Next, carbothermic ilmenite smelting with flux addition was executed. Electro smelting of ilmenite for production of tio 2 slag potential of india as a global player 825 the worlds production of ilmenite was 10. Citeseerx document details isaac councill, lee giles, pradeep teregowda. Apollo astronauts found abundant ilmenite in lunar rocks and the lunar regolith. For slag to be used in the sulphate process, it is important that excessive amounts of the rutile phase are not formed. Estimation of tio 2 feona 2 o slag viscosity through molecular. Major mineral sands based ilmenite mining operations include. The ilmenite is fed together with carbonaceous reductant, and in the absence of fluxes, to the molten bath of a d. Modelling of an ilmenitesmelting dc arc furnace process modelling of an ilmenitesmelting dc arc furnace process zietsman, johan h pistorius, p. The smelting mechanism reported by pistorius 2008 involves the reduction of iron oxide and titanium dioxide, in the ilmenite, using carbon monoxide generated by the boudouard reaction to produce pig iron, titania rich slag and carbon dioxide. Outotec delivers an ilmenite smelting plant for cristal global to the economic city of jazan in saudi arabia. Tio2 is an excellent opacifier and used as a white pigment in paint, paper and plastics. The principal mineral sources of titanium are rutile, anatase both tio2, ilmenite fetio3 and leucoxene a weathered ilmenite of variable concentration of tio2 but similar to pseudorutile fe2ti3o9. The process of claim 8, wherein said ilmenite ore comprises about 45 to 65% by weight titanium dioxide.
Ilmenite also crystallizes in veins and cavities and sometimes occurs as wellformed crystals in pegmatites. Technical considerations and viability of higher titania slag feedstock 189 experimental data on the production of high titania slag smelting test work carried out on the 500 kw and 1. It is difficult to produce a consumable electrode from ilmenite concentrate. Installing continuous expansion measurement to replace the manual. Comparison of onestep method and twostep method of ilmenite. Future opportunities in a region of great potential find, read and cite all the research. The federal bureau of mines developed a smelting leaching procedure for preparing sodium titanate from domestic ilmenite. These ilmenite bearing rocks are often gabbro, norite, or anorthosite. Investigations of liquid phase aluminothermic reduction of ilmenite. It is now convenient to plot the fe distribution as an area plot. Along with the increasing demand for the tio2 pigment, the ilmenite smelting process has also become significant because it can utilize both. Please check with the environmental protection agency toward its tsca status. In the present processing flowsheet, the ore is first processed with wet lowintensity drum magnetic separator to. Estimation of tio 2 feona 2 o slag viscosity through.
Prereduction and dc openarc smelting of carbonbased. A method of preparing a prereduced ilmenite ore for smelting, wherein metal oxides contained in the ore are selectively reduced in solidstate reactions over titanium oxide, the method including the step of prereducing carbonbased pellets of the ore. By way of comparison, the global production of ilmenite in 2005 was million tons. Smelting of ilmenite with carbon usually leads to the formation. May be confused with minerals of the crichtonite group and with hematite. Ilmenite, also known as manaccanite, is a titaniumiron oxide mineral with the idealized formula fetio 3. The ilmenite smelting technology utilises a reductant as a direct carbon source. Mar 01, 2006 modelling of an ilmenite smelting dc arc furnace process modelling of an ilmenite smelting dc arc furnace process zietsman, johan h pistorius, p. Ep2976438b1 process and plant for producing titanium slag. Outline process flow diagrams smelter simulation ore feed metallurgical coke feed ore to coke ratio equilibrium.
