Rare earth concentrate pretreatment method for improving rare earth ferrosilicon alloy smelting recovery rate and application thereof

By using a pre-melting-nucleation synergistic pretreatment method, the stable mineral phase in rare earth concentrate is destroyed to form an easily reducible active phase. Furthermore, the aggregation and sedimentation of alloy microdroplets are promoted by a nucleation inducer, which solves the problem of low rare earth recovery rate in the silicothermic process and achieves efficient rare earth recovery and reduced energy consumption.

CN122128552APending Publication Date: 2026-06-02BAOTOU HUASHANG RARE EARTH ALLOY CO LTD +1
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Patent Information

Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
BAOTOU HUASHANG RARE EARTH ALLOY CO LTD
Filing Date
2026-03-27
Publication Date
2026-06-02

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

The existing silicothermic process has a low rare earth recovery rate, and the stable mineral phases in rare earth concentrates are difficult to reduce, resulting in the loss of rare earth resources. Traditional improvement methods are complex or energy-intensive and have failed to fundamentally solve the problem.

Method used

A pre-melting-nucleation synergistic pretreatment method is adopted to pre-melt rare earth concentrate at low temperature, add boron-containing flux and calcium-containing nucleation inducer to destroy the mineral phase and form an easily reducible active phase, and promote the aggregation and sedimentation of alloy microdroplets through nucleation inducer.

Benefits of technology

It significantly improves the rare earth recovery rate to 85%-92%, reduces smelting energy consumption by more than 20%, stabilizes product quality, reduces rare earth residue in waste residue, and meets the requirements of green development.

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Abstract

This invention discloses a rare earth concentrate pretreatment method and its application for improving the recovery rate of rare earth ferrosilicon alloy smelting, belonging to the field of rare earth metallurgy. Addressing the problem of low rare earth recovery rates in silicothermic smelting (traditionally only around 65%), this invention employs a "pre-melting-nucleation" synergistic pretreatment: the rare earth concentrate is mixed with a boron-containing flux and a calcium-containing nucleation inducer, and pre-melted at 1200-1350℃ for 30-60 minutes to destroy stable phases such as bastnaesite and monazite in the original ore, forming amorphous or microcrystalline active precursors; then it is crushed to 5-30 mm and smelted with ferrosilicon and lime using the conventional silicothermic process. This invention improves the activity of rare earth oxides through phase reconstruction, while the nucleation inducer promotes the aggregation and sedimentation of alloy microdroplets. After pretreatment using this invention, the rare earth recovery rate is increased to 85%-92%, an improvement of 15-25 percentage points compared to traditional processes, power consumption is reduced by more than 20%, smelting time is shortened by 30%, and resource utilization is significantly improved.
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