The successful smelting and refining of the magnetic sand or titaniferrous iron ore is one of the open problem to be solved in the field of chemical and metallurgical engineering of Japan. For several years, the auther has devoted himself to the researches of the treatment and the utilization of the magnetic sand which contains about 15% of titanic oxide, in the laboratory of the Mitsubishi Iron and steel CO. under the auspice of the Imperial goverment.
In this short report, some of the results of the electric reduction and refining of the magnetic sand. is summarized.
At first the author explains, why he adopted the method of electric smelting and refining, and compared it to both blast furnace and spongy iron process from Technical point of view. Formerly, it was generally believed that the slag containing high percentage of TiO
2 is quite difficult to fuse or nonfusible at moderate temperatures. But he claims that the slags of high TiO
2 can easily be smelted at moderately low temperatures, say 1, 250-1, 350°C at the certain compositions of the slag.
The special compositions of the slag, which he named as the "Eutectic slag" are as follows; -TiO
2 15-20%, SiO
2 36-44%, CuO 25-32%, and Al
2O
3 and MgO under 10% respectively. It has a good fusibility and fluidity at 1, 280-1, 350°C and comes out of the furnace quite smoothly.
By preparing the composition of charge so as to make the Eutectic slag, he got both kinds of Pig iron-gray and white from electric furnace and gave the explanations of the mechanisms and factors of the formation of both iron.
Afterward, he applied the results of the researches in the laboratory to 300 K.W. 3 phase electric furnace (open type furnace) and 200 K.W. 3 phase furnace (Enclosed type furnace capable of utilizing the exhaust gas.) and confirmed the practical industrial values of the continumse systematic working, i.e. Smelting from magnetic sand to pig iron as intermediate product and from the pig iron to steel Ingot as end product.
The results of authors studies of wet method of treating magnetic sand and the design for determining the prencipal dimmensions of electric furnaces for smelting purpose are given in another publications.
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