Ilmenite ores can also be converted to liquid iron and a titanium rich slag using a smelting process. It forms solidsolution series with geikielite and pyrophanite in which magnesium and manganese, respectively, replace iron in the crystal structure. When mined it will drop a titanium shard and an iron shard which can be smelted and then used as a crafting ingredient for things such as tools, machines, and armor. Only one esr furnace type is suitable for smelting raw materials nonfitted for conversion into consumable electrodes. Improving the production efficiency of hightitania slag. Electro smelting of ilmenite for production of tio. One of the limiting factors in ilmenite smelting is the inability to. Pdf modelling of an ilmenitesmelting dc arc furnace. It has previously been observed that industrial hightitania slags display a compositional invariance, remaining close to stoichiometric m3o5.
Ilmenite ore is an ore that can be found only on asteroids. The molten bath of the furnace forms the anode and one or more electrodes in the roof of the furnace forms the cathode. The basics article pdf available in journal of the southern african institute of mining and metallurgy 1081. From a commercial perspective, ilmenite is the most important ore of titanium. A mathematical model of the entire ilmenitesmelting furnace process was constructed. There are two main routes that are used to upgrade ilmenite, to. The present study focuses on this invariance and the phenomena which may cause it. As thick tabular crystals, with dominant base, to rhombohedral, to 25 cm.
Apr 16, 2020 next, carbothermic ilmenite smelting with flux addition was executed. South african beachsand ilmenites are close to this nominal composition, with the main impurities being mno, mgo, sio2 and al2o3 amounting to some 3% of the mass of the ilmenite. The countrywise world production of ilmenite in the year 2005 is shown in fi g. A smelting technique has been developed by the federal bureau of mines for treating ilmenite to produce a lowiron titanate product from which titania pigment can be obtained by the conventional sulfate process without the usual formation of byproduct ferrous sulfate. A shining future ahead pdf, euro pacific canada, p.
The first step in upgrading the ilmenite to a pure tio2 product is smelting the ilmenite to produce a tio2 rich slag of 8090% tio2 content. This causes ilmenite and similartemperature minerals, such as magnetite, to accumulate in a layer at the bottom of the magma chamber. It may also be mined using silk touch to give you a ilmenite ore block which can be smelted directly into a titanium ingot. Hydrogen reduction is one method currently being tested by many universities. It is also used in the manufacture of titanium dioxide, a bright white powder used as.
Government publication, national government publication. Panzhihua ilmenite, located in sichuan province of southwest china, is the largest ilmenite reserve in the world, with an estimated reserve of 870 million tons. Ilmenite, also known as manaccanite, is a titaniumiron oxide mineral with the idealized formula fetio. Ilmenite is a black irontitanium oxide with a chemical composition of fetio 3 ilmenite is the primary ore of titanium, a metal needed to make a variety of high. These campaigns varied in length from one week to six weeks, with the majority being of the order of two weeks. Pilotscale demonstration of ilmenite processing technology umd nrri ii executive summary the mineral ilmenite is an irontitanium oxide fetio 3 which is concentrated within small oxidebearing ultramafic intrusions oui associated with the. This usual approach concerns in smelting consumable electrode by slag layer. Influence of temperature on reaction mechanism of ilmenite. A lustrous black to brownish titanium ore, essentially fetio3. Geikielite ilmenite series, ilmenite pyrophanite series.
Copy all the values in excel and keep only the columns with fe. The carbothermic smelting reduction process of ilmenite ore at high temperature was investigated by thermodynamic calculations in conjunction with smelting experiments. Based on thermodynamic calculations, conducting the smelting process at a higher temperature was recommended to achieve a larger amount of feo reduction, i. Pistorius synopsis while some of the practical details of ilmenite smelting are not well documented, there is a substantial body of literature on the principles of ilmenite smelting, and the behaviour of solidified titania slag. It also combines information from a number of literature resources to provide a consolidated body of data and information on which the work of this study is based. The process of claim 7, wherein in step c, at least one alkaline earth sulfate is removed from the titania slag by said.
