| Abstract: | As alkali additive, KCl catalyzes effectively the carbothermic reduction of pre oxidized ilmenite, and the catalytic effect becomes more remarkable as the amount of KCl increases. During the carbothermic reduction, the gaseous product consists mainly of CO, and the partial pressure of which increases with reaction temperature. The EPMA and XPS of the partially reduced ilmenite ore and that of the used graphite as reductant showed that the potassium ions enter both ilmenite particles and graphite powders during reduction. The above mentioned phenomena result in the distortion of ilmenite and carbon structure by potassium ions and reaction activity of carbon and ilmenite was enhanced. As a result, the overall carbothermic reduction was catalyzed by KCl. |
