Difference between revisions of "Iron Beneficiation"

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(Reworded a bit, added methods for nickel extraction.)
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Iron particles are highly sensitive to a magnetic field, and can be extracted by passing lunar regolith over a rotating magnetic drum. Any particles containing iron would stick to the drum and are scraped off the other side, while the remainder fall through. Only about 2% of the [[lunar soil]] would adhere to the drum. A very similar process is currently utilized on earth for extracting iron ore from sand dunes.
 
Iron particles are highly sensitive to a magnetic field, and can be extracted by passing lunar regolith over a rotating magnetic drum. Any particles containing iron would stick to the drum and are scraped off the other side, while the remainder fall through. Only about 2% of the [[lunar soil]] would adhere to the drum. A very similar process is currently utilized on earth for extracting iron ore from sand dunes.
  
Using several passes with magnets of varying strength, the result can be refined to 80% pure elemental nickel-iron with the remainder as various oxides of iron-titanium. This concentrate can then be subjected to [[Ilmenite Reduction#Hydrogen Reduction | hydrogen reduction]] to reduce the remaining iron oxides to metallic iron, and then [[Carbonyl Metals Plant | carbonyl extraction]] to separate the nickel and iron.
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Using several passes with magnets of varying strength, the result can be refined to 80% pure elemental nickel-iron with the remainder as various oxides of iron-titanium. This concentrate can then be subjected to [[Ilmenite Reduction#Hydrogen Reduction | hydrogen reduction]] to reduce the remaining iron oxides to metallic iron, and then [[Mond process | carbonyl extraction]] to separate the nickel.
  
 
The power requirements of this mechanical separation are quite modest. A robotic unit not much bigger than a desk could conceivably roam the lunar surface extracting iron dust from the top 10 centimeters. At a concentration of 1/2% this would yield about a kilogram of iron per square meter or 1,000 tons per km2. This is a very high yield of usable material close to any lunar facility.  
 
The power requirements of this mechanical separation are quite modest. A robotic unit not much bigger than a desk could conceivably roam the lunar surface extracting iron dust from the top 10 centimeters. At a concentration of 1/2% this would yield about a kilogram of iron per square meter or 1,000 tons per km2. This is a very high yield of usable material close to any lunar facility.  

Revision as of 16:25, 13 August 2011

Beneficiation is the process of increasing the concentration of a valuable component of an ore.

Native iron particles exist in lunar soil in fairly large quantities. They come from nickel-iron meteorites, which become pulverized upon impact. These iron particles are tiny (fine grained) and well mixed into the fine dust of the lunar regolith. As they are in a metallic state and strongly magnetic, very little processing is needed to separate these metal particles from the regolith.

Magnetic separation

Iron particles are highly sensitive to a magnetic field, and can be extracted by passing lunar regolith over a rotating magnetic drum. Any particles containing iron would stick to the drum and are scraped off the other side, while the remainder fall through. Only about 2% of the lunar soil would adhere to the drum. A very similar process is currently utilized on earth for extracting iron ore from sand dunes.

Using several passes with magnets of varying strength, the result can be refined to 80% pure elemental nickel-iron with the remainder as various oxides of iron-titanium. This concentrate can then be subjected to hydrogen reduction to reduce the remaining iron oxides to metallic iron, and then carbonyl extraction to separate the nickel.

The power requirements of this mechanical separation are quite modest. A robotic unit not much bigger than a desk could conceivably roam the lunar surface extracting iron dust from the top 10 centimeters. At a concentration of 1/2% this would yield about a kilogram of iron per square meter or 1,000 tons per km2. This is a very high yield of usable material close to any lunar facility.

liquid phase separation

The density of iron is much higher than the rocky dust. Therefore, it is possible that the different particles could be separated by mixing lunar regolith into a suitable liquid, then allowing the rocky dust (mostly Basalt or similar) to float and the iron particles to sink.

density of iron is 7.86 g/cm3

density of basalt is 2.9 g/cm3

Need a liquid which has a density in between, then the iron will sink and the basalt will float.

Possible liquids:

Room Temperature

Bromine = 3.1028 g/cm3

Cryogenic

None identified to date.

High Temperature

(Basalt melts at about 1900 deg F) (Iron melts at 2800 deg F)

  • Iodine pentafluoride Density and phase: 3.250 g cm−3 liquid, Melting point 9.43°C (282.58 K)
  • Molten Tin at 6.99  g·cm−3 (melting point 505.08 K (231.93 °C, 449.47 °F))
  • Molten salts perhaps

Unsuitable liquids

  • Molten wax is too light.
  • Molten Lead is much too heavy at 10.66  g·cm−3)
  • Silver is much too heavy
  • Gold is much too heavy
  • Mercury is much too heavy