The influence of sulfur addition on the hazard-type reaction of ilmenite ores with sulfuric acid

The paper presents results of thermokinetic investigation of the hazard-type reaction of Norwegian and Australian ilmenite ores with sulfuric acid, modified by the addition of elemental sulfur, to increase the process safety in industrial conditions. In the reactions of both ilmenite ores the addition of sulfur caused a reduction of the thermal power generated in the reaction and a decrease in the value of the thermokinetic parameter ΔT_max/Δτ for almost the whole range of initial concentrations of sulfuric acid. It was also found that the addition of sulfur to the reaction did not negatively affect the degree of ilmenite leaching. The interpretation of the obtained thermokinetic curves allowed to determine safe process conditions for both types of titanium raw materials.