Carbothermic Reduction Reactions at the Metal–Slag Interface in Ti-Bearing Slag from a Blast Furnace

Carbothermic reduction reactions at the metal–slag interface and the mechanisms of iron loss during the smelting of vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite in a blast furnace are still not clear as a result of the limited ability to observe the high-temperature zone of a blast furnace. The chemical composition of a Ti-bearing slag was determined by x-ray fluorescence and x-ray diffraction. The interfaces were characterized by scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. The interfacial chemical reactions were deduced based on the characterization results and on the thermodynamic calculations performed using Factsage 6.4. The results indicated that the forms of iron in the slag were iron droplets wetted by Ti(C x , N1−x ), mechanically separated by iron and iron oxide. The different forms possessed unique characteristics and were formed by different mechanisms. Iron droplets wetted by Ti(C x , N1−x ) were generated through a series of interfacial reactions between TiO2 in the slag and [C] and [N] in the metal. Iron droplets without attached Ti(C x , N1−x ) were mainly located on the edges of pores and were attributed to the reduction of Fe x O in the slag. Insufficient reduction of iron-bearing minerals made it difficult for iron droplets to aggregate and separate from the slag, which created an Fe x O-enriched zone.