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VERSION:2.0
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ORGANIZER;CN=ESTAD 2023:mailto:info@metec-estad.com
LOCATION:Room 14a
SUMMARY:Electrolytic reduction of iron oxides/ore in molten NaOH salt: A pilot-scale study
DESCRIPTION:The ironmaking process utilising the blast furnaces releases a significant amount of CO2 into the atmosphere due to using coke/coal as reductants and fuels. Innovative technologies are needed to meet the Paris agreement and reduce CO2 emissions in the ironmaking process. Electrolysis, which employs electrons generated from electricity as the reductants, is one of these alternative technologies. When electricity produced from renewable sources is applied, and an inert anode is employed in the electrolysis process, the process will be completely green, yielding iron as a product and oxygen as a byproduct; meanwhile, no CO2 is released. 

In this study, we investigated the electrolytic reduction behaviors of pure chemicals (or synthetic chemicals) of wustite, hematite, and magnetite, as well as magnetite-type iron ore in the molten NaOH salt (kept at 500 °C). There was at Swerim (Luleå, Sweden) established a pilot-scale electrolysis reactor, in which the materials of interest up to 60 grams were tested at the cathode, and a graphite electrode was applied as the anode. A series of electrolysis reduction trials were conducted at a constant cell voltage of 1.7V to understand how iron oxides with different valence statuses are reduced and how the gangue materials in the iron ore can affect the electrolytic reduction process. The results show that iron oxides/ore can be reduced into metallic iron electrolytically in molten NaOH salt. There is a stepwise reduction of iron oxides from a high valence to a low one. 

The knowledge obtained in this study provides a better understanding of the electrolytic reduction behaviors of iron oxides/ore, thus assisting in developing a CO2-free molten salt electrolysis process for ironmaking when an inert anode is applied. Also, this study provides knowledge for the electrolytic reduction of other transition metal oxides in molten salt. 

CLASS:PUBLIC
DTSTART:20230614T090000
DTEND:20230614T092000
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