Rapid thermal decomposition of manganese ore using microwave heating

The present work attempts to investigate the influence of microwave heating on thermal decomposition and dissociation behavior of manganese ore. The manganese ore could be rapidly heated volumetrically to 1000 °C in 17 min by microwave heating, with an increase in manganese content of the ore from 30% to 40%. XRD patterns and thermodynamic analysis shows that the process of microwave heating could be divided into three parts, namely the decomposition reaction of MnCO3, Mn2O3 and CaCO3, respectively. Mn3O4 were obtained at microwave calcination temperatures higher than 577 °C. Based on the results, microwave heating can be applied effectively and efficiently for pretreatment of manganese ore.