A method and system for recovering a high yield of low carbon ferroalloy, e.g., 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.

The reduced iron manufacturing method of the present invention includes preparing an agglomerate by agglomerating a mixture containing an iron oxide-containing substance and a carbonaceous reducing agent, and preparing reduced iron by heating the agglomerate to reduce iron oxide in the agglomerate, characterized in that Expression (I) as follows is satisfied:

C.sub.fix?X.sub.under105/O.sub.FeO?51(I)

where O.sub.FeO is the mass percentage of oxygen contained in the iron oxide in the agglomerate, C.sub.fix is the mass percentage of total fixed carbon contained in the agglomerate, and X.sub.under105 is the mass percentage of particles having a particle diameter of 105 ?m or less with respect to the total mass of particles configuring the carbonaceous reducing agent.

A method of recovering enriched iron fines from bauxite waste includes calcining particles of bauxite waste to form oxygen carrier particles, subjecting the oxygen carrier particles to chemical looping combustion at a temperature of about 950 C.-1,050 C. for energy production and to produce the enriched iron fines as a by-product from the oxygen carrier particles via natural attrition and collecting the enriched iron fines.

The present invention relates to method and apparatus for treating iron-contained raw material using bath smelting furnace. An iron-contained raw material is mixed with a reducing agent. The mixture is added into a bath smelting furnace. The enriched oxygen is blown into the bath. The smelt is conducted at a temperature of 1200-1600 C. Compared with the traditional process of sintering/pellet-blast furnace smelting or rotary furnace reduction-electrical furnace smelting separation, the present invention has the remarkable advantages of short process, strong raw material adaptability, high product quality, low energy consumption, low pollution, etc. The present invention provides a new technology direction for effectively and comprehensively utilizing the iron-contained resource and has a wide application prospect.

Provided is a smelting method whereby a reaction for reducing pellets, said pellet being formed by using a saprolite ore as a starting material, can be effectively conducted and thus an iron/nickel alloy having a nickel grade of, for example, 16% or greater can be obtained. The method comprises: a pellet production step (S1) for producing the pellets from the saprolite ore; and a reduction step (S2) for heating and reducing the obtained pellets in a smelting furnace. In the pellet production step (S1), at least the saprolite ore and a preset amount of a carbonaceous reducing agent are mixed together to produce the pellets. In the reduction step (S2), a hearth carbonaceous reducing agent is preliminarily spread on the hearth of the smelting furnace and the pellets produced above are placed on the hearth carbonaceous reducing agent and then subjected to a heat reduction treatment.

A method for producing a high purity high carbon molten chrome product from chrome and carbon bearing material, said method comprising the steps of: (a) continuously introducing chrome compacts directly into an electric melter; (b) heating and melting the chrome compacts in the electric melter at a temperature of between about 1300 C. to about 1700 C. to form high carbon molten chrome; (c) preventing oxidation of the high carbon molten chrome via minimization of the ingress of oxygen containing gas in said heating step; (d) carburizing the high carbon molten chrome to form high carbon molten metallized chrome; (e) purifying the high carbon molten metallized chrome by reducing silicon oxides to silicon and desulfurizing the high carbon molten metallized chrome to produce the high purity high carbon molten chrome product; and (f) discharging the high purity high carbon molten chrome product from the electric melter.

This invention describes a hydrometallurgical process for extracting and recovering valuable metals contained within metalliferous minerals including ores, concentrates and other materials and generation of useful by-products including sulfur, calcium, oxygen, carbon and hydrogen, wherein the process comprises the use of a hydrogen generator, such as an water electrolyser, hydrocarbon pyrolyser or reformer to produce hydrogen, and optionally carbon and oxygen integrated into a single circuit that converts the CO.sub.2 and SO.sub.2 pollutants that would be emitted by the conventional pyrometallurgical process into the useful by-products.

Disclosed herein, in some aspects, are systems and methods for producing a material comprising iron through self-reduction of iron ore using bio-oil and/or other reducing agents (e.g., bio-based reducing agents), such as biocrude, ethanol, or other bio-based liquids or biologically sourced liquids. The bio-oil and/or other reducing agents can be mixed with the iron ore to form a furnace mixture, which can be heated, such that the components of the bio-oil and/or other reducing agents in the furnace mixture reduce the iron ore to form an iron product (e.g., a material that includes metallic iron). In some cases, the pre-formed furnace mixture allows for the reducing agents to interact with the iron more readily, thereby providing for quicker reaction rates, and thereby quicker reduction of iron ore, as compared to direct reduction iron production.

An apparatus for manufacturing molten metal has a stationary electric furnace, a raw material charging chute, and exhaust duct and a secondary combustion burner in the furnace top, and a shock generator. The raw material charging chute is in one end of the furnace in a width direction and an electric heating region is spaced from the raw material charging chute in the width direction. A raw material layer having a sloping surface extends downward from the one end of the furnace having the raw material charging chute toward the electric heating region, the sloping surface supporting a metal agglomerate raw material layer. The shock generator is provided at least partially within the raw material and extends to the sloping surface, to be in contact with the metal agglomerate raw material layer, and to mechanically overcome hanging of the metal agglomerate raw material layer on the sloping surface.

A method for manufacturing a carbonaceous material-containing agglomerate ore and a method for manufacturing molten pig iron, with which a highly-reducible raw material can be obtained, and the amount of a reducing material used when manufacturing molten pig iron in a countercurrent moving bed can be reduced. The method for manufacturing a carbonaceous material-containing agglomerate ore includes: a step of collecting carbon by bringing a carbon-containing gas that contains carbon monoxide into contact with a porous material; and an agglomeration step of performing agglomeration by mixing a carbon-containing raw material that contains the carbon collected into an iron-containing raw material.