Research on dephosphorization of a high phosphorus-bearing iron concentrate

In this paper, tests on dephosphorization of a high phosphorus-bearing iron concentrate were carried out by using fine grinding(multistep magnetic separation, reverse flotation and chemical leaching. It is shown that the two conventional separation methods are not effective whereas chemical leaching is effective for removal of phosphorus, and acid leaching is more cost-effective and feasible than alkali leaching. Qualified iron concentrate can be produced by leaching with HCl, H₂SO₄ or HNO₃, but since HNO₃ is more expensive than HCl and H₂SO₄, the latter acids are adopted as the leachants. Under the proper conditions, iron concentrate containing Fe higher than 60.5% with 0.18% P can be obtained by leaching with HCl and H₂SO₄.