Production of Mg-Ca Alloy by One-Step Vacuum Aluminothermic Reduction

The Mg-Ca alloy was produced by one-step aluminothermic reduction in vacuum of the compressed block made of the calcined magnesium, dolomite and reductant of recycled Al.The influence of the reduction conditions, including the briquetting pressure, reduction temperature/time, and Al excess coefficient, on the reduction rates of MgO and CaO was investigated in orthogonal experiment and with inductively coupled plasma (ICP) atomic emission spectrometry, scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction.The results show that the impact of the Al-excess coefficient and briquetting pressure was greater than that of the reduction-temperature and reduction-time; Reduced at 1250℃ for 180 min and with Al excess coefficient of 10%, the reduction rates of MgO and CaO, in the block briquetted at 150 MPa, were 93.1% and 49.5%, respectively.