Aeration Leaching of Iron from Nitrided Malaysian Ilmenite Reduced by Polystyrene-Coal Reductant

• Published in: Procedia chemistry 2016, Vol.19, p.715-720
• Main Authors: Yaraghi, Ali, Sapri, Mohammad Hanif Abang, Baharun, Norlia, Rezan, Sheikh A., Shoparwe, Noor Izah, Ramakrishnan, Sivakumar, Ariffin, Kamar Shah, Fauzi, M.N. Ahmad, Zabidi, Hareyani bt, Ismail, Hanafi, Seli, Hazman Haji
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aeration leachin; Ammonium Chloride; Malaysian Ilmenite
• ISSN: 1876-6196; 1876-6196
• DOI: 10.1016/j.proche.2016.03.075

In this study, aeration leaching process of iron (Fe) from titanium oxycarbonitride (TiOxCyNz) produced by carbothermal reduction and nitridation of Malaysian ilmenite, in ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) solution was investigated. The reductant used for this study was a blend of Polystyrene (PS) and Mukah-Balingan coal from Sarawak and reduction temperature was 1200°C. Phase composition of reduced sample was analyzed using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and SEM/EDX. The leaching experiment was carried out for 4-6hours. The final solid sample was analyzed by XRD and SEM/EDX analysis while the filtered solution was analyzed by ICP-OES. Design of Experiment (DOE) analysis was used to find out the optimum condition for the leaching of metallic Fe in NH4Cl solution. In this study, a full factorial design model was used to detect the interaction between the three parameters. A fully randomized factorial design, with various combinations of PS/Coal (C) weight ratio, leaching time, and amount of catalyst added was investigated. It was observed that the leaching time was the most important factor affecting the amount of Ti and Fe extracted. The results of the design showed that the percentage of Fe extracted reached up to 76.85% at leaching time of 6hours, at PS/C ratio of 0.18 and using 1wt.% of glucose catalyst.