АР23490490 – «Possibility of obtaining high manganese slags from non-condition ferromanganese ores of Kazakhstan using selective reduction of iron by gaseous hydrogen»

Trends in steel production at the present stage require the attention of metallurgists not only to the issue of increasing the volume of production of metallurgical plants, but also to the need to develop a wider composition of raw materials for the production of steel and ferroalloys. Manganese for steel production is an important auxiliary metal, as it is used as a deoxidizer, alloying element, and desulfurizer. In this regard, manganese is used in steel production more than any other metal except iron itself. At the same time, manganese is a scarce metal in Russia and Kazakhstan. On the territory of Kazakhstan there are manganese ores of the Karazhal and Ushkatyn-3 deposits, Western Kamys, Tur, Keregetas on the territory of Russia there are manganese ores of the Usinskoye deposit (98.5 million tons), ferromanganese ores of the Durnovsky deposit (about 300 thousand tons), the Selezen deposit with a reserve of about 5 million tons, as well as the Kaigadat deposit with reserves of 32.7 million tons. But at present, the deposits of manganese ores in Kazakhstan and Russia are not exploited, since they are represented by ferromanganese ores, and all the above types of ores are characterized by a high content of iron, and for Russian ores, a high content of phosphorus. These ores are, in fact, complex, containing iron and manganese minerals. In addition to the separation of manganese and iron In the production of manganese alloys from such ores, for example, manganese deposits in Russia, the removal of phosphorus is also a problem. According to the established technology, it is impossible to obtain standard grades of manganese ferroalloys from such ores during metallurgical processing. In this regard, such ferromanganese ores have not been commercially used, and the ferromanganese ores mined along with rich manganese ores are stored in dumps. New theoretical and technological developments are required to process these ores.

For these reasons, for the production of standard manganese alloys in Russia and Kazakhstan, good quality manganese ores have to be imported from near and far abroad (South Africa, Ukraine, Australia, etc.) It should be taken into account that significant costs are also spent on the transportation of foreign raw materials by rail and sea. In solving this issue, the involvement of substandard ferromanganese ore in production is of particular relevance.

Processing of such ores by traditional methods in blast furnaces or electric ore reduction furnaces is impossible or ineffective. During the production of ferromanganese in blast furnaces, all the phosphorus contained in the ore is converted into ferromanganese. The main disadvantage of the electrothermal process is the high energy intensity and large losses of manganese. They do not allow the separation of manganese oxides from iron and the technology for obtaining high-manganese concentrate by roasting methods followed by crushing and magnetic separation of roasting products. In the resulting magnetic concentrate, the manganese content remains at a high level, which leads to large manganese losses. Hydrometallurgical and chemical methods of manganese extraction, which involve the treatment of manganese concentrates with scarce and expensive alkaline, acidic or saline solutions, have also not found mass industrial use. Therefore, intensive research is currently underway in order to involve domestic substandard manganese ores in production and obtain standard manganese alloys from them.

1) Nurumgaliyev Assylbek, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor. Project manager.

Scopus ID: 10042501900

Researcher ID: AAF-9195-2021

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8782-9975

2) Kuatbay Erbol, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Project executor.

Scopus ID: 57218196966

Researcher ID: ABE-5679-2021

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8400-3537

3) Zhuniskaliyev Talgat, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Project executor.

Scopus ID: 57218196497

Researcher ID: AAG-6131-2021

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9757-0605

4) Benzeşik Kağan, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), researcher. Project executor.

Scopus ID: 57192264535

Researcher ID: ABD-2540-2020

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0996-5151

 5) Kasdauletov Nurlybai, master of Technical Sciences. Project executor.

Scopus ID: 57215058827

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1570-4188

6) Suleiman Bakhyt, master of technical science. Project executor.

Scopus ID: 57215054180

Researcher ID: GXV-4764-2022

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9306-1045

7) Adilov Galymzhan, Master of Technical Sciences. Project executor.

Scopus ID: 57213596057

Researcher ID: ABL-6521-2022

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1012-8097

8) Bilgenov Arman, Master of Technical Sciences. Project executor.

