Carbothermic Reduction of Chromite Ore Under Different Flow Rates of Inert Gas

The reduction of chromite ore with carbon has been studied extensively in many laboratories. Inert gases have been used in these investigations to control the experimental conditions. However, little information is available in the literature on the influence of the gas flow rate on the rate of reduction. Experiments were carried out to study the influence of the flow rate of inert gas on the reducibility of chromite ore. The experiments showed that the rate of reduction increased with the increasing flow rate of argon up to an optimum flow rate. At higher flow rates, the rate of reduction decreased. The influence of the proportion of reductant on the extent of reduction depended on the rate of flow rate of inert gas. The experimental results are interpreted on the basis of a model that postulates that the mechanism of reduction changes with the flow rate of argon.