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Microwave Processing of Low-Grade Banded Iron Ore with Different Reductants

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Abstract

The current study investigates the effect of microwave processing on low-grade banded iron ore using charcoal, coking coal, and non-coking coal. Charcoal showed better microwave heating response at low temperatures, and the coals exhibit better heating response at higher temperatures. Low carbon dosage ~ 12% is sufficient to generate concentrate with 61.8% iron grade and ~6% for 94.8% iron recovery comprising of magnetite phase suitable for iron-making applications. The process separation efficiency of ~ 95% is achieved at 6% carbon dosage and decreases with an increase in carbon due to formation of the fayalite phase. The metallization degree showed a strong dependency on reductant dosage and achieved a maximum value of 22.7% at 18% charcoal. The comparison of ore with pure iron oxide and the synthetic mixture of iron oxide indicated that the underlying bonding due to banded structure enhances the Joule heating during microwave irradiation and thereby aids in attaining higher temperature and better separation.

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Funding

The authors acknowledge the Science Engineering Research Board for providing financial assistance via Early career research Grant (ECR/874/2016).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Extractive Metallurgy Laboratory, Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, IIT-Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, 247667, India

    Shrey Agrawal, Shaila Mir & Nikhil Dhawan

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  1. Shrey Agrawal
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  2. Shaila Mir
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  3. Nikhil Dhawan
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Correspondence to Nikhil Dhawan.

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Agrawal, S., Mir, S. & Dhawan, N. Microwave Processing of Low-Grade Banded Iron Ore with Different Reductants. Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration 38, 151–160 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42461-020-00304-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42461-020-00304-8

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