Oxidation behaviour and phase characterization of titaniferous magnetite ore of eastern India

Titaniferous magnetite ore is a kind of symbiotic complex ore which comprises ilmenite, magnetite, hercynite and magnesio-hercynite spinel minerals. The ore collected from eastern India was characterized by XRD, WDXRF, SEM and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The oxidation behaviour of fine ore was investigated by TG-DTA analysis under oxygen atmosphere. Subsequent isothermal oxidation experiments were carried out under oxygen and air atmospheres, holding the samples for different periods of time at different temperatures from 873 K to 1473 K. It was observed that ilmenite phase transformed to hematite and titanium dioxide at lower temperature, whereas ferric-pseudobrookite phase was found at higher temperature. Direct reduction of oxidized sample-coke cylindrical briquettes was successfully achieved for phase transition from titaniferous magnetite to iron and titanium dioxide at 1473 K.