Effect of microwave irradiation on selective heating behavior and magnetic separation characteristics of Panzhihua ilmenite

- Microwave irradiation can be applied effectively and efficiently to the irradiation processes of Panzhihua ilmenite.
- The mineral processing properties of microwave treated ilmenite were generally as good as or better than that of initial ilmenite.
- The microwave selective heating characteristics of the different minerals and compounds, and the thermal stresses were caused by the uniform heat rate disturbed under microwave irradiation.

The influences of microwave irradiation on the surface characteristics of Panzhihua ilmenite were systematically investigated. The crystal structures, surface morphology and surface chemical functional groups of ilmenite were characterized before and after microwave irradiation and magnetic separation for different microwave treatment times by using various methods, such as XRD, SEM, and FT-IR, respectively. XRD analysis showed that the microwave treated ilmenite has the strongest peaks of phase more than that of raw samples, indicates that the crystalline compound of ilmenite increased with the microwave irradiation time. SEM analysis showed the micro-cracking appeared at many grain boundaries of ilmenite after being pretreated by microwave treatment. The separations of ilmenite from gangue minerals were completed and the micro-fissure within ilmenite minerals were also formed, which could be attributed to the microwave selective heating characteristics of the different minerals and compounds, and the thermal stresses were caused by the uniform heat rate disturbed under microwave irradiation. The mineral processing results showed that the magnetic separation characteristics and properties of microwave treated ilmenite samples were better than that of microwave untreated ilmenite samples. It was concluded that microwave irradiation can be applied effectively and efficiently to the irradiation processes of Panzhihua ilmenite.