Work

Direct reduction of low-grade taconite ore by atmospheric-pressure, microwave-powered hydrogen plasma

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The depletion of high-grade iron ores such as hematite and magnetite motivates the application of low-grade iron ores such as taconite to steelmaking. Here, we demonstrate the direct reduction of taconite by an atmospheric-pressure, microwave-powered hydrogen plasma. The ability of non-thermal plasma to increase the reactivity of molecular hydrogen by creating species such as hydrogen radicals is highlighted by the suppressed reduction observed in our control thermal experiments. The presence of the majority impurity, silica, is found to have a negligible effect on plasma reduction, and post-treatment analysis shows complete conversion of iron oxides to iron with little chemical or morphological change to the silica. Our study establishes for the first time reduction of taconite by a hydrogen plasma process which can increase rate, lower temperature, and avoid pretreatment steps to remove the silica phase.

Source: Minerals Engineering

DOI: 10.1016/j.mineng.2026.110268