Oxidation of high-titanium slags in the presence of water vapour

High-titanium slag can be oxidised by exposure to oxygen or water vapour, since the slag contains trivalent titanium and divalent iron; such oxidation is used in slag upgrading processes. The presence of water vapour may increase the rate of oxidation. To test this, samples of crushed high-titanium slag were oxidised in various mixtures of oxygen, argon, and water vapour, in a fluidised bed, at 800 °C, for up to 2 h. The presence of water vapour did increase the degree of oxidation, without changing the nature of the reaction products, which were rutile, pseudobrookite with increased iron content, and some anatase.