A STUDY ON THE BEHAVIOUR OF GALLIUM IN THE IRONMAKING PROCESS

Gallium is a valuable rare metal which is mainly being used in the production of GaAs.The demand for gallium is increasing but production is limited since gallium is ex-tracted only as a by-product of bauxite processing. On the other hand coal, ironmakingcoke and iron ore gangue contain traces of gallium. However little is known about thebehaviour of gallium in ironmaking. The aim of the study is to clarify the distributionof gallium between hot metal, slag and top gas by means of laboratory experiments. Itwas found that Ga2 O3 is not stable in blast furnace slags and that gallium is retainedin hot metal. Vacuum distillation experiments with hot metal showed that galliumis not transferred to the gas phase. Data on the input and output of gallium at twoindustrial blast furnaces, as well as chemical analyses of the gallium content of severalcokes are presented, too.