Preparation of ferrotitanium alloy by aluminothermic reduction of perovskite

Titanium-bearing blast-furnace slag is an important secondary resource. Artificial perovskite, with CaTiO3 as the main crystal phase, can be obtained after settling of the slag. Preparation of ferrotitanium alloy using perovskite as the titanium-containing material and aluminum as the reducing agent was studied. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and elemental chemical analysis were used to determine the composition and microstructure of the products. The results show that FeTi50 alloy can be prepared by aluminothermic reduction of perovskite. Reduction temperature has a strong influence on the separation of alloy and slag: when the reduction temperature increased from 1500 degrees C to 1600 degrees C, the ferrotitanium alloy and slag effectively separated and Ti recovery exceeded 80%. The Al and O contents in the alloy decreased with decreasing aluminum addition, but also reduced Ti recovery. An alloy conforming to the industrial standard for FeTi50-A was obtained when the aluminum addition was 90 mass% of the stoichiometric value regarding reduction of perovskite.