Comparison of the effects of Ti-and Si-containing minerals on goethite transformation in the Bayer digestion of goethitic bauxite

Goethitic bauxite is a widely used raw material in the alumina industry.It is an essential prerequisite to clarify the effect of Ti-and Si-containing minerals on goethite transformation in the Bayer digestion process,which could efficiently utilize the Fe-and Al-containing minerals present in goethitic bauxite.In this work,the interactions between anatase or kaolinite with goethite during various Bayer digestion processes were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD),X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS),transmission electron microscopy (TEM),and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).The results showed that anatase and kaolinite hindered the transformation of goethite.Anatase exerted more significant effects than kaolinite due to the dense sodium titanate layer on the goethite surface after reacting with the sodium aluminate solution.Adding the reductant hydrazine hydrate could eliminate the retarding effect by inducing the transformation of goethite into magnetite.In this process,titanium was embedded into the magnetite lattice to form Ti-containing magnetite.Furthermore,the weakening of the interaction between magnetite and sodium aluminosilicate hydrate reduced the influence of kaolinite.As a validation of the above results,the reductive Bayer method resulted in the transformation of goethite into goethitic bauxite with 98.87% relative alumina digestion rate.The obtained red mud with 72.99wt% Fe2O3could be further utilized in the steel industry.This work provides a clear understanding of the transformative effects of Ti-and Si-containing minerals on iron mineral transformation and aids the comprehensive use of iron and aluminum in goethitic bauxite subjected to the reductive Bayer method.

Transformation of hematite in diasporic bauxite during reductive Bayer digestion and recovery of iron

The reductive Bayer digestion by using iron powder as reductant is proposed to convert hematite to magnetite and further to dissociate iron minerals from sodium aluminosilicate hydrate(desilication product,DSP)based on the differences of their surface properties.The results show that the differences of surface properties between magnetite and DSP in zeta potential,wettability and solvation trend facilitate magnetite to agglomerate,grow up and thus to dissociate from DSP.The increments of reductant amount and alkali concentration favor the transformation of hematite in digestion with the relative alumina recovery of98.91%.Processing the resultant red mud can obtain qualified iron concentrate with iron grade of approximate60%and recovery of about86%through magnetic separation,resulting in reduction of red mud emission higher than70%.The results are potential to develop a novel technology for processing high iron diasporic bauxite efficiently and provide references for comprehensive utilization of high iron red mud.

Behavior of silicon-containing minerals during Bayer digestion

Digestion behaviors of several single silicon-containing minerals including kaolinite, illite and pyrophyllite in aluminate solution were investigated. The result shows that the digestion rates of kaolinite, illite and pyrophyllite in aluminate solution were influenced by reaction conditions such as temperature. Adopting quantum chemistry theoretical calculation, using CASTEM procedure module, the slab model of kaolinite, illite, pyrophyllite and their ordinary complete cleavage plane (001) were geometry optimized at GGA-PW91 level. The micro-essence of the different reaction activities among kaolinite, illite, pyrophyllite in aluminate solution was opened out. It is found that the reaction activities of kaolinite, illite, pyrophyllite are obviously different and the reaction activity of pyrophyllite is the highest. The Si—O bond strength of illite is the strongest and its Al—O bond strength is comparatively the weakest, so Si in it is the most difficult to be removed. The Si—O bond strength of pyrophyllite is the weakest, so Si in it is relatively easy to be removed. The micro-electron structure of complete cleavage plane and the Si—O bond strength of kaolinite, illite and pyrophyllite are evidently influenced by the existence of OH-, of which the surface character and the reduction of Si—O bond strength of kaolinite are influenced most greatly by OH-. Therefore, the desilication of kaolinite in alkaline solution at relatively low temperature is easier.

Negative effect of dissolved organic compounds on settling behavior of synthetic monominerals in red mud

Hydration grossular and hematite monominerals were synthesized. The effects of dissolved organic compounds(including sodium formate, sodium acetate, sodium oxalate, sodium salicylate or disodium phthalate) on the settling performance of hydration grossular or hematite slurries were studied. The settling of the slurries was also investigated with the addition of sodium polyacrylate(PAAS) or hydroxamated polyacrylamide flocculant(HCPAM). The adsorption mechanism of organic compounds on monominerals surfaces was studied by FT-IR and XPS, respectively. A deterioration in settling is observed in order of disodium phthalate>sodium salicylate>sodium oxalate>sodium formate(or sodium acetate). Moreover, PAAS can efficiently eliminate the negative effects of organic compounds on the settling performance of the hydration grossular slurry. HCPAM can efficiently eliminate the negative effects of sodium formate, sodium acetate and sodium oxalate on the settling performance of the hematite slurry, but it only partially improves the settling performance of hematite slurry containing sodium salicylate or disodium phthalate. FT-IR and XPS results show that organic compounds are physically adsorbed on hydration grossular surface, and chemisorptions of organic compounds occur on hematite surface with a bidentate chelating complex.