Disintegration Behavior of Vanadium–Titanium Magnetite Pellets in CO–H2–CO2–N2 Gas Mixtures

As a polymetallic symbiotic mineral, vanadium–titanium magnetite (VTM) primarily contains iron, vanadium, titanium, and other valuable elements such as chromium, cobalt, nickel, etc. On the other hand, VTM is generally sintered or pelletized for iron making process. Under the worldwide trend of low-carbon metallurgy, hydrogen (H2) is a potential option for the further reduction of CO2 emission in both blast furnace (BF) and non-blast furnace ironmaking process. Also, H2 promotes the reduction of iron-bearing burden, while its influences on reduction disintegration behavior deserves research in details, especially for VTM burden. In this study, the disintegration behavior of VTM pellets in gas mixtures of CO–H2–CO2–N2 was investigated. The effects of gas composition, reduction temperature as well as reduction time on disintegration index were explored. The reduction samples were observed by an optical-microscope for the evaluation of reaction mode.