Armin Abazarpoor ¹, Mohammad Halali ², Hediyeh Khatibnezhad ²

Affiliations
1 Young Researchers and Elite Club, Anar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Anar, IR
2 Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, 11365–11155, IR

Abstract

In this study the leaching of a high rutile containing slag in sulphuric acid has been investigated to find optimum leaching conditions. Using "Fractional Factorial" technique it was deduced that leaching temperature and duration, acid concentration and particle size are the most prominent parameters in the leaching process. The optimization of the leaching process was investigated using the "Rotatable Central Composite Design" technique. The four prominent parameters were studied at 5 different test values each. 3D response surface was employed to illustrate interaction of the parameters. The optimum leaching conditions for the ilmenite concentrate are thus recognized as: T = 123.9˚C, time = 323 min, acid conc. = 8.73 mol/ltr, particle size = 33-60 μm. Under these conditions the theoretical and experimental recovery of titanium for the concentrate are found to be 58.2% and 56.1% respectively. Using the same technique the optimum conditions for the slag are found as: T = 122.2˚C, time = 255 min, acid conc. = 11.84 mol/ltr, particle size = 54-95 μm. Under these conditions the theoretical and experimental recovery of titanium for the slag are found to be 67.4% and 66.2% respectively.

Keywords

Factorial–Based Methods, Ilmenite, Leaching Optimization, Slag, Sulphuric Leaching

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