Scopus ID: 57204525296

Researcher ID: JPX-5717-2023

https://orcid.org/0009-0001-8592-7870

9) Abdirashit Asylbek, Master of Technical Sciences, Project executor.

Scopus ID: 57218196252

Researcher ID: ABE-5588-2021

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0718-3041

As a result of the implementation of the scientific and (or) scientific and technical project, 3 (three) articles will be published in peer-reviewed scientific publications in the scientific field of the project, indexed in the Science Citation Index Expanded database of Web of Science and (or) having a CiteScore percentile in the Scopus database of at least 60 (sixty) and 1 (one) articles in a domestic publication in the field of metallurgy recommended by ССSHE or publications jealous of them with the participation of at least 50% of the members of the research group.

The publication of monographs, books and (or) chapters in books of foreign and (or) Kazakhstani publishing houses are not considered according to the results of scientific research.

Opportunities to obtain patents in foreign patent offices (European, American, Japanese), Kazakhstani or Eurasian patent office are not considered.

The development of scientific, technical and design documentation is not considered based on the results of scientific research.

The results of scientific research will be published at international conferences, as well as in peer-reviewed foreign or domestic publications recommended by the ССSHE in this area and therefore will be available for scientists.

Target consumers of the obtained results can be ferroalloy plants of Kazakhstan (Aktobe Ferroalloy Plant – branch of TNK Kazchrome JSC, Aksu Ferroalloy Plant – branch of TNK Kazchrome JSC, TMP LLP, KSP-Steel LLP, Temirtau Electrometallurgical Plant JSC, etc.), near and far abroad, as well as interested companies using ferromanganese ores with high iron content. etc.), near and far abroad, as well as interested companies using ferromanganese ores with high iron content.

The researches possess perfect novelty and perspective in terms of realization of the process of gas-phase selective reduction of iron in the process of reduction in hydrogen atmosphere with obtaining high-manganese slags from ferromanganese ores of Kazakhstan, which can be used for obtaining all grades of ferromanganese. For realization of selective reduction of iron, it is offered to use gas on the basis of hydrogen. The use of hydrogen in metallurgy at present continues to gain relevance due to the need to reduce the environmental load from ferrous metallurgy.

The test results will be recorded and will be recommended to production organizations for implementation of technology for production of high manganese slags from substandard ferromanganese ores of Kazakhstan using selective reduction of iron by hydrogen-based gases and subsequent separation of reduction products.

The project will show that the application of selective reduction in pyrometallurgical processes provides an opportunity to expand the raw material base of ferrous metallurgy in Kazakhstan. The implementation of this project will provide an opportunity to comprehensively study the chemical and phase transformations of components of ferromanganese ore. As a result, new theoretical and experimental data on the distribution of iron in the process of reduction in hydrogen atmosphere will be obtained, as well as an assessment of the effectiveness of using hydrogen as a reducing agent for selective reduction of iron from ferromanganese ores and the possibility of its use in existing processes.

The possibility of practical use of the expected results of the project in the economy, including for the creation of new applied technologies, is estimated by the fact that on the basis of the obtained results the optimal (recommended) parameters of reducing roasting (time, temperature, composition of the gas phase) and optimal (recommended) parameters of separation smelting (time, temperature, composition of the slag phase) will be proposed, which can be used in the development of technology for obtaining primary iron and high-manganese slag from ferromanganese ore.

The environmental effect of the project will be the use of gas reductant, i.e. hydrogen gas for selective reduction of iron from ferromanganese ores in Kazakhstan, which will significantly reduce massive anthropogenic CO2 emissions in the ferroalloy industry. This process will allow efficient utilization of substandard ferromanganese ores and obtain high-manganese slags, as well as provide an opportunity to expand the raw material base of ferrous metallurgy in Kazakhstan.

Scientific and technical efficiency of the project is aimed at solving the national project of the Republic of Kazakhstan “Technological breakthrough through digitalization, science and innovation” and at improving the production of quality steel products