Direct Synthesis of Molycarbide by Molybdenite-Carbon Monoxide Reaction in the Presence of Lime

抄録

Studies have been conducted on the lime-scavenged reduction of molybdenite (MoS₂) by carbon monoxide. The effects of quantity of CaO, CO gas flow rate, temperature and time have been investigated. Results indicate that lime can enhance MoS₂ conversion by over 20 times and sulfur emission into off-gas can be as low as 12–15 ppm. These exploratory tests also show that it is feasible to achieve 99% reduction-conversion of MoS₂ by its CO treatment in the presence of CaO (e.g. at 1273 K for 6.6 ks and 3.33 cm³ s⁻¹ CO gas flow rate). After separating the unreacted CaO and CaS, the carbide product has been found to be of 98% purity. As compared to the traditional methods of producing molycarbide, this lime-scavenged CO reduction of MoS₂ is suggested to be a simple and non-polluting route suitable for the direct synthesis of Mo₂C.