Purification of a Low-Grade Molybdenite Ore for Industrial Steel Production

Abstract

Continuous demands for industrial molybdenum compounds such as MoO3 for steel coating applications cannot be over emphasized, as it's highly characterized by improved pitting corrosion and heat resistance properties. In this study, leaching of molybdenum from a Nigerian low-grade molybdenite ore was investigated by sulphuric acid solution. The raw ore and selected products at optimal conditions were accordingly characterized. At optimal leaching conditions: temperature = 75 degrees C, [H(2)SO4] = 2.5 mol/L, particle size <50 mu m, S/L ratio = 10 g/L at 300 rpm, 64.7% molybdenum dissolution was achieved within 120 min. The calculated activation energy of 35.46 kJ/mol and a reaction order 1.02 established suggests a first-order diffusion-controlled reaction mechanism. The residual products analyzed by X-ray diffraction containing co-mixtures of siliceous materials including quartz (SiO2: 96-900-5020) and hateniusite (La1.84Ce1.80Nd0.28Pr0.08O4.48F3.52: 96-901-0570) could be further re-processed as a precursor for stainless steel production.