Improving the production efficiency of hightitania slag in. Sep 23, 2019 ilmenite, also known as manaccanite, is a titaniumiron oxide mineral with the idealized formula fetio 3. Ilmenite by itself is not a profitable iron ore as the titanium inhibits the smelting process. During ilmenite smelting, the iron content of the oxide is lowered by reduction to. Instead, it is smelted to produce a titania slag suitable for the production of tio2 pigments. In common with many naturally occurring mineral products, ilmenite contains very low levels of naturally occurring radioactive elements principally uranium and thorium. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed. Outotecs delivery contains general and detailed design, process technology with equipment, construction site supervision, earthmoving works, process equipment installation, constructing the plant and commissioning as a turnkey delivery. Compare unnamed feti oxyhydroxide i and unnamed feti oxyhydroxide ii.
A process is provided for the production of titania rich slag from ilmenite. Ilmenitesmelting furnaces, in particular, must be operated with a freeze lining to prevent attack of the sidewall refractory material by the corrosive liquid hightitiania slag. Technical considerations and viability of higher titania slag. Chapter 2 ilmenite smelting process overview the purpose of this chapter is to introduce the reader to various aspects regarding the ilmenite smelting process. Pdf on aug 5, 2019, harmen oterdoom and others published dc furnace smelting of ilmenite and chromite. The titanium slag is then leached with sulfuric acid or with hydrochloric acid at elevated temperatures. Ilmenite is the main source of titanium dioxide, which is used in paints, printing inks, fabrics, plastics. Ilmenite smelting involves partial reduction of iron oxide from a slag consisting mainly of tio 2, ti 2o 3 and feo, yielding as products iron with approximately 2% carbon and titanium slag. In ilmenite smelting, the iron content of the oxide is also lowered by reduction to. Sorelslag prepared by arc smelting of ilmenite also is used commercially in the sulfate process to produce titania pigment. Pyrometallurgy, furnace, ilmenite, smelting, ticor. Products of hydrogen reduction are free iron, titanium dioxide tio 2, and water, which is split to recover the hydrogen and produce oxygen the basic process is to separate ilmenite from lunar soil, crush it to a fine powder to maximize the surface area, and then heat it in an enclosed reaction vessel. Ilmenite smelting ilmenite from beach sands in south africa is of too low a grade to be used directly for the production of pigment or synthetic rutile.
Ilmenite is an iron titanium oxide and the primary ore of titanium. Nov 22, 2019 along with the increasing demand for the tio2 pigment, the ilmenite smelting process has also become significant because it can utilize both rock and sandtype ilmenite. A mathematical model of the entire ilmenite smelting furnace process was constructed. Electric smelting of ilmenite concentrates from valley county, idaho ocolc607705064 online version. Influence of various reductants on the ilmenite smelting. Ilmenite, also known as manaccanite, is a titaniumiron oxide mineral with the idealized formula.
Electric smelting of ilmenite concentrates from valley. These titaniferous minerals along with their value added products like synthetic rutile and tio2 slag. The structure is composed of alternating layers of cations and oxygens. A frozen lining is established and maintained between. Prereduction and dc openarc smelting of carbonbased ilmenite pellets k. The process of claim 7, wherein step a comprises smelting ilmenite ore to produce a titania slag fraction. Ilmenite is a common accessory mineral in igneous rocks, sediments, and sedimentary rocks in many parts of the world.
Interactions between freeze lining and slag bath in. Us6733561b2 production of high titania slag from ilmenite. The principal reaction involved is shown simplistically as. The sorelslag, containing about 70 wtpct tio2 and 10 to 15 wtpct iron oxide, still yields iron sulfate as a byproduct in the sulfate process. Since the world reserves of titanium are 90% in the form of ilmenite and only 10% in the form of rutile, the treatment of ilmenite is evidently an important question in metallurgy 1,2. The experiments were conducted at 3, 6 or 9 wt% flux, and slag was sampled at defined time intervals. It is also used in the manufacture of titanium dioxide, a bright white powder used as a base pigment in paint, paper and plastics.
