Enrichment Characteristics of Cr in Chromium Slag after Pre-Reduction and Melting/Magnetic Separation Treatment

Concentrating the chromium in chromium slag and improving the chromium–iron ratio is beneficial for the further utilization of chromium slag. In this paper, chromium slag obtained from a chromite lime-free roasting plant was used as the raw material. Pellets made of the chromium slag and pulverized coal were reduced at different pre-reduction temperatures and then separated by a melting separation process or magnetic separation process, respectively. The mass and composition of the metallized pellets before separation, along with the alloy and tail slag after separation, were comprehensively analyzed. The experimental results showed that the output yield of alloy, iron recovery rate, and chromium content in the alloy were all higher when using melting separation than when using magnetic separation, because of the further reduction during the melting stage. More importantly, a relatively low pre-reduction temperature and selection of magnetic separation process were found to be more beneficial for chromium enrichment in slag; the highest chromium–iron ratio in tail slag can reach 2.88.

Study on leaching kinetics of hexavalent chromium from aged calcium-free chromium slag

To provide a scientific basis for the resource utilization of chromium slag, this article studies the release law of hexavalent chromium in the aged calcium-free chromium slag. XRD (X-ray diffractometer) and MLA (Mineral Liberation Analyzer) were used to analyze the composition of the chromium slag; using sulfuric acid-nitric acid as the leaching solution, the release law of hexavalent chromium in chromium slag and the leaching kinetics were studied. The results show that main components of the chromium slag are magnesioferrite, chromite, hematite, hydrargillite, and spinel; chromium is mainly present in chromite and magnesioferrite; the leaching rate of hexavalent chromium increases with the increase of temperature or the decrease of pH. The analysis of leaching kinetics shows the leaching rate is controlled by the internal diffusion reaction, and the apparent activation energy is 11.93 kJ·mol–1. The chromium slag is aged in high temperature seasons, which is conducive to the precipitation of hexavalent chromium in the chromium slag, can increase the yield of chromate in the roasting kiln, and is conducive to resource utilization; chromium slag should be stored in order to prevent acid rain erosion which leads to environmental pollution risk (e.g. drinking water).