Recovery of iron and manganese from iron-bearing manganese residues by multi-step roasting and magnetic separation

• Published in: Minerals engineering 2018-09, Vol.126, p.177-183
• Main Authors: Peng, Ning, Pan, Qinglin, Liu, Hui, Yang, Zhihui, Wang, Gongliang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Magnetic separation; Manganese ferrite; Manganese residues; Oxidative roasting
• ISSN: 0892-6875; 1872-9444
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mineng.2018.07.002

[Display omitted] •Above 90% of manganese ferrite was decomposed in the oxidative roasting.•Magnetite and low valence manganese oxide is generated by the reductive roasting.•Iron grade and recovery is 62.21% and 72.29%, respectively.•Manganese grade and recovery is 35.21% and 90.75%, respectively. Millions of tons of iron-bearing manganese residue are produced as a by-product of the electrolytic manganese industry. And the environmental contamination caused by manganese residue has received increasing attention. This paper focuses on the recovery of iron and manganese from high iron-bearing manganese residues. Manganese ferrite in manganese residues is initially decomposed by oxidative roasting, and the intermediates are magnetized in a reductive roasting step. The roasted product is milled and subjected to multi-stage magnetic separation. The optimum conditions are as follows: roasting at 750 °C under air flow for 30 min, roasting in a CO atmosphere at 750 °C for 30 min, and separating under a magnetic intensity of 1000 G for weak magnetic separation and of 12,000 G for strong magnetic separation. The recovery and grade of iron in the iron concentrate were 72.29% and 62.21%, respectively, and those of manganese in the manganese concentrate were 90.75% and 35.21%, respectively. This study demonstrates that the combination of roasting and magnetic separation provides a promising process for the recovery of iron and manganese from high-iron-bearing manganese residues.