Kinetics and mechanisms of iron sulfide reductions in hydrogen and in carbon monoxide

Abstract

The reduction of iron sulfides by hydrogen and by carbon monoxide has been studied using plug flow and thermogravimetric methods. The reactions were studied in the 523–723°K temperature range and were found to be first-order processes. Plug flow studies were used to correlate reaction rates between pyrite and the gases as a function of the surface area of the pyrite. The rate of H 2 S formation increases with the surface area of the pyrite sample. The results of thermogravimetric experiments indicate that the reactions consist of several steps. Rate constants for the pyrite reduction by H 2 and by CO were obtained. The activation energies increased with degree of reduction. Values of E a were 113.2 (step I) and 122.5 kJ/mole (step II) for pyrite reduction with CO and 99.4 (step I), 122.4 (step II), 125.2 (step III), and 142.6 kJ/mole (step IV) for pyrite reduction with hydrogen.