Thermodynamics and kinetics of alumina extraction from fly ash using an ammonium hydrogen sulfate roasting method

A novel method was developed for extracting alumina （Al2O3） from fly ash using an ammonium hydrogen sulfate （NH4HSO4） roasting process, and the thermodynamics and kinetics of this method were investigated. The thermodynamic results were verified experi-mentally. Thermodynamic calculations show that mullite present in the fly ash can react with NH4HSO4 in the 298-723 K range. Process op-timization reveals that the extraction rate can reach up to 90.95% when the fly ash reacts with NH4HSO4 at a 1：8 mole ratio of Al2O3/NH4HSO4 at 673 K for 60 min. Kinetic analysis indicates that the NH4HSO4 roasting process follows the shrinking unreacted core model, and inner diffusion through the product layer is the rate-controlling step. The activation energy is calculated to be 16.627 kJ/mol;and the kinetic equation can be expressed as 1-（2/3）α-（1-α）2/3=0.0374t exp[-16627/（RT）], whereαis the extraction rate and t is the roasting temperature.

Extracting B_2O_3 from calcined boron mud using molten sodium hydroxide

Extracting B2O3 from calcined boron mud(CBM) was studied. The effect of factors such as reaction temperature and NaO H-to-CBM mass ratio on B2O3 extraction efficiency was investigated. The results show that increasing reaction temperature and NaO H-to-CBM mass ratio increases B2O3 extraction efficiency. There are two stages for the B2O3 extracting process: 0–20 min is the first stage, which is rapid; 20–50 min is the second stage, which is slower than the first stage. The overall extracting process follows the shrinking core model, and the first and second stages are determined to obey the surface chemical reaction model and the diffusion through the products layer model,respectively. The activation energies of the first and second stages are calculated to be 41.74 and 15.43 kJ·mol-1,respectively. The B2O3 extracting kinetics equations of the first and second stages are also obtained.

Nickel leaching from low-grade nickel matte using aqueous ferric chloride solution

Nickel leaching from low-grade nickel matte(LGNM) using aqueous ferric chloride solution was studied.The influence of factors such as leaching temperature and concentration of ferric chloride on the nickel leaching ratio was investigated.The results show that increasing leaching temperature and concentration of ferric chloride increases the nickel leaching ratio.The overall nickel leaching process follows the unreacted shrinking core model,and the surface chemical reaction is the rate-controlling step.The activation energy and the reaction order of the nickel leaching process,controlled by the surface chemical reaction,were calculated to be 52.96 kJ mol^(-1)and 0.5,respectively.Therefore,the kinetics equation for the nickel leaching was found to be 1-(1-α)^(1/3)=7.18×10~4C^(0.5)exp[-52,960/(RT)]t.

Recovery of silica from sodium silicate solution of calcined boron mud

The effect of several parameters on the recovery of silicon dioxide from calcined boron mud（CBM）such as stirring speed, temperature, sodium silicate concentration, and carbonation time was studied. The recovery of silicon dioxide is 88 % when the stirring speed is450 r min-1, temperature is 60 °C, sodium silicate concentration is 1 mol L-1, and the carbonation time is 6 h.The effect of carbonation time on the recovery of silicon dioxide is divided into three kinetic regimes, and the carbonation process of sodium silicate solution follows a second-order reaction based on the double-film theory model. The apparent rate constant of the three kinetic regimes is 0.064, 3.178, and 1.130 L h mol-1, respectively.The amorphous SiO_2 products obtained by carbonating the purified solution have 99.6 % purity and are spherical with diameters of about 100 nm.