Effect of synthetic flux and electrical parameters on aluminothermic MgO reduction in the Magnetherm process for direct magnesium powder production

Metallic magnesium in this investigation was synthesized through the Magnetherm process using argon atmosphere. Magnesium oxide (MgO) acted as the magnesium source, while the aluminum shavings were used as the reductant. This experiment explored the influence of various factors such as fluxes, time of arc, and current on reduction efficiency. Experiment was done for two types of experiments: conventional flux additive and pre-synthesized flux additives at three electric current values: 400, 500 and 600 A and at 2 time periods: 1 min and 1.5 min. Thermodynamic modeling was done using FactSage 7.2 software. The magnesium that was synthesized was in powder form. Both the magnesium powders and the slags produced were analyzed through X-ray diffraction (XRD) and carbon content analysis. Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) was used to determine the composition of the magnesium powders, while the compositions of the slags were analyzed using X-ray Fluorescence (XRF). The results showed that the use of synthetic flux additives improved reduction and recovery rates considerably. In addition, reduction rate increased with increasing current and longer reaction times.