Thermal processing of ilmenite and titania-doped haematite using microwave energy

To test the potential for microwave processing of lunar materials the heating of ilmenite-rock mixtures, and TiO2-doped haematite were investigated using microwave radiation, llmeniterich rocks will couple, without a coupling agent, to microwave radiation. The microwave experiments are repeatable. Attempts to couple TiO2-doped haematite to microwave radiation were very successful, with susceptibility increasing with TiO2 content. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed increased grain size and particle size with increased TiO2 content in the microwave-heated products of the haematite-TiO2 system. The differences between microwave and furnace melts of ilmenite-rich rocks were also investigated. Petrographic analysis revealed a large amount of titanomagetite in microwave melts while furnace melts contained a large amount of haematite, but the cause of this difference is not fully understood. © 1989, Chapman and Hall Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Duke Scholars

Author F. Hadley Cocks Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materia ...