A system and method for recovering a high yield of low carbon ferrochrome from chromite and low carbon ferrochrome produced therefrom. A stoichiometric mixture of feed materials including scrap aluminum granules, lime, silica sand, and chromite ore are provided into a plasma arc furnace. The scrap aluminum granules are produced from used aluminum beverage containers. The feed materials are heated, whereupon the aluminum in the aluminum granules produces an exothermic reaction reducing the chromium oxide and iron oxide in the chromite to produce molten low carbon ferrochrome with molten slag floating thereon. The molten low carbon ferrochrome is extracted, solidified and granulated into granules of low carbon ferrochrome. The molten slag is extracted, solidified and granulated into granules of slag.

A system and method for recovering a high yield of low carbon ferrochrome from chromite and low carbon ferrochrome produced therefrom. A stoichiometric mixture of feed materials including scrap aluminum granules, lime, silica sand, and chromite ore are provided into a plasma arc furnace. The scrap aluminum granules are produced from used aluminum beverage containers. The feed materials are heated, whereupon the aluminum in the aluminum granules produces an exothermic reaction reducing the chromium oxide and iron oxide in the chromite to produce molten low carbon ferrochrome with molten slag floating thereon. The molten low carbon ferrochrome is extracted, solidified and granulated into granules of low carbon ferrochrome. The molten slag is extracted, solidified and granulated into granules of slag.

A method and system for recovering a high yield of low carbon ferrochrome from chromite and low carbon ferrochrome produced by the method. A stoichiometric mixture of feed materials including scrap aluminum granules, lime, silica sand, and chromite ore are provided into a plasma arc furnace. The scrap aluminum granules are produced from used aluminum beverage containers. The feed materials are heated, whereupon the aluminum in the aluminum granules produces an exothermic reaction reducing the chromium oxide and iron oxide in the chromite to produce molten low carbon ferrochrome with molten slag floating thereon. The molten low carbon ferrochrome is extracted, solidified and granulated into granules of low carbon ferrochrome. The molten slag is extracted, solidified and granulated into granules of slag.

A method and system for recovering a high yield of low carbon ferrochrome from chromite and low carbon ferrochrome produced by the method. A stoichiometric mixture of feed materials including scrap aluminum granules, lime, silica sand, and chromite ore are provided into a plasma arc furnace. The scrap aluminum granules are produced from used aluminum beverage containers. The feed materials are heated, whereupon the aluminum in the aluminum granules produces an exothermic reaction reducing the chromium oxide and iron oxide in the chromite to produce molten low carbon ferrochrome with molten slag floating thereon. The molten low carbon ferrochrome is extracted, solidified and granulated into granules of low carbon ferrochrome. The molten slag is extracted, solidified and granulated into granules of slag.

Refined niobium-based ferroalloys are provided by removing lead and other impurities therefrom by a process comprising charging niobium ore concentrate and/or niobium oxide or a mixture of niobium oxides to a metallothermic reaction chamber, admixing the ore concentrate and/or niobium oxide with a reducing agent, initiating a metallothermic reaction, under reduced pressure; and allowing the reaction product to solidify and cool; crushing the reaction product or crushing the niobium-based ferroalloy previously reduced in open air, and charging the crushed product to a melting crucible within a vacuum induction melting furnace, lowering the pressure within the furnace to below 1 mbar, and melting the crushed product while vaporizing the impurities contained therein.

Refined niobium-based ferroalloys are provided by removing lead and other impurities therefrom by a process comprising charging niobium ore concentrate and/or niobium oxide or a mixture of niobium oxides to a metallothermic reaction chamber, admixing the ore concentrate and/or niobium oxide with a reducing agent, initiating a metallothermic reaction, under reduced pressure; and allowing the reaction product to solidify and cool; crushing the reaction product or crushing the niobium-based ferroalloy previously reduced in open air, and charging the crushed product to a melting crucible within a vacuum induction melting furnace, lowering the pressure within the furnace to below 1 mbar, and melting the crushed product while vaporizing the impurities contained therein.

A method for producing a metal powder includes maintaining molten reducing metal in a sealed reaction vessel that is free of added oxygen and water, establishing a vortex in the molten reducing metal, introducing a metal halide into the vortex so that the molten reducing metal is in a stoichiometric excess to the metal halide, thereby producing metal particles and salt, removing unreacted reducing metal, removing the salt, and recovering the metal powder. The molten reducing metal can be a Group I metal, a Group II metal, or aluminum.

A method for producing a metal powder includes maintaining molten reducing metal in a sealed reaction vessel that is free of added oxygen and water, establishing a vortex in the molten reducing metal, introducing a metal halide into the vortex so that the molten reducing metal is in a stoichiometric excess to the metal halide, thereby producing metal particles and salt, removing unreacted reducing metal, removing the salt, and recovering the metal powder. The molten reducing metal can be a Group I metal, a Group II metal, or aluminum.

An alloy product is produced by an aluminothermic reduction process and an alloying process with one or more other metals or master alloy, where the reduction process and the alloying process are performed in a single stage. The final alloy product may have a scandium concentration that is greater than 0% and less than about 2%. According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a first melt is produced at a first melt temperature, a melting and alloying step is performed at a second melt temperature, less than the first melt temperature, and the temperature of the first melt is not substantially less than the second melt temperature before the melting and alloying step.

In accordance with one embodiment, a method comprises dissolving a sulfide of a first metal in a solvent comprising molten aluminum; aluminothermically reduce at least a portion of the sulfide through reactive vacuum distillation to form gaseous aluminum sulfide distillate and elemental first metal that remains in the molten aluminum; and at least one of (e.g., one, two, or all three of) (a) reacting the aluminum sulfide distillate with at least one material in the molten aluminum; (b) reacting the aluminum sulfide distillate with at least one material outside of the molten aluminum; or (c) condensing the gaseous aluminum sulfide distillate.