Activity–Composition Relations of Chromium Oxide in Silicate Melts at 1500°C under Strongly Reducing Conditions

The solubility and activity–composition relations of chromium oxide in melts of the systems CaO–CrO x –SiO 2 and CaO–Al 2 O 3 –CrO x –SiO 2 have been determined at 1500°C by equilibrating melts with Pt–Cr alloys at known oxygen pressures. It is shown that the increase in the concentration of divalent chromium ions, as the oxygen pressure and the basicity of melt decrease, results in a dramatic increase in the solubility of chromium oxide in the liquid phase. An increase in the Al 2 O 3 content of the melt leads to a decrease in the solubility of chromium oxide over the whole composition range studied. The activity coefficient of CrO has been found to increase with increasing melt basicity and decreasing oxygen pressure whereas the activity coefficient of CrO 1.5 decreases sharply with increasing melt basicity for siliceous melts but levels off at a basicity ratio (wt% CaO/wt% SiO 2 ) of about 0.7. An increase in the Al 2 O 3 content of the melts results in an increase in the activity coefficient of CrO.