Effects of High-Temperature Preoxidation on the Titanomagnetite Ore Structure and Reduction Behaviors in Fluidized Bed

The oxidation behaviors of South Africa (SA) titanomagnetite (TTM) and its effects on the gas solid reduction in the fluidized bed were investigated on the basis of the two-stage short process of direct reduction–electric arc furnace (DR-EAF) melting separation. The results showed that the oxidation phase transformations in the high-temperature range from 1073 K to 1223 K (800 °C to 950 °C) can be divided into two typical processes: with the fast generation of pseudobrookite and with the maghemite generation at the initial stage. The reduction efficiency for SA TTM was improved by the preoxidation treatment, mainly because of the dissociation of titania-ferrous oxides to the easy reducible hematite. However, at a preoxidation temperature higher than 1173 K (900 °C), the improving effect became weak, due to high-temperature sintering and the larger crystallite size of oxidation products. There is an extreme value of the preoxidation influence, and the optimum preoxidation time is different for various temperatures. The reduction metallization degree of SA TTM can be relatively improved by 14.5 and 4.5 pct for the first and second reduction steps, respectively, by 1173 K (900 °C) preoxidation with an optimum time of 30 minutes. Finally, the equilibrium relationship between the metallization degree and the gas reduction potential for TTM ore with preoxidation treatment was built.