Effect of Different Additives on Reaction Characteristics of Fluorapatite During Coal-Based Reduction of Iron Ore

Abstract

In the coal-based reduction of high phosphorus oolitic hematite, it is particularly important to study the mechanism of phosphorus regulation during the formation of iron metals for the efficient development and utilization of iron ore. In this study, the thermodynamics of the coal-based reduction process of fluorapatite in different mineral systems, effect mechanism of the reduction degree, kinetics, mineral composition, and morphology of structural evolution samples were systematically investigated using FactSage software, single factor analysis, the isothermal method, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). Thermodynamic analysis indicates that the effect of the SiO2–Fe2O3–C system on reducing the initial reduction temperature of fluorapatite was stronger than that of the Al2O3–Fe2O3–C system. The effect mechanism of the reduction degree demonstrates that increasing the dosage of silica, iron oxide, carbon, reduction time, and reduction temperature could promote the reduction reaction of fluorapatite under certain conditions. Dynamics analysis shows that the best kinetic mechanism functions of the SiO2–Fe2O3–C system and the Al2O3–Fe2O3–C system were A1/3 = 1/3(1 − α)[−ln(1 − α)]−2 and A1/2 = 1/2(1 − α)[−ln(1 − α)]−1, respectively. The activation energy and pre-exponential factor of the reduction kinetics equation in the system containing silica were significantly lower than that in the system containing alumina, which explained that the catalytic effect of silica on the reduction of calcium fluorophosphate was far greater than that of alumina. XRD and SEM/EDS analysis indicate that the solid–solid reaction of alumina, silica, iron, and fluorapatite occurred during the reduction process, while calcium aluminate, calcium silicate, and calcium oxide were formed at the contact point. Among them, iron could absorb P2 gas so that it played a greater role in promoting the reduction of fluorapatite. Increasing the reduction temperature and prolonging the reduction time were beneficial to the reduction of fluorapatite.