe₂O₃ from 0.42 and 0.89 to 0.02 and 0.22, respectively. The processed red mud with less than 0.5wt% Na₂O can potentially be used as a construction material.     

NO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> reduction by coupling combustion with recycling flue gas in iron ore sintering process

A new process called ‘NO _x reduction by coupling combustion with recycling flue gas (RCCRF)’ was proposed to decrease NO _x emission during the iron ore sintering process. The simulation test of NO _x reduction was performed over sintered ore and in the process of coke combustion. Experimentally, NO _x reduction was also carried out by sintering pot test. For sintered ore, the amount of NO _x emission is reduced by 15wt%–25wt% at 400–550°C using 2.0vol% H₂ or 2.0vol% CO, or reduced by 10wt%–30wt% at 560–720°C using 0.15vol% NH₃. NO _x reduction is around 10wt% by coupling combustion of pyrolysis gas and coke, or around 16wt% by recycling flue gas into coke combustion. By RCCRF, the maximum NO _x reduction ratio is about 23wt% in coke combustion experiment and over 40wt% in sintering pot test.     

Comprehensive recovery of lead,zinc, and iron from hazardous jarosite residues using direct reduction followed by magnetic separation

Lead, zinc, and iron were recovered from jarosite residues using direct reduction followed by magnetic separation. The influence of the coal dosage, reduction temperature, and reduction time on the volatilization rates of lead and zinc and the metallization rate of iron were investigated. The results show that the volatilization rates of lead and zinc were 96.97% and 99.89%, respectively, and the iron metallization rate was 91.97% under the optimal reduction roasting conditions of a coal dosage of 25.0wt% and reduction roasting at 1250℃ for 60 min. The magnetic concentrate with an iron content of 90.59wt% and an iron recovery rate of 50.87% was obtained under the optimum conditions in which 96.56% of the reduction product particles were smaller than 37 μm and the magnetic field strength was 24 kA/m. Therefore, the results of this study demonstrate that recovering valuable metals such as lead, zinc, and iron from jarosite residues is feasible using the developed approach.     

红土镍矿深度还原-磁选富集镍铁实验研究

采用深度还原-磁选工艺,以煤粉为还原剂,添加氧化钙作助溶剂,在微熔化,不完全造渣的条件下,将矿石中镍和铁的氧化物还原成金属镍铁,然后经磁选方法使金属镍铁在磁性产品中得到富集.结果表明,深度还原最佳工艺条件为:还原温度1 300℃,还原时间60 min,配煤过剩倍数2.在此工艺条件下得到镍、铁质量分数分别为5.01%,22.46%的镍铁产品,镍、铁回收率分别为96.05%,79.69%.对深度还原过程研究表明,还原物料中镍和铁以金属合金颗粒形式存在,高温有利于镍铁金属相凝聚,适当延长还原反应时间有利于镍铁颗粒的还原和聚集长大,进而有利于磁选富集.     

铬铁矿的还原焙烧与磁选分离

以南非铬铁矿为原料,以潞安煤粉为还原剂,进行了铬铁矿粉还原焙烧与磁选分离实验。借助扫描电镜、能谱分析和X射线衍射分析,对碳热还原和磁选分离过程中的物相变化进行了系统研究。实验发现,当温度低于1 200℃时,铬铁矿仅发生少量铁氧化物的还原,当温度高于1 300℃时,铬铁矿中铬氧化物开始被还原成碳化铬。随着还原反应的不断进行,铬铁尖晶石结构逐渐发生转变并被破坏。在本实验条件下,铬铁矿较为适宜的预处理温度为1 200℃,此温度下的还原产物磁选后,磁选产物几乎全部为金属铁,磁选所得尾渣的除铁率为46%,铬的收得率为80%,w(Cr2O3)/w(ΣFe O)值高达3.75。研究工作对于铬铁矿预处理工艺的设计开发及低品位铬铁矿的综合利用具有理论指导意义。     

Multi-index analysis of the melting process of laterite metallized pellet

Herein, a multi-index analysis of the nickel content of an alloy, output rate of the alloy, nickel recovery rate, and iron recovery rate during the melting of laterite metallized pellets was performed. The thermodynamic reduction behavior of oxides such as NiO, FeO, Fe₃O₄, and Cr₂O₃ was studied using the FactSage software, which revealed that SiO₂ is not conducive to the reduction of iron oxides, whereas the addition of basic oxides such as CaO and MgO is beneficial for the reduction of iron oxides. On the basis of a comprehensive analysis to achieve greater nickel recovery and lower iron recovery rates, the optimum experimental parameters in the orthogonal experiment were A3B1C3 (t=30 min, C/O=0.4, R=1.2); the indicators w_Ni, φ_alloy, η_Ni, and η_Fe had values of 15.0wt%, 12.1%, 44.9%, and 96.4%, respectively. In single-factor experiments, increasing basicity (R) substantially improved the separation effect in the low-basicity range 0.5 ≤ R ≤ 0.8 but not in the high-basicity range 0.8 ≤ R ≤ 1.2. Similar results were obtained for the effect of the C/O ratio. Moreover, the recovery rate of nickel increased with increasing recovery rate of iron.