Magnetic separation and extraction chrome from high carbon ferrochrome slag

High carbon ferrochrome slag (HCFS) is a byproduct from the production of ferrochrome, and there is no effective method to deal with it. In this paper, aiming at comprehensive utilization of HCFS, magnetic separation is determined to separate and extract chromium materials from HCFS. The investigation and characterization show that most of the chromium exists in magnetic materials such as iron chromium spinel and ferrochrome in HCFS. The factors which affect significantly the magnetic separation are investigated. It is indicated that the content of the chromium in the concentrate is increased along with increasing of the magnetic field intensity, while on the contrary, smaller particle size is benefited to obtain the higher chrome percentage concentrate. The optimal magnetic separation condition is achieved as follows, when the current reaches 2.4 A and the particle size is above 150 μm, the percentage of chromium extracted from HCFS is the maximum as 24.9%.