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The ball press is a key piece of equipment in the Pidgeon process for magnesium production. Flowchart of the metallic magnesium production process

Time：Jul 13,2020

Whether domestically or internationally, magnesium applications are primarily concentrated in three key areas: aluminum alloy production, die-casting manufacturing, and steelmaking desulfurization. Meanwhile, it is also utilized in rare-earth alloys, metal reduction, and other fields.

The methods for preparing metallic magnesium include electrolysis, thermal reduction, and the Pidgeon process—a silicon-based magnesium production technique that is not only the most widely used but also the most representative method in China's magnesium industry. Meanwhile, the series of briquetting machines produced by Zhengzhou Hongxin Mining are undoubtedly an ideal and crucial piece of equipment for the Pidgeon process in magnesium production.

The Pidgeon process is an intermittent production method, with each production cycle lasting approximately 10 hours. This method features a simple process flow and straightforward equipment, resulting in low capital investment for plant construction and flexible production scaling. Additionally, the finished magnesium product boasts high purity. The furnace used in this process is compact, easy to build, and requires relatively low technical expertise. Moreover, it can directly utilize resource-rich dolomite as the primary raw material for magnesium production.

The Pidgeon process for magnesium production consists of four main steps: calcination, balling, reduction, and refining. Calcination and balling prepare the raw materials for the reduction step, which ultimately yields crude magnesium. Key factors influencing the reduction reaction include the activity of the calcined white material, the composition ratio of furnace charges, the degree of charge particle size reduction, the density of the formed pellets after balling, the type of reducing agent used, the reduction temperature and duration, and the vacuum level within the reduction furnace. These factors not only affect the reaction rate during the reduction process but also play a critical role in determining the quality of the crystalline magnesium produced. Therefore, it is essential to strictly control these process parameters and master the associated technical conditions with precision.