Effect of addition of silicate and aluminosilicate fluxes on structure and phase composition of chromium sinter

Abstract

The microstructure of the fluxes (aluminosilicate clays) tested during pilot sintering of the chromium ore fines of the Don ore-dressing and processing enterprise is studied. The composition of the liquid phase that forms upon softening of materials and bonds chromospinelide grains is analyzed by chemical, electron- probe, and X-ray diffraction analyses. The results demonstrate that the clays have a similar morphology and differ substantially in the phase composition of both the initial fluxes and the binder in the composition of the chromium ore sinter with clay additions. The phase composition of the binder formed upon addition of aluminosilicate clays is compared with the application of an anthropogenic silica-containing flux (microsilica). A relation between the phase composition of the initial fluxes and the aluminosilicate binder in the composition of chromium sinter is found, and the advantages of aluminosilicate clays are demonstrated.