Microwave Assisted Liberation of High Phosphorus Oolitic Iron Ore

Mamdouh Omran^1,2*, Timo Fabritius¹, Nagui Abdel-Khalek², Mortada El-Aref³, Abd El-Hamid Elmanawi³, Mahmoud Nasr², Ahmed Elmahdy²

¹Laboratory of Process Metallurgy Research Group, Process and Environmental Engineering Department, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
²Central Metallurgical Research and Development Institute, Cairo, Egypt.
³Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.

DOI: 10.4236/jmmce.2014.25046                

Abstract

The influence of microwave treatment on the liberation of iron ore from the high phosphorus oolitic iron ore from Aswan region, Egypt was studied. The effect of microwave power, exposure time and grain size on the liberation of iron ore was investigated. The microfractures and cracks of the samples were characterized before and after microwave treatments. The heating rate of high phosphorus oolitic iron ore was studied. Crystallinity of hematite was characterized before and after microwave pretreatment. The results indicated that intergranular fractures formed between the gangues (fluorapatite and chamosite) and hematite after microwave treatment, leading to improved liberation of iron ore and a significant reduction in comminution energy. Percentages of fraction ≤ -0.125 mm increased from 46.6% to 59.76% with increased exposure time from 0 to 60 seconds. The heating rate of iron ore showed that microwave treatment was less efficient at smaller particle sizes for a fixed applied power density. Crystallinity of hematite increased with the microwave exposure time.

Keywords

Microwave Treatment, High Phosphorus Oolitic Iron Ore, Liberation

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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