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Updated: Jul 9, 2026

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Published on: November 3, 2017
Production of Fe metal from Fe ores through novel molten oxide electrolysis at 1173 K
Joongseok Kim1, Jungshin Kang2,3, Kyung-Woo Yi4,5
1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-Ro, Gwanak-Gu, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
To develop a CO2-free process for the direct production of Fe from Fe ore, the molten oxide electrolysis (MOE) of Fe oxides and ores was investigated in a B2O3 - Na2O molten oxide at 1173 K. Thermodynamic calculations and cyclic voltammetry measurements were performed to identify the electrochemical reduction behavior of the selected oxides. In addition, electrolysis was conducted by applying a cell voltage of 1.6 V in air or Ar gas atmosphere. When electrolysis was carried out in air, current efficiencies ranging from 65.50 - 68.72% were obtained, depending on the type of Fe oxide used, whereas electrolysis in an Ar gas atmosphere showed higher current efficiencies of 67.49 - 78.56% owing to the suppressed re-oxidation of reduced Fe under a low pO2. Furthermore, electrolysis using hematite, goethite, and magnetite in air produced Fe metal with current efficiencies of 64.14%, 66.00%, and 67.58%, respectively. These results demonstrated the feasibility of the low-temperature MOE of Fe ores in a B2O3 - Na2O molten oxide for direct and CO2-free production of Fe.
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