Acetic Acid and Sodium Acetate Mixture as an Aeration Catalyst in the Removal of Metallic Iron in Reduced Ilmenite

Abstract

<p class="AMSmaintext">Acetic acid and sodium acetate mixture (AASAM) was used as an aeration catalyst in the removal of metallic iron in reduced ilmenite. The efficiency of the catalyst was then compared to the standard ammonium chloride catalyst used in industry. Obtained results show that faster rate of iron removal could be achieved with AASAM while the molar concentrations of both AASAM and ammonium chloride were 0.1M. The highest rate of iron removal was achieved at the mixture proportion of 0.025M CH<sub>3</sub>COONa and 0.075M CH<sub>3</sub>COOH, aeration parameters of 70 °C, solid/liquid ratio of 1/7 and air flow rate of 4.0 lit/min. At those experimental conditions, the aeration time was shortened from 9 hours when NH<sub>4</sub>Cl was used to 6 hours when AASAM was used. In both cases, the obtained rutile contains approx. 82% TiO<sub>2</sub> and less than 0.5% metallic iron. The results indicated that AASAM could be used as a replacement for the NH<sub>4</sub>Cl catalyst in the aeration of reduced ilmenite. </p>

The removal of Fe from the reduced ilmenite via aeration leaching; assessing the effect of operating parameters

“…Leaching time and iron removal rate have been reported elsewhere to be accelerated by using catalysts such as acetic, tartaric, citric acid or anthraquinone derivatives (Warren et al, 2004;Truong et al, 2017), etc. This catalyst can be differentiated based on efficiency, electrochemical activity and cost.…”

The Upgrading of Ha Tinh Ilmenite to Synthetic Rutile by Becher Process

“…In the aeration stage, metallic Fe in reduced ilmenite is dissolved in NH4Cl solution and diffused to the grain surface. In this stage, Fe is oxidized in the presence of oxygen-rich water to Fe oxides and hydroxides, which are insoluble and so precipitate out of solution [6][7][8][9][10]. The iron oxides formed was then separated from the synthetic rutile.…”

Soluble Catalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction, and Their Application to Becher Aeration

“…In the scientific literature, a few compounds that form coordination complexes with iron have been tested to see if they can accelerate Becher aeration or influence the phase composition of the iron­(II,III) oxide hydroxides formed. These test compounds include organic acids such as acetic, tartaric, and citric acids; − multidendate ligands such as ethylenediammonium dichloride; various phenolic and aldehydic compounds such as pyrogallol, saccharin, starch, and formaldehyde; and sugars such as glucose and sucrose . One group has even suggested the addition of ferrous chloride .…”