The Effect of Temperature and Reducing Agent in Nickel Pyro metallurgy

Extraction

Temperature and reducing agent are two of important factors that can
affect the end results of the nickel extraction. The temperature can be vary
depends on the several process that undergoes nickel extraction. While the
redactor can be important to decrease the amount of impurities in the ores.
Mainly, there are two types of redactor agent, which are gaseous and solid
redactor. Gaseous redactor agents are the simplest one due to its availability,
which are carbon. One of the processes is ferronickel Krupp-Renn process,
where the nickel will be mixed with material that contained carbon such as
antrasit coal, coke and limestone as flux. Then it will be shaped as bricket. Next, it
will be reduce by flowing gas toward the nickel while heat is applied. Product
will be cooled down and using magnetic separation will separate the nickel.
Moreover, several scientists had studied gas redactor for nickel. They find out
that the temperature that can be applied are from 550 degrees Celsius until 1250
degree Celsius.
In other hand, solid as redactor agent also work for reducing nickel.
Nickel oxide can be undergoes disulfide process. Several research shows that the
replenishment of natrium sulphade calcium sulphade and in nickel laterite
reduction shows the effectiveness of the reducing agents. Especially for laterite
ore
Besides the redaction agents, different temperature can surely effect the
reduction of nickel. The process of nickel pyro metallurgy process, start by
calcine, reduction, smelting and refining. The main focus here is the reduction,
where rotary kiln will remove chemical bound moisture as well as the oxide
components of the ore. Usually the temperature is between 550 degree Celsius
up to 1250 degree Celsius.

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