Pdf process mechanisms in ilmenite smelting researchgate. Ilmenite, hematite and corundum all have similar structures and belong to a more or less informal group called the hematite group with a general formula of a 2 o 3. Upon wet mining dredging material is then transferred to a wet plant from where it in capacity to upgrade ilmenite into beneficiated slag or synthetic rutile is the trend. Smelting of ilmenite with carbon usually leads to the formation of fetic alloy with a high carbon content 35% to 40% ti. Banning, lloyd harold, 1909electric smelting of ilmenite concentrates from valley county, idaho ocolc609328474. Modelling of an ilmenitesmelting dc arc furnace process. In smelting ilmenite, a temperature in the range of 1650 oc1700oc is required to ensure that the thermodynamics of the process works correctly. Smelting smelting is a process of melting and separation of the charge into two or more immiscible liquid layers,which may be slag, matte, speiss or metal. Testing of different feedstocks for ilmenite smelting. The window with the amount of all elements in each phase will appear. The invariance was studied using thermochemical calculations and a mechanism is proposed for the observed behaviour. This information is summarized, focusing on the basic.
This deposit accounts for more than 90% of the total titanium resource of china and over 35% of the world. Ilmenite is the main source of titanium dioxide, which is used in paints, printing inks, fabrics, plastics, paper, sunscreen, food and cosmetics. Analyses of slag from the first series of smelting trials on a magnesiafree basis. Ilmenite is the main source of titanium dioxide, which is used i. Reduction of titanium from ilmenite and rutile by carbon proceeds first with the reduction of iron oxides and later with the reduction of titanium, which partially dissolves in ion melt and partially transforms into carbide tic.
Ilmenite smelting plant tekla global bim awards 2014. This sodium titanate product, containing 70 to 80 wtpct tio2, 15 to 20 wtpct na2o, and less than 1 wtpct iron, can be used as a feed material in place of ilmenite for preparing titania pigment by the sulfate process. Chemical and petrographic characterization of ilmenite and. Goso pyrometallurgy division, mintek the smelting of ilmenite to produce valuable titania slag and pig iron is an energyintensive process. Slag from steel mills in ferrous smelting, on the other hand, is designed to minimize iron loss and so mainly contains oxides of calcium, silicon, magnesium, and aluminium. The iron analogue of geikielite, pyrophanite, and ecandrewsite. There are two main routes that are used to upgrade ilmenite, to serve as a feedstock for. Interactions between freeze lining and slag bath in ilmenite.
Crude ilmenite is refined and conveyed to the smelter to form the primary feed source to 36mva dc arc furnaces. Zircon, rutile and ilmenite are produced from the concentrate by means of magnetic and electrostatic processes. Mar 01, 2009 ilmenitesmelting furnaces, in particular, must be operated with a freeze lining to prevent attack of the sidewall refractory material by the corrosive liquid hightitiania slag. While it is essential to maintain the freeze lining, it is also important not to allow the temperature of the slag to drop below its liquidus temperature. The objectives of these campaigns included the following. Pilotscale demonstration of ilmenite processing technology. Such alloys with high carbon content may be used for deoxidation and alloying of carbon steels. Pistorius department of materials science and metallurgical engineering, university of pretoria, pretoria while some of the practical details of ilmenite smelting are not well documented, there is a substantial body of literature on the principles of ilmenite smelting, and the behaviour of solidified titania slag.
Ilmenite, ironblack, heavy, metallic oxide mineral, composed of iron and titanium oxide fetio3, that is used as the major source of titanium. Pig iron ilmenite route international iron metallics. Pdf while some of the practical details of ilmenite smelting are not well. Ilmenite smelting at ticor sa article pdf available in journal south african institute of mining and metallurgy 1063 march 2006 with 677 reads how we measure reads. Ilmenite definition of ilmenite by the free dictionary. Fundamentals of freeze lining behaviour in ilmenite smelting.