A novel method to extract iron, titanium, vanadium, and chromium from high-chromium vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite concentrates

A novel process for the extraction of iron, titanium, vanadium, and chromium from high-chromium vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite concentrates is proposed. This process involves several steps: partial reduction of the concentrates, magnetic separation, hydrochloric acid leaching of the titanium-bearing tailing, and alkaline desilication of the HCl leach residue. The partial reduction ensures that the vanadium and chromium are predominantly concentrated in the titanium-bearing tailing. Subsequently, magnetic separation is used to recover an iron concentrate with a total iron content of 94.57%. During acid treatment, 90.8% vanadium leaching and 93.4% chromium leaching were obtained, with titanium losses of less than 0.3%. 96.3% of the silicon was removed by alkaline desilication, and titanium-rich slag with a purity of 93.39% was produced. The total recoveries of iron, titanium, vanadium, and chromium under the experimental conditions were 88.3%, 93.7%, 81.7%, and 84.4%, respectively.