Investigations carried out to accelerate the rusting of reduced ilmenite show that the addition of small quantities of carbonyl compounds such as glyoxal, glucose and sucrose with NH4Cl considerably. increases the efficiency of the reaction and the reaction rate resulting in completion of oxidation in less rime. The compounds are oxidised to corresponding acids during the process. Effects of various factors such as pH, dissolved oxygen temperature and concentration on the reaction have been investigated and the activation energies have been calculated. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.