A new energy-efficient and environmentally friendly process to produce magnesium

A new process for magnesium production was proposed in which both the calcination stage and the reduction stage are performed in one retort. Thermal analysis and vacuum reduction experiments were carried out for evaluating the feasibility of the process. The results suggested that ferrosilicon and CaF2 reduced the decomposition temperature of dolomite in the pre-prepared pellets, which was approximately 40 K lower than that of pure dolomite pellet. The reduction ratio larger than 90% was obtained at 1573 K for 3 h in the process. The element Fe may not participate in the reduction reactions, which were caused by the diffusion of Si. Magnesium sheet with a high crystallinity and magnesium powder containing a small amount of magnesia were obtained from the present experiments.