A STYDT ON THE BEHAVIOUR OF GALLIUM IN THE IRONMAKING PROCESS

Gallium is a valuabie 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 cool,ironmaking coke and iron ore gangue contain traces of gallium.However little is kmown about the behaviour of gallium in ironmaking.The aim of the study is to clarify the distribution of gallium between hot metal,slag and top gas by means of laboratory experiments.It was found that Ga2O3 is not stable in blast furnace slags and that gallium is retained in hot metal.Vacuum distillation experiments with hot metal showed that gallium is not transferred to thw gas phase.Data on the input and output of gallium ot two industrial blast furnaces,as well as chemical analyese of the gallium content of several cokes are presented,too.