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（SiO_2） ratio, anthracite ratio, and reduction temperature and time on the recovery and size of iron nuggets and on the Al_2O_3 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 Ca_2 SiO_4 and Ca_（12）Al_（14）O_（33）, with small amounts of Fe Al_2O_4, CaAl_2O_4, and Ca_2Al_2SiO_7.