Formation of calcium titanate in the carbothermic reduction of vanadium titanomagnetite concentrate by adding CaCO₃

The formation of calcium titanate in the carbothermic reduction of vanadium titanomagnetite concentrate (VTC) by adding CaCO₃ was investigated. Thermodynamic analysis was employed to show the feasibility of calcium titanate formation by the reaction of ilmenite and CaCO₃ in a reductive atmosphere, where ilmenite is more easily reduced by CO or carbon in the presence of CaCO₃. The effects of CaCO₃ dosage and reduction temperature on the phase transformation and metallization degree were also investigated in an actual roasting test. Appropriate increase of CaCO₃ dosages and reduction temperatures were found to be conducive to the formation of calcium titanate, and the optimum conditions were a CaCO₃ dosage of 18wt% and a reduction temperature of 1400°C. Additionally, scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM–EDS) analysis shows that calcium titanate produced via the carbothermic reduction of VTC by CaCO₃ addition was of higher purity with particle size approximately 50 μm. Hence, the separation of calcium titanate and metallic iron will be the focus in the future study.