Process flow of ilmenite beneficiation

Process flow of ilmenite beneficiation

Titanium ore beneficiation is a series of technical processes for extracting titanium and its by-products (mainly iron) from titanium iron ore. The main purpose is to improve the grade of titanium, remove gangue and other impurities, and obtain titanium concentrate that can be used in industry.Process flow of ilmenite beneficiationIt mainly includes the following steps:

Preliminary processing stage

1. Crushing and GrindingThe raw ore is first subjected to coarse crushing by equipment such as jaw crushers, and may then need to be further ground to the appropriate particle size by ball mills or rod mills for subsequent sorting.

2. screening and classificationUse vibrating screens or spiral classifiers to classify the particle size of crushed materials, removing oversized or ultra-fine particles to ensure uniform particle size of the selected materials.

3. Desliming and washingBy using equipment such as hydrocyclones or spiral washing machines, sediment and fine impurities in the ore are removed to purify the material.

4. 

Re-election stage

This stage mainly utilizes the density difference between ilmenite and gangue for separation, and the specific methods include:

1. Jigging beneficiationIn the jigs, ilmenite and gangue undergo stratification in the periodically rising and falling water flow, with high-density ilmenite settling to the bottom while lighter substances are discharged with the water flow.

2. spiral chuteDuring the process of the slurry sliding down along a spiral track, minerals of different densities naturally stratify due to gravity, with heavy minerals such as ilmenite concentrated at the bottom.

3. rocking bedBy utilizing the back and forth oscillation of the bed surface and the lateral movement of the water flow, combined with appropriate slope, minerals are distributed according to density to achieve separation.

4. 

5. 

Magnetic Separation Stage

Due to the magnetic properties of ilmenite, magnetic separation has become an important step in purifying ilmenite

1. Wet high-intensity magnetic separationSuitable for fine-grained ilmenite, utilizing the strong magnetic field inside the magnetic separator to attract magnetic minerals, while non-magnetic minerals leave with the water flow.

2. Dry magnetic separationFor coarser grained ores, dry magnetic separators can be used for separation in a dry state.

3. 

4. 

Selection stage

1. flotation: In some cases, if it is not possible to fully separate by physical methods, flotation technology may also be used to make ilmenite and other minerals form a foam layer on the water surface by adding specific flotation agents, so that they can be collected.

2. acid leachingSometimes sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid is used to leach ilmenite, dissolve some impurities, and further purify it through precipitation, filtration, and other methods.

3. 

Final product processing

After the above beneficiation process, the obtained titanium iron concentrate needs to be further dried and screened to remove residual moisture and meet commercial specifications. Some concentrates also need to undergo heat treatment such as roasting to remove residual harmful elements and improve purity.

summary

The beneficiation of ilmenite is a complex multi-step process that involves the comprehensive application of various equipment and technologies. With the development of science and technology, new mineral processing methods and equipment continue to emerge, such as microbial mineral processing, photoelectric mineral processing and other emerging technologies are gradually introduced, which improves the efficiency of mineral processing and the utilization of mineral resources.