Synthesis of Fe₃O₄ Magnetic Powder from Spent Pickling Liquors

Abstract

Spent pickling liquors pose a serious environmental problem in most industrialized countries, mainly owing to their corrosive properties and their ferrous iron and hydrochloric acid content. In this paper, spent pickling liquor was used as an inexpensive raw material to prepare Fe₃O₄ magnetic powder via an oxidation method. Being able to recover the dissolved iron from spent pickling liquors would not only salvage a valuable material but also render the effluent environmentally benign. The structure of the Fe₃O₄ magnetic powder was characterized by X-ray diffraction. The morphology and size were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Their magnetic properties were tested at room temperature by a vibrating sample magnetometer. In addition, the saturation magnetization of Fe₃O₄ products can be further enhanced to 96.1 emu/g after purification.

Keywords

Spent pickling liquor / Fe₃O₄ magnetic powder / Oxidation

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