An innovative method for recovering valuable elements from vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite is proposed. This method involves two procedures： low-temperature roasting of vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite and water leaching of roasting slag. During the roasting process, the reduction of iron oxides to metallic iron, the sodium oxidation of vanadium oxides to water-soluble sodium vanadate, and the smelting separation of metallic iron and slag were accomplished simultaneously. Optimal roasting conditions for iron/slag separation were achieved with a mixture thickness of 42.5 mm, a roasting temperature of 1200°C, a residence time of 2 h, a molar ratio of C/O of 1.7, and a sodium carbonate addition of 70 wt%, as well as with the use of anthracite as a reductant. Under the optimal conditions, 93.67% iron from the raw ore was recovered in the form of iron nugget with 95.44% iron grade. After a water leaching process, 85.61% of the vanadium from the roasting slag was leached, confirming the sodium oxidation of most of the vanadium oxides to water-soluble sodium vanadate during the roasting process. The total recoveries of iron, vanadium, and titanium were 93.67%, 72.68%, and 99.72%, respectively.
In order to clean production of chromium compounds, it is a critical process to remove aluminates and utilize aluminum compounds from artificial chromate alkali solutions. The effects of Na2 Cr O4 on the neutralization curve, Al（OH）3 precipitation efficiency and induction period of bayerite were investigated. The results indicate that the neutralization curve of the artificial chromate alkali solutions shows three distinct regions and its induction period is longer than that of pure sodium aluminate solutions at the same aluminum concentration. And the decreased temperature and volume fraction of CO2 enhance the particle size of bayerite β-Al（OH）3. Bayerite composed of agglomerates of rods and cone frustums was obtained from alkali metal chromate solutions with 28.5% CO2（volume fraction） at temperatures ranging from 50 °C to 70 °C. Coarse bayerite with particle size（d50） from 24.2 μm to 29.3 μm extremely has few impurities, which is suitable for comprehensive utilization.
The reduction behaviors of FeO·V2O3 and FeO·Cr2O3 during coal-based direct reduction have a decisive impact on the efficient utilization of high-chromium vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite concentrates. The effects of molar ratio of C to Fe n(C)/n(Fe) and temperature on the behaviors of vanadium and chromium during direct reduction and magnetic separation were investigated. The reduced samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning election microscopy(SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometry(EDS) techniques. Experimental results indicate that the recoveries of vanadium and chromium rapidly increase from 10.0% and 9.6% to 45.3% and 74.3%, respectively, as the n(C)/n(Fe) increases from 0.8 to 1.4. At n(C)/n(Fe) of 0.8, the recoveries of vanadium and chromium are always lower than 10.0% in the whole temperature range of 1100-1250 °C. However, at n(C)/n(Fe) of 1.2, the recoveries of vanadium and chromium considerably increase from 17.8% and 33.8% to 42.4% and 76.0%, respectively, as the temperature increases from 1100 °C to 1250 °C. At n(C)/n(Fe) lower than 0.8, most of the FeO·V2O3 and FeO·Cr2O3 are not reduced to carbides because of the lack of carbonaceous reductants, and the temperature has little effect on the reduction behaviors of FeO·V2O3 and FeO·Cr2O3, resulting in very low recoveries of vanadium and chromium during magnetic separation. However, at higher n(C)/n(Fe), the reduction rates of FeO·V2O3 and FeO·Cr2O3 increase significatly because of the excess amount of carbonaceous reductants. Moreover, higher temperatures largely induce the reduction of FeO·V2O3 and FeO·Cr2O3 to carbides. The newly formed carbides are then dissolved in the γ(FCC) phase, and recovered accompanied with the metallic iron during magnetic separation.
