The Effect of Composition and Temperature on the Hydrogen Reduction Behavior of Sintered Pellets of Bauxite Residue-Lime Mixtures

Abstract

This study explores the isothermal hydrogen reduction of sintered pellets made of a mixture of bauxite residue and calcite with varying compositions at different reduction temperatures. Sintered pellets with varying compositions show three primary iron-containing oxide phases including brownmillerite, srebrodolskite, and fayalite; however, brownmillerite is the major phase in all the sintered pellets. The sintered pellets were reduced in a thermogravimetry furnace to establish instantaneous weight reduction with respect to time. Phases and microstructural analysis were carried out using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. Mercury intrusion porosimeter and pycnometer were utilized to assess the porosity and density of the reduced pellets. Thermochemistry calculations were performed using the thermodynamics software FactSage 8.2. The reduction rate is most pronounced at a temperature of 1000 °C for all pellet compositions. It is intriguing to note that the rate of reduction shows minimal variance across pellets with different compositions; however, the higher calcite pellets exhibit a higher initial rate of reduction. Various kinetic models were examined to determine the activation energies for three different composition pellets, and the three-dimensional diffusion model has been well suited for this process. Close activation energies in the range of 84.6 to 94.8 kJ were obtained. A slightly higher activation energy was obtained for lower CaCO₃ added pellets, and it was attributed to their reduced porosity and increased sintering, impeding the reaction kinetics. There were no significant differences in the formation of mayenite with varying the calcite amount; however, higher calcite pellets indicated more mayenite formation.

Graphical Abstract