Preparation and properties of iron powders produced by reduction of ferrous oxalate dihydrate

The object of this research was to study the production of fine iron powder by the reduction of ferrous oxalate dihydrate in hydrogen, The effect of variables, such as gas flow and heating rate on the dehydration of the oxalate were studied thermogravimetrically. Increasing the gas flow rate was found to lower the dehydration and reduction temperatures whereas increasing the heating rate increased these two temperatures. To obtain more information about the process, the kinetics of the reactions were studied thermogravimetrically and the results analysed by four different methods and the methods compared, The method of Coates and Redfern was found to give the most consistent results. Both the dehydration and reduction were found to proceed by first order kinetics and the activation energy of dehydration was. found to be 27 ± 1 Kcals/mole. The activation energy of reduction was found to be 50 Kcals/mole. [Continues.]