Abstract
In this study, the effect of oxidation conditions, specifically reaction time, temperature and ilmenite particle size for Kahnooj ilmenite concentrate were investigated. Samples were oxidized in a muffle furnace by heating at temperatures of 700-1000°C for periods of 2-6 hours. In order to determine the oxidation reaction progress, changes in the weight of samples were measured before and after each experiment. XRD analysis and DTA were also used in order to phase characterization and determination of phase change temperature, respectively. Oxidation mechanism, phase transition, as well as oxidation kinetics of ilmenite concentrate were studied and the shrinking core model was applied to correlate the conversion data with time. Investigation of the oxidation behavior of Kahnooj ilmenite concentrate for pigment production has not been done before, which in this work it was conducted with a focus on the effect of the ilmenite concentrate particle size on oxidation degree and reaction rate.
