Becher Method Application for Ilmenite Concentrates of Vietnam

Abstract

Several methods used to extract iron from ilmenite concentrate to increase TiO₂ content of ilmenite concentrates such as Benelite, Ishihara, Murso, Austpac, and Becher methods. Benelite method uses HCl for leaching of reduced iron from ilmenite. Auspac method uses hot HCl while Ishihara uses hot acid H₂SO₄ in the leaching stage. Murso method uses 20% HCl acid under atmospheric pressure for the leaching of roasted ilmenite. The significant advantage of Benelite, Auspac, Ishihara, and Murso methods is high-quality product with TiO₂ content of up to 95–97%. However, the use of acid, especially hot HCl, is the principal disadvantage of these methods. They may severely impact the surrounding environment and may cause many safety and health problems. These methods have not been applied in Vietnam yet. Unlike the above methods, the Becher method relies on the iron corrosion capability of the less-toxic NH₄Cl solution for separating iron from roasted ilmenite. Therefore, it is considered to be more environmentally friendly. This paper presents the preliminary study results on Becher method applied to ilmenite concentrates of BinhThuan province of Vietnam. From the ilmenite concentrates of Binh Thuan province with TiO₂ content of about 52%, the study has produced artificial rutile with TiO₂ content of over 85% and a byproduct superfine iron oxide powder that may be suitable for the use in pigment production. The study results show that Becher’s method is suitable for the treatment of the ilmenite concentrates of Vietnam.