Recovery of iron and calcium aluminate slag from high-ferrous bauxite by high-temperature reduction and smelting process

A high-temperature reduction and smelting process was used to recover iron and calcium aluminate slag from high-ferrous bauxite. The effects of w(CaO)/w(SiO₂) ratio, anthracite ratio, and reduction temperature and time on the recovery and size of iron nuggets and on the Al₂O₃ grade of the calcium aluminate slag were investigated through thermodynamic calculations and experiments. The optimized process conditions were the bauxite/anthracite/slaked lime weight ratio of 100:16.17:59.37, reduction temperature of 1450°C and reduction time of 20 min. Under these conditions, high-quality iron nuggets and calcium aluminate slag were obtained. The largest size and the highest recovery rate of iron nuggets were 11.42 mm and 92.79wt%, respectively. The calcium aluminate slag mainly comprised Ca₂SiO₄ and Ca₁₂Al₁₄O₃₃, with small amounts of FeAl₂O₄, CaAl₂O₄, and Ca₂Al₂SiO₇.

Recovery of iron and calcium aluminate slag from high-ferrous bauxite by high-temperature reduction and smelting process

A high-temperature reduction and smelting process was used to recover iron and calcium aluminate slag from high-ferrous bauxite. The effects of w(CaO)/w(SiO2) ratio, anthracite ratio, and reduction temperature and time on the recovery and size of iron nuggets and on the Al2O3 grade of the calcium aluminate slag were investigated through thermodynamic calculations and experiments. The optimized process conditions were the bauxite/anthracite/slaked lime weight ratio of 100:16.17:59.37, reduction temperature of 1450°C and reduction time of 20 min. Under these conditions, high-quality iron nuggets and calcium aluminate slag were obtained. The largest size and the highest recov-ery rate of iron nuggets were 11.42 mm and 92.79wt%, respectively. The calcium aluminate slag mainly comprised Ca2SiO4 and Ca12Al14O33, with small amounts of FeAl2O4, CaAl2O4, and Ca2Al2SiO7.