Reduction Kinetics of MnO from High-Carbon Ferromanganese Slags by Carbonaceous Materials in Ar and CO Atmospheres

The kinetics of MnO reduction from synthetic and industrial high-carbon ferromanganese slags were investigated using a sessile drop technique at 1600 °C. The effects of the reductant type, ambient atmosphere, and slag composition on the MnO reduction were illuminated. Six different types of carbonaceous reductants were used as substrates for small slag droplets, which were reacted in a CO or Ar atmosphere, with the reaction studied in situ. The cross sections of the reacted slag-carbon samples were subsequently studied by electron-probe microanalysis (EPMA), to find the extent of the MnO reduction as a function of the reaction time. It was found that the rate of the MnO reduction is affected by both the type of reductant and the ambient atmosphere. It was observed that the MnO reduction rate from synthetic slag by cokes produced from single coals is lower than that from industrial cokes. Reduction rates obtained when charcoal was used as the reductant were higher than when coke was used, while the CO atmosphere yielded a faster initial MnO reduction than did the Ar atmosphere. It was found that the faster reduction rates in the CO atmosphere are related to the MnO reduction by CO gas. A newly developed kinetic method was applied, to calculate the rate constants for the MnO reduction by carbon and CO that considered the reaction interfaces. It was indicated that the rate of the MnO reduction by CO is less than that by carbon; however, the contribution of these reductants to slag reduction is very dependent on their contact with the slag.