Abstract:The kinetics of oxidation roasting of molybdenum concentrate was studied by differential thermal- gravimetric experiments and non-isothermal analysis methods. The results show that high temperature is beneficial for oxidation of molybdenum concentrate. The initial oxidation temperature of the molybdenum concentrate is 450 °C, and the rapid oxidation occurs above 500 °C. The oxidation process conforms to the unreacted shrinking nucleus model. The early stage of the oxidation is controlled by chemical reaction with the apparent activation energy of 123.180 kJ/mol, while the later stage is controlled by internal diffusion with the apparent activation energy of 80.175 kJ/mol. Moreover, the oxidation rate is closely related to particle size of the concentrate. The smaller the particle size is, the larger the oxidation rate is.

Key words: molybdenite; oxidation; roasting; kinetics; particle size