National University of Science and Technology “MISIS” (Moscow, Russia)

L. I. Lopachevskaya, Graduate Student, e-mail: lilya2599@gmail.com
P. I. Chernousov, Cand. Eng., Associate Prof., e-mail: p.chernou@yandex.ru
O. V. Golubev, Cand. Eng., Associate Prof., e-mail: olega-san@yandex.ru
M. V. Slonov, Graduate Student, e-mail: magaslonov@mail.ru

In recent decades, there has been a growing interest in studying the behavior of trace impurity elements at all stages of ferrous metal production. This is driven by the processing of low-grade ores with complex chemical compositions and the use of secondary materials “enriched” with trace elements. Analysis of metallurgical raw materials and products reveals the presence of up to 40 elements from the periodic table in quantities exceeding 5 ppm. The rapid development of the electronics industry has driven growing interest in secondary resources of gallium and indium, which are critically important for semiconductor manufacturing. A metallurgical system was investigated, comprising pig iron, blast furnace slag, and lead as its main components under conditions characteristic of a blast furnace hearth. Gallium and indium were introduced into the system via various methods encapsulated in aluminum foil. In all experiments, an almost complete separation of gallium and indium between the pig iron and lead phases was achieved. Up to 99 % of the gallium introduced into the system partitioned into the pig iron, while 90–95 % of the introduced indium partitioned into the lead. The presence of small quantities of gallium and indium in the graphite phase suggests the potential for the formation of these metals’ carbides under blast furnace conditions. A significant transfer of manganese sulfides into the lead-based phase was also observed in the investigated metallurgical system.

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