Science and Education Publishing Physics and Materials Chemistry 1 2 2013 12 10 Predictability of Phosphorus Removal Based on Simultaneously Removed Sulphur and Mass-Input of Iron Ore Leached in Potassium Hydroxide 27 33 EN C. I. Nwoye Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria P. O. Offor N. E. Idenyi S. O. Nwakpa A.O. Agbo PMC2013124 10.12691/pmc-1-2-4 2013 10 02 2013 11 27 2013 12 10 This paper presents the predictability of phosphorus removal based on simultaneously removed sulphur and mass-input of iron ore leached in potassium hydroxide. The reaction vessel containing the solution and ore was heated at a temperature of 600°C for 10minutes. The model; P = 61.8477 x 10-3μ - 2.27S shows that the predicted concentration of removed phosphorus, is dependent on the mass-input of iron oxide ore and the concentration of sulphur simultaneously removed during the reduction process. The validity of the model is rooted in the expression k1P = (2̦ ̨C k2S) where both sides of the expression are correspondingly equal. The maximum deviation of the model-predicted (D-Model) concentrations of removed phosphorus (during the beneficiation process) from the concentrations obtained from experiment is less than 3.6861%. This translates to confidence level of over 96%. The concentrations of phosphorus removed per unit mass-input of iron oxide ore as obtained from experiment (ExD), derived model (D-Model) and regression model (R-Model) are 1.01, 1.1549 and 0.87 mg kg-1 g-1 respectively. Similarly, the concentrations of phosphorus removed per unit concentration of sulphur simultaneously removed as obtained from experiment, D-Model and R-Model are 1.8843, 2.1546 and 1.6231 mg kg-1 (mg kg-1)-1 respectively. The standard errors in D-Model prediction of the removed phosphorus concentration for each value of simultaneously removed sulphur concentration is 0.0167 compared to ExD (0.6439) and R-Model (2.05 x 10-5). The F-test result between D-Model and R-Model based on removed sulphur concentration is 0.6926, and 0.7633 between D-Model and experimental results. F-test result between R-Models (based on ore mass-input and removed sulphur concentration) was evaluated as 0.9933. D-Model predicted values agree with the experiment that the concentration of phosphorus removed is ≈ 2.3 times higher than the simultaneously removed sulphur concentration.