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Electrochemical Reduction of K2MoO4–Fe2O3 Binary Melts Using a Consumable Steel Electrode to Produce Ferromolybdenum Alloys

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Abstract

Ferromolybdenum is widely used for high temperature alloys and stainless steels. Traditionally, the aluminothermic reaction is used to manufacture ferromolybdenum, but results in volatile species of molybdite (MoO3) reducing productivity. This work presents an electrochemical method using a consumable steel electrode under Ar to produce ferromolybdenum from electrolysis in the K2MoO4-10 mol%Fe2O3 binary melt to minimize the volatilization of molybdite at 1273 K. After completion of the electrochemical reaction, the produced ferromolybdenum was easily separated by using distilled water, where the average molar ratio of Fe/Mo was 1.5. At the optimal conditions of the present work, the current efficiency was estimated to be 70.77% with an energy consumption of 15,616.7 kWh/Fe–Mo ton in this system.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the third stage of the Brain Korea 21 Plus Project of the Division of Creative Materials in 2018 and the Technology Innovation Program (Commercialization and development of new design on turbulent high temperature melting furnace (2000 tony pilot scale) and separation and (or) recovery of valuable metals from end of the xEV (ESS) battery pack) (20011183) funded by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE, Korea).

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  1. Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722, Korea

    Kwang Won Park & Il Sohn

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  1. Kwang Won Park
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  2. Il Sohn
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Correspondence to Il Sohn.

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The contributing editor for this article was Hongmin Zhu.

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Park, K.W., Sohn, I. Electrochemical Reduction of K2MoO4–Fe2O3 Binary Melts Using a Consumable Steel Electrode to Produce Ferromolybdenum Alloys. J. Sustain. Metall. 9, 753–762 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40831-023-00684-3

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