Kinetics of Carbothermic Reduction of MnO2 and Catalytic Effect of La2O3

Kinetics of carbothermic reduction of manganese oxide and the catalytic effect of La2O3 on the reduction have been studied by the measurement of mass loss in N2 atmosphere at different temperatures and followed by SEM analysis. It is concluded that the kinetics of carbothermic reduction of manganese oxide is divided into three stages: gas diffusion controlling stage, carbon gasification controlling stage and solid state diffusion controlling stage. La2O3 has catalytic effect on the reduction. The catalytic effect of La2O3 increases with the added amount of La2O3. SEM analysis shows that the catalytic mechanism is that Laa2O3 promotes the transfer of oxygen ions so that carbon gasifying is catalyzed and thus carbothermic reduction of MnO3 is catalyzed.