Recovery of iron and calcium aluminate slag from high-ferrous bauxite by high-temperature reduction and smelting process

A high-temperature reduction and smelting process was used to recover iron and calcium aluminate slag from high-ferrous bauxite. The effects of w(CaO)/w(SiO₂) ratio, anthracite ratio, and reduction temperature and time on the recovery and size of iron nuggets and on the Al₂O₃ grade of the calcium aluminate slag were investigated through thermodynamic calculations and experiments. The optimized process conditions were the bauxite/anthracite/slaked lime weight ratio of 100:16.17:59.37, reduction temperature of 1450°C and reduction time of 20 min. Under these conditions, high-quality iron nuggets and calcium aluminate slag were obtained. The largest size and the highest recovery rate of iron nuggets were 11.42 mm and 92.79wt%, respectively. The calcium aluminate slag mainly comprised Ca₂SiO₄ and Ca₁₂Al₁₄O₃₃, with small amounts of FeAl₂O₄, CaAl₂O₄, and Ca₂Al₂SiO₇.